Getting back to athletic baseline after an injury can mean embracing big discomfort. It's almost always worth it, but not always for the obvious reasons.
MaryAnne, I can hardly tell you how relatable your story is to me, from the propensity to extemporaneously exhibit joy in physical ways that inadvertently result in surgery to the burden of always having to anticipate the prospect of an injured joint failing if I push it too much. I tore my left biceps, eg, playing with my young daughter in the kiddie pool of the local YMCA. The "long road" you mention often feels really, unfairly long, and the mental aspect of balancing the desire to push it a bit, so you can make progress, with one's instinct to protect yourself from re-injury can feel almost like a daily ordeal. I also have had a much longer than advertised recovery from meniscus cleanup. The one month my surgeon confidently said I would need to return to full athletic performance is now three months, and counting.
Is your worry about reinjury caused by pain or other overt signals, or something more mental, if you don't mind me asking?
I'm 61 now and haven't worked out routinely in 16yrs. I'm weaker than when I was 14yrs old. I "used to" be strong. Lots of years of weight lifting and genetics to favor it.
I have musculoskeletal injuries all over making activities of daily living a challenge.
I am working to get back into any shape that would be described as better than pathetic. It is much harder than I could have ever imagined. I have friends that never quit working out and I regret my decision to quit working out. My advice - never stop. Even if it's a fraction of what you are "supposed" to do or "could" do. Because now I can't do. But every day I can do a little and maybe over time I will be able to do a little more. And hopefully in 4 years I will be strong enough to do the things I think I should be able to do. Like easily carry a bag of groceries or easily pick up, carry the bass gig bag and musical equipment, work on the house and land with extra capacity.
Thank you for your postings. You make a difference. I may not subscribe but will tip. Thanks again and NEVER EVER GIVE UP! NEVER EVER QUIT TRYING AND NEVER STOP DOING!
Mark, I'm so thankful, as I imagine other readers are, to have your note. I think many, many of us are in some form of the position you're in, trying to get back to baseline or struggling through injuries or both. As you say, they can become a daily challenge – and not just physically. Reading your note, I'm reminded of that phrase I often quote from my osteopathic doctor: bodies were meant to move. I'm grateful that I really haven't stopped moving since I was seven years old, playing soccer. In fact, I think I've had somewhat of an opposite issue from you, which is going heavy at the gym for so long that my joints wore out, thus requiring the seven orthopedic surgeries I've had since 1986. I love your sardonic phrase "better than pathetic." I'm sure you are far, far better. Keep going, and thank you for being part of this community.
Hi Mark, #WorkoutWednesday videos are located under the main menu tab on the home page, called Paid Subscriber Content. Click that tab and you'll see #WorkoutWednesday videos in the 2nd position. Here's the direct link: https://www.agingwithstrength.com/p/the-workoutwednesday-video-catalog
Very relatable. I had my share of sport’s injuries from a torn clavicle ligament (road cycling) to osteoarthritis from one marathon to many. For the latter I had to change my sports routine, cycling was paused for about 6months to recuperate. Love of movement and using my body, of going out into nature was stronger than the injuries.
Cornelius, I appreciate the creativity in your expression of balancing athletic pursuit with injury management. Going into nature, as well. There are few more effective ways to begin to feel better than getting into nature, away from mechanical and digital devices.
Very timely. Almost exactly 2 years ago, I “tweaked” my knee dancing around the living room with my nieces during the Super Bowl halftime show. Except it wasn’t just a tweak it was a meniscus tear that I procrastinated dealing with for months. I had surgery a year ago. It has been a long road back and I still struggle more mentally than physically with anything impact-based, (including the basic jumping jacks or Z-hops that my gym includes as part of the warm-up). I miss being a runner more than I thought I would but it’s very hard to get past the worry about re-injuring it with all that force.
MaryAnne, I can’t express enough how relatable your predicament is, from your propensity to express joy in ways that might require surgery to feeling the weight and worry of wondering how to mentally adjust to an injured body. I tore my left biceps playing with my young daughter in a YMCA kiddie pool; taking up tennis led to weeks of painful ankle tendon or ligament stress, after decades of not taxing that particular joint quite so acutely. My meniscus cleanup was supposed to bring me back to full athletic recovery within 4 weeks, according to the surgeon. It’s been 3 months, and the recovery continues, one step forward, two back, followed by two steps forward, one back.
Is your anxiety about running on your injured knee because it’s painful or because you’re worried you might hurt it again, if you don’t mind me asking?
Some of both, for sure. It took MONTHS for the swelling/stiffness to improve and when it flares back up because of increased activity, it’s frustrating and sometimes painful. I definitely get in my own head about trying things like box jumps again! I’m about to turn 57 and worried that this is just the new normal I have to live with. Additionally, I had to say goodbye to my dog just 4 weeks after the surgery. He was my running buddy, so my heart definitely hasn’t been in it. I joined a functional strength training gym in September and that has helped, so I’m hoping to cautiously test myself with some light jogging one day soon.
You and I seem to be on a very similar knee rehab journey. The swelling, which seems to ebb and flow like the tides, constantly reminds me that the joint isn't 100%. But there's no structural weakness, so I can do things like dead lift and play tennis. But doing that sometimes aggravates the swelling a little bit, sometimes it doesn't at all, which is confusing to my body and to my brain. And that creates questions about whether to take it easy or keep going or something else— like box jumps! It requires an awful lot of listening to one's body and trying small smart things to help the healing process along. Sometimes, I use ice and red light therapy at night and the morning is better.
MaryAnne and Paul, today I had my meniscus cleaned up. I noticed I could no longer bend one knee as fully as the other without a tweak of pain, I gave it a month and went to see my Orthopedic Dr. I feel I no longer have the luxury of waiting out something to see if it improves at age 67. The scope revealed more arthritis than was previously thought so I will have to manage that at some point. I too got the recovery timeline of 2-4 weeks, so we shall see. I keep repeating to myself, “everyone is different”, because I realize that this may not go as planned.
But in other news, before surgery, I have gotten up to 6 leg lifts from the rings. Thank you for that awesome exercise. You know I will be trying the 1 min push-up at some point!
Marianne, i'm sorry to hear about your meniscus so deal. I hope your recovery goes faster than mine. It's so great to hear that you've been doing the rings exercise and already up to six leg reps. Soon you'll be at 10, once you're back in form. It is one of the best exercises for the time and effort. I'm going to be publishing a post soon dedicated to various rings workouts, because they're just so incredibly good at toning one's body with body weight only.
Yesterday I was halfway through a weight set and had valid reasons to stop stacked in my head (including undiagnosed pain in my right side). But somehow I stopped the conversation in my head, did one more set and just kept going. Small wins. The best take away for me was celebrating your creaky moment! I am reminded to do that more and be less harsh on myself.
Peter, I appreciate your comment. Although I would always advise myself and others to play it safe if you're feeling pain during exercise, I understand the mindset of pushing it. I'm a big believer in "stress therapy" which requires a high degree of physical self awareness and understanding of one's own pain signals, pain thresholds, injuries, etc.
Creaky is the condition that, in my early 50s, onset slowly and then a little bit less slowly. It's a product of pushing it, as you know. But among the many, many things that doctors really never tell you is that your body needs your forgiveness and appreciation. Something I didn't learn until recently, and wrote about a few weeks ago. If it's helpful to you: https://www.agingwithstrength.com/p/your-body-is-not-you-a-journey-into-hot-yoga?r=88kaf
Hi Paul, this really landed. The way you described that moment on the water captures how brutal and honest starting again can be, especially after injury. I love the reminder that showing up matters more than how it looks.
Although I lived about half my life in southern California mostly in Redondo and Manhattan Beach I never got into surfing. Lots of bogey boarding around the MB pier! That ended about 17 years ago. Last year I tried again. This time in Florida. Got thrown around by the waves and quite frankly was scared to keep at it. Anyway, you've inspired me to try again here in my 80th year.
Tom, I'm so glad to know that the post inspired you to try the water again. Of course within your limits but I hope you'll report back how it goes. Very impressive!
Hi Paul. So relatable. The human struggle for sure. I am reminded consistently that its the small steps that add up, and a "win" is redefined constantly. Thank you for this post. I loved it. Onward.
“I cannot express how important it is to believe that taking one tiny-and possibly very uncomfortable-step at a time can ultimately add up to a great distance.”
I'm thinking about and planning how to address some of if not all of the topics you mentioned you were interested in reading more about – metabolic health, building muscle after 70, etc.
How about a post on functional strength. The kind of strength and fitness you need to extend independent living. Where climbing ladders, retrieving a kitchen, appliance off the top shelf, mowing the lawn, gardening, pulling weeds, using the wheelbarrow full of dirt on a garden path, climbing over, rockeries, etc. is an everyday activity. This is also what I’m interested in. Thanks for thinking about all this.
I had stopped doing kung fu/ karate when I was 35 thinking it would never be possible to practice again after dealing with various shoulder injuries and some deep muscle (ilioa psoas) problems that would flair up unless I went super light. I switched to mainly strength based exercises but after having done martial arts since I was 13 it was hard to give up martial arts. At age 55 I started regular yoga exercises and restarted tai chi (quite a bit more gentle than kung fu/karate). After a year I decided to try Kung Fu again, making a mental note to drop my ego and listen to my body. I didn't think I would get very far. I did not do all the things the younger folks did in the class. No sparring and no attempts to try things that required leaps and landings. It was hard for me to resist sparring because my competitive side would have spiked and I knew it would only take one stupid decision to push too hard and risk an injury. So I forced myself to be super cautious and not ruin my progress. I put in almost 6 years of work getting close to working on a black belt. No I could not kick as hard, high, or as fast as I did when I was 20 and some things were just not possible to do. Still really felt great to be doing kung fu at all. Unfortunately when I was about 61 I started feeling uncomfortable streaks of pain in my knees and my back problems ,which were manageable for a long time, decided to warn me that the hard and fast burst motions of kicking, twisting and moving fast were not in my best interests. I was very grateful that I had managed to bring back a bit of my youth. The yoga definitely helped and its something I still do regularly. Now tai chi is the only martial art I do and I do it very slow and carefully.
Paul, good article as always. I’ve made a goal of doing a half marathon this year, with the idea that it will force me to deal with recurrent calf strains that stopped serious running about 7 years ago. The concept of a baseline is interesting as you get older. It’s been tempting to let it drift.
MaryAnne, I can hardly tell you how relatable your story is to me, from the propensity to extemporaneously exhibit joy in physical ways that inadvertently result in surgery to the burden of always having to anticipate the prospect of an injured joint failing if I push it too much. I tore my left biceps, eg, playing with my young daughter in the kiddie pool of the local YMCA. The "long road" you mention often feels really, unfairly long, and the mental aspect of balancing the desire to push it a bit, so you can make progress, with one's instinct to protect yourself from re-injury can feel almost like a daily ordeal. I also have had a much longer than advertised recovery from meniscus cleanup. The one month my surgeon confidently said I would need to return to full athletic performance is now three months, and counting.
Is your worry about reinjury caused by pain or other overt signals, or something more mental, if you don't mind me asking?
I'm 61 now and haven't worked out routinely in 16yrs. I'm weaker than when I was 14yrs old. I "used to" be strong. Lots of years of weight lifting and genetics to favor it.
I have musculoskeletal injuries all over making activities of daily living a challenge.
I am working to get back into any shape that would be described as better than pathetic. It is much harder than I could have ever imagined. I have friends that never quit working out and I regret my decision to quit working out. My advice - never stop. Even if it's a fraction of what you are "supposed" to do or "could" do. Because now I can't do. But every day I can do a little and maybe over time I will be able to do a little more. And hopefully in 4 years I will be strong enough to do the things I think I should be able to do. Like easily carry a bag of groceries or easily pick up, carry the bass gig bag and musical equipment, work on the house and land with extra capacity.
Thank you for your postings. You make a difference. I may not subscribe but will tip. Thanks again and NEVER EVER GIVE UP! NEVER EVER QUIT TRYING AND NEVER STOP DOING!
Mark, I'm so thankful, as I imagine other readers are, to have your note. I think many, many of us are in some form of the position you're in, trying to get back to baseline or struggling through injuries or both. As you say, they can become a daily challenge – and not just physically. Reading your note, I'm reminded of that phrase I often quote from my osteopathic doctor: bodies were meant to move. I'm grateful that I really haven't stopped moving since I was seven years old, playing soccer. In fact, I think I've had somewhat of an opposite issue from you, which is going heavy at the gym for so long that my joints wore out, thus requiring the seven orthopedic surgeries I've had since 1986. I love your sardonic phrase "better than pathetic." I'm sure you are far, far better. Keep going, and thank you for being part of this community.
Ok. I subscribed! It's good fer ya so I did it!
Mark, thank you. I very much appreciate your support for AGING with STRENGTH and look forward to hearing your thoughts.
How/where do I access the Wednesday workouts and other members only items?
Hi Mark, #WorkoutWednesday videos are located under the main menu tab on the home page, called Paid Subscriber Content. Click that tab and you'll see #WorkoutWednesday videos in the 2nd position. Here's the direct link: https://www.agingwithstrength.com/p/the-workoutwednesday-video-catalog
Very relatable. I had my share of sport’s injuries from a torn clavicle ligament (road cycling) to osteoarthritis from one marathon to many. For the latter I had to change my sports routine, cycling was paused for about 6months to recuperate. Love of movement and using my body, of going out into nature was stronger than the injuries.
Cornelius, I appreciate the creativity in your expression of balancing athletic pursuit with injury management. Going into nature, as well. There are few more effective ways to begin to feel better than getting into nature, away from mechanical and digital devices.
Very timely. Almost exactly 2 years ago, I “tweaked” my knee dancing around the living room with my nieces during the Super Bowl halftime show. Except it wasn’t just a tweak it was a meniscus tear that I procrastinated dealing with for months. I had surgery a year ago. It has been a long road back and I still struggle more mentally than physically with anything impact-based, (including the basic jumping jacks or Z-hops that my gym includes as part of the warm-up). I miss being a runner more than I thought I would but it’s very hard to get past the worry about re-injuring it with all that force.
MaryAnne, I can’t express enough how relatable your predicament is, from your propensity to express joy in ways that might require surgery to feeling the weight and worry of wondering how to mentally adjust to an injured body. I tore my left biceps playing with my young daughter in a YMCA kiddie pool; taking up tennis led to weeks of painful ankle tendon or ligament stress, after decades of not taxing that particular joint quite so acutely. My meniscus cleanup was supposed to bring me back to full athletic recovery within 4 weeks, according to the surgeon. It’s been 3 months, and the recovery continues, one step forward, two back, followed by two steps forward, one back.
Is your anxiety about running on your injured knee because it’s painful or because you’re worried you might hurt it again, if you don’t mind me asking?
Some of both, for sure. It took MONTHS for the swelling/stiffness to improve and when it flares back up because of increased activity, it’s frustrating and sometimes painful. I definitely get in my own head about trying things like box jumps again! I’m about to turn 57 and worried that this is just the new normal I have to live with. Additionally, I had to say goodbye to my dog just 4 weeks after the surgery. He was my running buddy, so my heart definitely hasn’t been in it. I joined a functional strength training gym in September and that has helped, so I’m hoping to cautiously test myself with some light jogging one day soon.
You and I seem to be on a very similar knee rehab journey. The swelling, which seems to ebb and flow like the tides, constantly reminds me that the joint isn't 100%. But there's no structural weakness, so I can do things like dead lift and play tennis. But doing that sometimes aggravates the swelling a little bit, sometimes it doesn't at all, which is confusing to my body and to my brain. And that creates questions about whether to take it easy or keep going or something else— like box jumps! It requires an awful lot of listening to one's body and trying small smart things to help the healing process along. Sometimes, I use ice and red light therapy at night and the morning is better.
MaryAnne and Paul, today I had my meniscus cleaned up. I noticed I could no longer bend one knee as fully as the other without a tweak of pain, I gave it a month and went to see my Orthopedic Dr. I feel I no longer have the luxury of waiting out something to see if it improves at age 67. The scope revealed more arthritis than was previously thought so I will have to manage that at some point. I too got the recovery timeline of 2-4 weeks, so we shall see. I keep repeating to myself, “everyone is different”, because I realize that this may not go as planned.
But in other news, before surgery, I have gotten up to 6 leg lifts from the rings. Thank you for that awesome exercise. You know I will be trying the 1 min push-up at some point!
Marianne, i'm sorry to hear about your meniscus so deal. I hope your recovery goes faster than mine. It's so great to hear that you've been doing the rings exercise and already up to six leg reps. Soon you'll be at 10, once you're back in form. It is one of the best exercises for the time and effort. I'm going to be publishing a post soon dedicated to various rings workouts, because they're just so incredibly good at toning one's body with body weight only.
Yesterday I was halfway through a weight set and had valid reasons to stop stacked in my head (including undiagnosed pain in my right side). But somehow I stopped the conversation in my head, did one more set and just kept going. Small wins. The best take away for me was celebrating your creaky moment! I am reminded to do that more and be less harsh on myself.
Peter, I appreciate your comment. Although I would always advise myself and others to play it safe if you're feeling pain during exercise, I understand the mindset of pushing it. I'm a big believer in "stress therapy" which requires a high degree of physical self awareness and understanding of one's own pain signals, pain thresholds, injuries, etc.
Creaky is the condition that, in my early 50s, onset slowly and then a little bit less slowly. It's a product of pushing it, as you know. But among the many, many things that doctors really never tell you is that your body needs your forgiveness and appreciation. Something I didn't learn until recently, and wrote about a few weeks ago. If it's helpful to you: https://www.agingwithstrength.com/p/your-body-is-not-you-a-journey-into-hot-yoga?r=88kaf
Hi Paul, this really landed. The way you described that moment on the water captures how brutal and honest starting again can be, especially after injury. I love the reminder that showing up matters more than how it looks.
Destiny, I appreciate your note. I absolutely agree: How it looks is ephemeral; whether you tried lasts a lifetime. Keep going.
Although I lived about half my life in southern California mostly in Redondo and Manhattan Beach I never got into surfing. Lots of bogey boarding around the MB pier! That ended about 17 years ago. Last year I tried again. This time in Florida. Got thrown around by the waves and quite frankly was scared to keep at it. Anyway, you've inspired me to try again here in my 80th year.
Tom, I'm so glad to know that the post inspired you to try the water again. Of course within your limits but I hope you'll report back how it goes. Very impressive!
Well done, PvZ. It's those little moments of truth that set us back on the right path.
So glad you are back in the 🌊!
Hi Paul. So relatable. The human struggle for sure. I am reminded consistently that its the small steps that add up, and a "win" is redefined constantly. Thank you for this post. I loved it. Onward.
“I cannot express how important it is to believe that taking one tiny-and possibly very uncomfortable-step at a time can ultimately add up to a great distance.”
—TIG NOTARO
I'm thinking about and planning how to address some of if not all of the topics you mentioned you were interested in reading more about – metabolic health, building muscle after 70, etc.
How about a post on functional strength. The kind of strength and fitness you need to extend independent living. Where climbing ladders, retrieving a kitchen, appliance off the top shelf, mowing the lawn, gardening, pulling weeds, using the wheelbarrow full of dirt on a garden path, climbing over, rockeries, etc. is an everyday activity. This is also what I’m interested in. Thanks for thinking about all this.
Thank you for this. Very encouraging.
John, I appreciate your message. I'm glad this post was helpful to you. You are certainly not alone. Keep going.
I had stopped doing kung fu/ karate when I was 35 thinking it would never be possible to practice again after dealing with various shoulder injuries and some deep muscle (ilioa psoas) problems that would flair up unless I went super light. I switched to mainly strength based exercises but after having done martial arts since I was 13 it was hard to give up martial arts. At age 55 I started regular yoga exercises and restarted tai chi (quite a bit more gentle than kung fu/karate). After a year I decided to try Kung Fu again, making a mental note to drop my ego and listen to my body. I didn't think I would get very far. I did not do all the things the younger folks did in the class. No sparring and no attempts to try things that required leaps and landings. It was hard for me to resist sparring because my competitive side would have spiked and I knew it would only take one stupid decision to push too hard and risk an injury. So I forced myself to be super cautious and not ruin my progress. I put in almost 6 years of work getting close to working on a black belt. No I could not kick as hard, high, or as fast as I did when I was 20 and some things were just not possible to do. Still really felt great to be doing kung fu at all. Unfortunately when I was about 61 I started feeling uncomfortable streaks of pain in my knees and my back problems ,which were manageable for a long time, decided to warn me that the hard and fast burst motions of kicking, twisting and moving fast were not in my best interests. I was very grateful that I had managed to bring back a bit of my youth. The yoga definitely helped and its something I still do regularly. Now tai chi is the only martial art I do and I do it very slow and carefully.
Paul, good article as always. I’ve made a goal of doing a half marathon this year, with the idea that it will force me to deal with recurrent calf strains that stopped serious running about 7 years ago. The concept of a baseline is interesting as you get older. It’s been tempting to let it drift.