I have a client, female age 63, lifting with me for approximately 9 months, lifting for the first time in her life at this time. She was having a sensation of tingling in the fingers of her hands, and had a complete scan of the cerebral vertebrae and T1 through T7.
She has been diagnosed by means of this MRI with “C3 through C5 complete herniation/deterioration of disks, directly compressing the spinal column. No visible cartilage remains surrounding the column at the compressed points.” Quotations are her words to me, not necessarily her doctors to her. She has been advised to stop all lifting and any exercise beyond light walking, citing “Risk of paralysis,” from her orthopedic surgeon, “Until such time as surgical replacement with spacers and bone shavings to promote growth, can be completed.” They will additionally be adding a titanium plates and screws to hold the repair in place. Quotations are again her words to me, not directly her doctor to her. This is to be followed by a return to light exercise without any heavy future lifting. “They recommend no further compression of the spine under heavy loads.”
She has more or less informed me yesterday she will likely never be returning to lifting, along with presenting this information. She did not directly ask any questions, and was fairly set on being done with lifting as exercise. This is far outside my area of expertise and I never like to council people against their doctors, but my instinct screamed this was a long term incorrect recommendation. In your professional opinion should I recommend, following her surgery, presently scheduled for Feb 9, 2022, she check back in with her doctor about resuming said exercise? If the doctor continues to say this is not advised, would you let the matter drop?
I am entirely asking on her behalf as she seemed quite content to let the matter drop, and not resume the exercise in the future.
Hi Kevin! Thanks for your message and reaching out. Nice job on getting this woman interested in resistance training for the first time, we love to hear that! Much of what I am reading in your post gives me concern. What are your client’s symptoms? If she only has some altered sensation in her fingers and hands and no progressive motor weakness I am pretty surprised that an MRI was even ordered in the first place. But, she got the images already so no changing that. I would be a bit weary to totally trust the client report of the MRI reading, even if she has good intentions, it’s likely that she could have unintentionally embellished the severity and/or report. In terms of having “high risk of paralysis” I would be HIGHLY skeptical of this; this is not something that is supported in the literature. It makes me frustrated that the ortho surgeon would say this to a human. Furthermore, even if she did end up undergoing a cervical fusion surgery (which I am not confident at all that she even needs), there would be absolutely no reason that she could not return to lifting. Our spine is resilient and strong, even when they are reinforced with titanium. Outside of respecting the immediate post-surgical restrictions and healing time, there would be no reason I can see that she would not be able to return to lifting, in fact, we would recommend it.
Based on all the information that you have provided, I would highly recommend that she get a second opinion. We would also be happy to consult with her remotely if she is interested. I hope this helps.