Strength after several surgeries.

Pain & Rehab Forum [Moderated]
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I am a wildland firefighter (13 seasons) and extreme snow sports enthusiast (20+ years) . I have also been an avid mountain athlete, hunter, fitness junkie, climber, etc for well over 10 years.

The combination of a sub-optimal genetic draw and passionately doing all of the above in an unsustainable fashion has forced me into retirement from the things I love and I believe my job will be on the chopping block soon . Here is my background as a repeat orthopedic patient:

1984–BORN WITH CONGENITAL HIP DYSPLASIA (IN MY CASE, NO SOCKET AT ALL)

1986–Hip osteotemy (surgically made a hip socket) Cause: Birth defect.

2000–Broke scaphoid bone in right wrist. Surgery. Installed screw. Cause: Snowboarding accident on jump.

2003–wrist repair failed. Screw removed. Bone graft. Cause: Crossfit with poor form, maybe.

2007–Dislocated right shoulder snowboarding. Surgery on labrum in 2008. (SLAP Repair) 6 titanium suture anchors. Cause: Previous injuries from Gymnastics/Snowboarding. Final accident Snowboarding (handrail)

2009–Torn right subscapularis rotator cuff. Surgery. Reattached. Cause: Car Accident

2014–Painful arthritis in left hip began. Cause: Birth Defect not suitable for lifestyle.

2016–Total hip replacement. Cause: Smokejumper rookie training.

2016– Torn supraspinatus rotator cuff left shoulder. Torn bicep tendon. Repaired in August. Cause: Overtraining.

2016– Discovered left knee problem. No cartilage on kneecap/trochlea. Arthritis. Patella-maltracking. Riding on lateral groove of trochlea. Possible cause: Compensation/structural issues due to Hip situation.

November 1, 2018–Partial knee replacement with Makoplasty computer navigation. Cause: incorrect movement pattern/compensation. possibly due to Hip.

May 19, 2019–Hip Replacement Failure. Cause: unknown. Plastic liner spontaneously dissociated from the cup while walking uphill. Revision Surgery 2 days later

January 9, 2020–Open Carpal Tunnel release surgery. Cause: Advanced arthritis from previous wrist pathology.

I also have flat feet.

People call me the “bionic man.” That is far from a compliment. It would be if prosthetic parts were actually BETTER than our natural parts; or more importantly, had a better symbiotic relationship.
But this is not the case. Maybe so in a few hundred years. Maybe more maybe less. But hey, at least I wasn’t dealing with this even 50 years ago. It can always be worse.

Anyway, Being motivated to stay strong and fit will always be in me. After all, it is what got me into this mess. A curse as it is a blessing. I’ve been known to continue pushing myself after a tendon snaps. That’s a good trait in a life or death situation, I suppose; but not for the sake of effort with strength training itself.

Has anyone gotten to the point where any kind of workout does more harm than good? Anyone out there in a similar boat as me? Im surrounded by normal happy healthy people who never have physical problems, so my situation is pretty isolating, and there’s really no one to talk to about it who would remotely understand. That’s why I’m here.

Who’s beat to hell and keeps going? Have you found a way to make strength gains and get the pain to go away? What is the longest real planned break from exercise you have taken? The longest I ever have is 2 weeks. If it was an upper body injury, I would work my lower body; and vice-versa. The strength plateau with joint replacements appears definite.

I would like to program some sort of strength progression while trying to fully recover from injury. I can still make measurable strength gains for upper body, but lower body is a very difficult process.

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@Mindburn thanks for sharing your history and story.

As to your questions:

  1. Has anyone gotten to the point where any kind of workout does more harm than good? I would say there are far more positives in remaining physically actively (particular meeting national physical activity guidelines) than being sedentary so we don’t recommend inactivity to folks.

  2. I would say we have some narratives to work through regarding your prior history and what is defined as “normal” “happy” and “healthy”. However, I fully understand why you would feel isolated and lacking folks to relate to about your situation. We can likely help with this with a consult.

  3. How familiar are you with our content on pain and training? We discuss this very in-depth on podcasts, YouTube videos, our seminars, and in our public writing. Anecdotally I can say I’ve rehabbed people with joint replacements back to their desired activity (often resistance trining focused) so I wouldn’t consider that an inherent limitation out of the gait.

  4. Yes, I think that’s a reasonable goal that we can help with. Here is our intake paperwork: Pain & Rehab Consultation

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### This is fucking awesome! Just think about the fact that this guy had health problems and continues to engage in extreme sports. Moreover, he worked as a firefighter and this is even more admirable. I hope that you will live for a very,very many years and will show people around by your example that if there is a desire, you can do everything! I have a friend who works as a firefighter here https://firerecruitmentaustralia.com.au and every year he flies to the Alps to do rock climbing and mountaineering. He also skis and snowboards. The guy is fifty-four years old, but you can’t tell from him. I wish you all excellent health and happiness, bye!