# Im old, broken, and not happy



## Xue Sheng (Sep 24, 2012)

Anyone ever higher a personal trainer, was it succesful, was it worth it?

I got kicked, lightly, in the knee last Sunday training with a wing chun guy and although I told him I'm ok and kept going... my damn knee hurt the rest of the day and I am back in a brace today&#8230; I am sick and tired of this damn knee injury crap. For the first time in my life I follow what the doctors tell me and it DOESN'T get better.:flammad:

I&#8217;m know I&#8217;m old and that is not a bad thing it is just the way it goes if your lucky&#8230; but for the first time in my life I am thinking of hiring a Personal trainer&#8230;.and I am not taking this well...even though I belevie it is the way I need to go to recover from this last round of knee injuries.. I am taking this as I am too old, to beat up, helpless and I just can't handle training by myself anymore.....


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## elder999 (Sep 24, 2012)

Xue Sheng said:


> Anyone ever higher a personal trainer, was it succesful, was it worth it?
> 
> I got kicked, lightly, in the knee last Sunday training with a wing chun guy and although I told him I'm ok and kept going... my damn knee hurt the rest of the day and I am back in a brace today&#8230; I am sick and tired of this damn knee injury crap. For the first time in my life I follow what the doctors tell me and it DOESN'T get better.:flammad:
> 
> I&#8217;m know I&#8217;m old and that is not a bad thing it is just the way it goes if your lucky&#8230; but for the first time in my life I am thinking of hiring a Personal trainer&#8230;.and I am not taking this well...even though I belevie it is the way I need to go to recover from this last round of knee injuries.. I am taking this as I am too old, to beat up, helpless and I just can't handle training by myself anymore.....



It depends on what your goals are. I've hired a personal trainer, but my own goals, since some time ago, are a bit different-I've had to shed something like 60 lbs. of _muscle mass_-and a trainer has been a good help for this, though I am not, so far, satisfied with the results, which is a body image thing, and disatisfaction with what is an interim stage. I will get to my goal, though, and couldn't have done it at 51-53 without a trainer.......

Your knee, though? Aside from helping to build up the supporting muscular architecture, a trainer isn't really going to be much help there-and tendons get old, cartilage dimishes, and such is life. 

Knees: God's engineering afterthought. _That leg's gotta bend, somehow.....aww, *that's good enough,* I'm gonna take a nap, now...._ :lfao:

In all seriousness, from an engineering standpoint, the design life of mammals is to reach the point where their offspring have offspring-for humans, that's really about 40ish, and everything afterward is pretty much gravy, in spite of all the associated pain and deterioration.

Just keep telling yourself, _it's all gravy, now._ :lfao:


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## Bill Mattocks (Sep 24, 2012)

Xue Sheng said:


> Anyone ever higher a personal trainer, was it succesful, was it worth it?
> 
> I got kicked, lightly, in the knee last Sunday training with a wing chun guy and although I told him I'm ok and kept going... my damn knee hurt the rest of the day and I am back in a brace today&#8230; I am sick and tired of this damn knee injury crap. For the first time in my life I follow what the doctors tell me and it DOESN'T get better.:flammad:
> 
> I&#8217;m know I&#8217;m old and that is not a bad thing it is just the way it goes if your lucky&#8230; but for the first time in my life I am thinking of hiring a Personal trainer&#8230;.and I am not taking this well...even though I belevie it is the way I need to go to recover from this last round of knee injuries.. I am taking this as I am too old, to beat up, helpless and I just can't handle training by myself anymore.....



Sorry you're hurt.  I'm not clear on what it is you're most concerned about.  Your martial arts training?  Injuries while training?  Or getting better from your current injuries?

I was thinking maybe a physical therapist might be a good way to go, given what you've said.  But again, not clear on what your goal is.


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## WC_lun (Sep 24, 2012)

I can definitley understand what you are going through.  I've signed on to see a physical therapist myself.  Hopefully it'll be helpful, though I seriously doubt it is going to be pleasant.


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## Xue Sheng (Sep 24, 2012)

Goal: Weight loss and strengthening the knees so I can get back to training MA like I want tonot like I use to, I know that is not going to happen, but like I want to. Also have still young children I would like to be able to keep up with and not hobble behind. I saw my dad walk this way, in his late-70s after he was diagnosed with Parkinsons. His was not a knee issue and as far as I know I do not have Parkinsons and I am closer to my late 70s than I am my early 20s, but I got a way to go yet before I am there so I would like to get on top of this knee issue if possible.

My injuries are, left knee, torn meniscus in 2 places, right knee was bruised bone in the joint however no MRI was done on the right knee. My office is currently incredibly shorthanded and I have had to crawl around under desks and lift rather large production printers and my knees, which were doing better, really hated that. If I can do a push up or a Hindu pushup to get under a desk and do a belly crawl to move Im OK but in our new office things are just too tight for a 61 guy to do that in some places. 

Been the PT route for the knees before, have the exercises from several years ago (OK it was 20 years ago). Every time I contact an MD about this (and I have been to 4) they do not send me to PT, they give me a list of knee exercises. One said you do not need surgery (and Im ok with that - left knee), it will work its way back, (and it did) But if you like I will do the surgery. I opted not too and it was getting better. And I am not giving up on the PT route just yet, I am looking to change MDs since it is next to impossible to see my current one due to his patient load.

Putting into practice what I know of qigong and Buddhism and Daoism (the whole make a friend of pain thing) I have figured out that part of it is the loss of flexibility due to incessant limping and sitting and body/leg alignment while walking. So at this point I do feel that I need to regain flexibility and strengthen the muscle around the joint for stabilization.


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## Bill Mattocks (Sep 24, 2012)

Xue Sheng said:


> Goal: Weight loss and strengthening the knees so I can get back to training MA like I want to&#8230;not like I use to, I know that is not going to happen, but like I want to. Also have still young children I would like to be able to keep up with and not hobble behind. I saw my dad walk this way, in his late-70s after he was diagnosed with Parkinson&#8217;s. His was not a knee issue and as far as I know I do not have Parkinson&#8217;s and I am closer to my late 70s than I am my early 20s, but I got a way to go yet before I am there so I would like to get on top of this knee issue if possible.
> 
> My injuries are, left knee, torn meniscus in 2 places, right knee was bruised bone in the joint however no MRI was done on the right knee. My office is currently incredibly shorthanded and I have had to crawl around under desks and lift rather large production printers and my knees, which were doing better, really hated that. If I can do a push up or a Hindu pushup to get under a desk and do a belly crawl to move I&#8217;m OK but in our new office things are just too tight for a 6&#8217;1&#8221; guy to do that in some places.
> 
> ...



Sounds like you have your answer then.  I hope you heal quickly and return to full strength.


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## Xue Sheng (Sep 24, 2012)

Actually my question was "Anyone ever higher a personal trainer, was it succesful, was it worth it?" 

Basically I have not gone that route before, but I just got an e-mail from the guy and the first visit it free so I shall go give it a try I guess and see what I think.


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## pgsmith (Sep 24, 2012)

The personal trainer route is a personal issue. I've known folks that liked it, and others that thought it was garbage. My question is regarding your MD. Have you been going to a sports orthopedist about your knee issues, or was it a general practitioner? A family doctor is NOT going to understand the stresses that doing martial arts, or any other physical sport, is going to put on your joints. A sports doctor will have a better idea what your joints require to work effectively under the loads you're applying. Preferably one that counts college and/or professional athletes as patients.


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## Xue Sheng (Sep 24, 2012)

pgsmith said:


> The personal trainer route is a personal issue. I've known folks that liked it, and others that thought it was garbage. My question is regarding your MD. Have you been going to a sports orthopedist about your knee issues, or was it a general practitioner? A family doctor is NOT going to understand the stresses that doing martial arts, or any other physical sport, is going to put on your joints. A sports doctor will have a better idea what your joints require to work effectively under the loads you're applying. Preferably one that counts college and/or professional athletes as patients.



I have not gone to a doctor that was a sports orthopedist but I have been to 2 orthopedic specialists and 2 General practitioners.


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## jks9199 (Sep 24, 2012)

Can't give personal experience with trainers; I "sneak" some time an advice from the guys at the gym I go to when I need something, like guidance on a machine or exercise, but haven't done direct training at length.  That said, I've seen others who used the right trainers get good results.  The catch is finding the right trainer for your goal.  If you just need someone to make sure you don't hurt yourself but still push you through a workout or to give you some new workout ideas, there's not much need to be picky.  If you choose to use one -- you want to check the credentials, and make sure they understand your goals, and (if they're honest), they'll tell you whether or not they can really help you.


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## Dirty Dog (Sep 24, 2012)

Your best bet is two things. A physical therapist and patience. If that fails, then most likely an orthopedic surgeon.


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## Aiki Lee (Sep 24, 2012)

I hired a personal trainer, and I think it is successful mostly because I will not exercise without someone making me do it. So if I pay a guy to yell at me it helps me not be lazy.


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## Carol (Sep 24, 2012)

I'm going to go against the grain here.  Skip to the end for the Too Long Didn't Read summary.

Try repairing yourself from the inside out, instead of the outside in.  Chronic Inflammation is an issue with a lot of people, and a common source for a lot of inflammation responses is food.

Dallas and Melissa Hartwig discuss this extensively in their book It Starts With Food.  Personally I have pooh-poohed a lot of stuff like this, but I reached a point over the summer where I just felt like dreck and wanted to rehab a few things in my life.

I switched to a Paleo-type diet, based on the Hartwig's book as well as their blog, www.whole9life.com.  They believe in a whole-life approach to health, including addressing 9 key factors that will likely fit in quite well with your values.

http://whole9life.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/9graphic.jpg

I also drew a lot of info from Mark Sisson's blog www.marksdailyapple.com and used My Fitness Pal to track what I was eating.  I didn't begin with restricting calories, I started simply by logging everything I ate.  It was quite eye-opening.  

I have lost some weight, maybe 15 pounds over 2.5 months.  Not an earth shattering loss, and I still have more to go, but weighing less than I did in July is pretty cool.  However, I found the bigger motivation wasn't weight loss, but how I felt and what I could actually do.  I have never been able to run....but the anti inflammatory effects of the better way of eating have had such a beneficial impact on me that I have been able to start interval training.  It will be ugly, but I'm running my first race ever this weekend!  I also picked my hiking back up and resumed my goal of climbing Mt. Washington....sometime 

Some folks recoil at the idea of a Paleo-type diet.  Another approach can be looking at the nutrition database at Self magazine http://nutritiondata.self.com and choosing foods that are anti-inflammatory.

tl;dr

Instead of the trainer, consider making the investment in a different way of eating.  After giving up all processed foods including dairy, grains, legumes, and anything from a drive thru, I don't hurt anymore.  I lost weight too.  Maybe this can help you too?

However way you go I wish you all the best.  




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## James Kovacich (Sep 24, 2012)

I've had 5 surgeries between my arms and shoulders. Listening to your doctor is a must. I thought I could rehab myself. Haha. I ended up in sports therapy which addressed my injuries on a differant level than my doctors did. I recommend atleast 1 visit to see for yourself. I have a personal trainer certificate from our Mission College and I would think that they can't help you much for what you need. 

I'd. Also consider adjusting your training so you don't end up quitting at some point. 

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## elder999 (Sep 24, 2012)

Carol said:


> I switched to a* Paleo-type diet*, based on the Hartwig's book as well as their blog, www.whole9life.com. They believe in a whole-life approach to health, including addressing 9 key factors that will likely fit in quite well with your values.
> 
> http://whole9life.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/9graphic.jpg
> 
> ...



I'm gonna say here that the "Paleo-type" diet is a good diet, and not too different from the way that I used to eat, back before the docs and I figured that I had to shed some muscle......in fact, it's *still* not too different from the way I eat. 

It's just not "_Paleo_" at all. Paleoithic man hunted megafauna for hundreds of thousands of years before the invention of the spear, 350000 years or so ago, and they did this by running game into the ground-something that couldn't be accomplished on what's now commonly called a "paleoithic diet."

 More to the point, Paleo people likely observed birds and other animals eating grains, and *ate grains.* Agriculture arose from this. Maize is actually the crossbreeding of two grasses, teosinte, and one that escapes me right now,  about 10,000 years ago, which qualifies as late, or upper....._Paleo_ithic........truly, shunning "processed" foods is enough-whole grains, and ones that are closer to their roots (rather than modern, engineered varieties) is probably completely acceptable for most. 

In any case, I largely agree with Carol-pet peeves about archaeological accuracy and theory aside :lol:-a change in diet can be a great deal of help for situations like you're experiencing.


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## Takai (Sep 24, 2012)

Have you seen an acupuncturist?


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## Carol (Sep 24, 2012)

Yeah, I was REALLY trying to avoid the historical controversy   but its certainly a fair point to bring up.  I don't care for the name either.

I basically traded the grocery store for the farmer's market.  I stop once a week and load up on fresh fruit, veggies, pastured meats and eggs and base my meals on these staples.  I ensure that I eat a big plate of greens every day, and learned how to cook some things I had never heard of or even dreamed of eating, such as pea tendrils (divine!)and pumpkin vines (odd, but quite filling).  

Perhaps just as important, I gave up restaurants as a crutch for when I don't feel like cooking since I don't really know what's in my food when someone else cooked it.  Sure I enjoy a nice dinner out with friends as much as anyone else, but that's just an occasional event.   This has forced me to build better habits, including trying to be a better cook.


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## James Kovacich (Sep 24, 2012)

elder999 said:


> It depends on what your goals are. I've hired a personal trainer, but my own goals, since some time ago, are a bit different-I've had to shed something like 60 lbs. of _muscle mass_-and a trainer has been a good help for this, though I am not, so far, satisfied with the results, which is a body image thing, and disatisfaction with what is an interim stage. I will get to my goal, though, and couldn't have done it at 51-53 without a trainer.......
> 
> Your knee, though? Aside from helping to build up the supporting muscular architecture, a trainer isn't really going to be much help there-and tendons get old, cartilage dimishes, and such is life.
> 
> ...



I've never heard of anyone needing to lose muscle? Are you serious?

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## Tames D (Sep 25, 2012)

Xue,
I noticed that you say you're old alot. Out of curiousity, what is old?


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## K-man (Sep 25, 2012)

Xue Sheng said:


> My injuries are, left knee, torn meniscus in 2 places, right knee was bruised bone in the joint however no MRI was done on the right knee.


Ok. The right knee should heal with little problem, hopefully within three weeks if the injury is not aggravated.  The left knee is much more of a problem.  Torn meniscus is more commonly referred to as torn cartilege. It is not the cartilege covering the bone but the wedge of cartilege between the bones. The problem is that there is very limited blood supply to cartilege and some cartilege has no blood supply at all. A tear here will not repair itself no matter what you do, and the problem is the jagged piece sometimes catches causing pain or even restriction of joint movement.

Years ago the would had undertaken quite serious surgery to remove the whole cartilege, an exercise that enabled an athlete to get back into competition but which mostly led to chronic knee problems in later life.  Now they just do a relatively simple arthroscopic procedure to trim the ragged bits. Recovery is quite rapid and I would expect to be back in full swing in about three months.

So, my advice in this situation is to forget the PT and get to see a sports physician. Take it from there.  Good luck.   :asian:


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## Instructor (Sep 25, 2012)

I have experimented with diet to assist with joints and whatnot.  Pineapple has a lot of things the joints need in it.  I like to mix pineapple, banana and strawberries into a smoothie.  Kind of a muscle-joint cocktail.  Somewhere along the way the term Super Foods came into being and it's apt.

A couple of years ago my knees were killing me going up and down ladders.  As my full time job was on a ship you can imagine ladders were part of my reality every day.  My pineapples really turned it around.  In fact I haven't had knee pain in over a year.

Also I don't know your beliefs and by all means follow the advice of your doctor of course, but I have found prayer to be of help in these situations.


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## Xue Sheng (Sep 25, 2012)

Takai said:


> Have you seen an acupuncturist?



I see one every day


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## Xue Sheng (Sep 25, 2012)

Tames D said:


> Xue,
> I noticed that you say you're old alot. Out of curiousity, what is old?



Standard answer to that question in 2012 is 5286.... which freaks a lot of people out because last year I was sayin 5285 and the year before was 5284 :EG:


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## elder999 (Sep 25, 2012)

James Kovacich said:


> I've never heard of anyone needing to lose muscle? Are you serious?
> 
> Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk



More like lose "mass," which, in my case, boiled down to losing muscle. Gotta get from 250 down to about 185-190, and I'm a little less than halfway there. 

By way of explanation, have a look at this thread. The idea is that less mass will mean less of an oxygen debt, and what lung I have will fulfill its function a little better. So, yes, lose muscle _mass_. With the weights, rather than training like a powerlifter now, I do high reps with lower weights. I do a lot more cardio, but I've always done a lot of cardio. I eat less.

My trainer's reaction was a lot like yours, though....:lol:


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## Steve (Sep 25, 2012)

I feel you guys.  I went to the doctor yesterday and the results are that I have degenerative arthritis in my right shoulder.  Good news is that the joint is strong.  Bad news is that the pain is affecting my sleep.  I'm going to go in for a follow up appointment to talk about treatment, but that was a bummer.


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## seasoned (Sep 25, 2012)

Tames D said:


> Xue,
> I noticed that you say you're old alot. Out of curiousity, what is old?



Good question.



Xue Sheng said:


> Standard answer to that question in 2012 is 5286.... which freaks a lot of people out because last year I was sayin 5285 and the year before was 5284 :EG:



Ok now I see the problem. You have to STOP these numbers from going UP. It's called reverse pycology, you have to start thinking, "young"...............


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## Xue Sheng (Sep 25, 2012)

The overall feeling I am getting here is "old" is bad...or at least that is what people feel I am saying&#8230; and it isn't. It is reality that is all.... as long as you're standing upright and not taking a dirt nap it is all good.

However there comes a time in one&#8217;s life, and it is inevitable, that you are in fact thought of as old by the society in which you live. I use it more as a qualifier or an attention getter or simply as a level of achievement. As my mother said when she hit 60, "Finally, I can say whatever I want and people and not get in as much trouble for it because I&#8217;m old now and it is expected of me" She also had a conversation (a couple years ago) with 2 other women complaining about being old and how bad it was and telling her that she would understand when she was there age...they were 75 and 76..... They then asked my mother how old she was...she said 80...and she was 80 at the time. This is my view of "old", basically it is just a number and it means little, you can be a healthy 80 or an unhealthy 20. However you do get some limitations at 80 you may not have had at 20 but you have had 60 years to get use to that so it is all good

However the fact is I do not heal like I did when I was in my 20s or 30s and that says I am getting older. I will admit with my knees I am at times walking like I am much older and I don't much like that. That is why I stopped being stubborn and started listening to what my body was telling me, or trying to tell me, with the pain. Surprisingly one of the things (and there were several) I discovered was that when I walk I was tensing my upper back and that effected the way I walk and caused me more knee pain. Loosen the upper back, less pain. The whole make a friend of pain thing actually works&#8230;who knew. It was after this I came to the conclusion that I need to strengthen the knees. There was some lateral movement going on in the left and the right that was not helping at all. And then I came to the conclusion that I was out of my league as to what to do to strengthen them properly, what I was using was not working, even with my past history of PT for my knees. So I thought maybe a personal trainer and found one in my area that seemed to be good. Based on some answers in this thread I have done a bit more research and the guy they want me to see is well qualified to deal with this as it applies to sports, sports injuries and recovery. 

I have answered some questions already but to answer a few more answers

I see an acupuncturist every day; I am married to a TCM doctor from China who was the acting head of the acupuncture department in the TCM department of her hospital before she came here. I get acupuncture quite often and it helps. However it does not strengthen and that is what I need because without that my office will cripple me and I really don&#8217;t want that to happen.

Age&#8230;. Right around 1/20th of a millennium

Diet&#8230; Thank you and I am happy it works for you but the Paleo diet for me&#8230;no. I know there are those that swear by it. Tell you it is great and how awesome they feel but it is, IMO, not balanced and therefore not for me. I tend to do my best at following the TCM approach to food (reason see answer about acupuncturist). She is already convinced I eat too much meat (too much heat in my body per the TCM view) and I did cut way back for a while and was darn close to a vegan at one point, which my acupuncturist did not agree with either. I returned to eating more meat (balanced diet thing) and I felt better. Nothing wrong with vegetarian or vegan either it is just way to complicated for me to keep things in balance.

At this point I am waiting for the trainer to get back to me to set up a time to meet

Thanks all for the responses and help.


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## pgsmith (Sep 26, 2012)

> I noticed that you say you're old alot. Out of curiousity, what is old?


 
  As my aged mother used to say (back when she was still among the living)  "You're only as old as you feel, and that all depends on who's doing the feeling!"


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## crushing (Sep 27, 2012)

Carol said:


> Yeah, I was REALLY trying to avoid the historical controversy  but its certainly a fair point to bring up. I don't care for the name either.



Is there an internet law, similar to Godwins, where any discussion of diet will eventually lead to a "_Paleo Diet_" person chiming in and then the obligatory response stating that's now people really ate back then?


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## Xue Sheng (Oct 1, 2012)

Weeeeeell I never made it to the trainer.... I got sick.... spent Friday morning in the Emergency room while many, including myself, were wondering if I was having a heart attack.... Never thought I would be happy being diagnosed with Pleurisy... but it was a relief.

Funny thing though, after spending a weekend basically doing nothing my knees to not feel all that bad. I looked up some injury specific exercises and I think I will give then a try... and I found out in the Er that my wife is dead set against a trainer so...she wins 

So now, back to being old :s472:


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## Carol (Oct 1, 2012)

Oh my goodness that must have been very scary!  

I am glad you are OK and that the docs know what the issue is. 

Sending lots of healing vibes your way 


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## Xue Sheng (Oct 1, 2012)

Carol said:


> Oh my goodness that must have been very scary!
> 
> I am glad you are OK and that the docs know what the issue is.
> 
> ...



Actually I was pretty relaxed, but my wife was trying to take me to the ER at 5:00 am and once she got a hold of my mother I was dragged to the ER at 7:00 AM. I was planning on going but I did not want to disrupt my youngest&#8217;s day and she had to get the but to go to school. However I was dragged out 30 minutes prior to the bus getting there. 

 I had been having chest pains since the Thursday before at around lunch time (told no one until my wife found me in the living room at 5:00) and I figured I got this far so 7:30am should be OK

But I was relieved with the diagnosis I was given

Yup, I was stupid


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## James Kovacich (Oct 1, 2012)

Xue,

There's a ton of info on the net regarding how you can "experiment" and figure out a rehab program that works. But take it from someone with many surgeries and "thinking" I could rehab myself at home with my dumbells. I know you will get better results in a gym where you can actually figure out what works for you. When I finally went back to the gym I realized I was at about 40% my regular strength. Now I'm about 80% because I have more options and can work out without getting hurt. 

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## oaktree (Oct 1, 2012)

Sorry to hear of your ill fortune xue.
  I wonder if there is something you are over doing or
Under doing. a good time to contemplate.


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## Xue Sheng (Oct 2, 2012)

James Kovacich said:


> Xue,
> 
> There's a ton of info on the net regarding how you can "experiment" and figure out a rehab program that works. But take it from someone with many surgeries and "thinking" I could rehab myself at home with my dumbells. I know you will get better results in a gym where you can actually figure out what works for you. When I finally went back to the gym I realized I was at about 40% my regular strength. Now I'm about 80% because I have more options and can work out without getting hurt.
> 
> Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk



Already been told that if I want surgery I could have it but the MD (Osteopath) did not think it was necessary nor di he recommend it, also been to PT for knee rehab, many years ago. 

Going to a doctor today about the mess from last Friday and to complain about the state of medicine today that makes it so incredibly hard to get to PT, basically I am going to be argumentative and demanding since being nice and listening to the doctor is getting me nowhere


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## Xue Sheng (Oct 2, 2012)

oaktree said:


> Sorry to hear of your ill fortune xue.
> I wonder if there is something you are over doing or
> Under doing. a good time to contemplate.



Could be under doing since I have not been able to do much because my office tried really hard to cripple me for a few weeks and my knees hate them and me for that. But they are doing ok today and yesterday. Could do the first 3rd of the Yang long form, did Wuxingquan (not the linking form) slowly, even did a little mud walking last night and 10 minutes on a stationary and 10 minutes on a stationary bike and my knees felt better afterwards than they did before.


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## punisher73 (Oct 2, 2012)

Xue Sheng said:


> Actually my question was "Anyone ever higher a personal trainer, was it succesful, was it worth it?"
> 
> Basically I have not gone that route before, but I just got an e-mail from the guy and the first visit it free so I shall go give it a try I guess and see what I think.



Unfortunately, it really is a "it depends" kind of question.  Many of the personal trainers at large commerical gyms have no formalized education in treating or rehabbing injuries.  Most of them use cookie cutter programs with a "one size fits all" type approach.  If you are a member of a gym, talk with them on the education that their trainers get and make sure that the trainers aren't just "sales people" to get you to upgrade your membership.

Here is another good clue to look for.  Look at all the latest muscle mags and see what programs or exercises are popular.  If all the beginning people are doing those things, chances are very good that the trainer really has no clue about the human body or creating a training program. And, yes, these are all things I have seen at a VERY large commercial chain gym.

Get a trainer who really understand where your needs are at and knows how to work around a limitation without adding to it.  If you can, I walk talk with an occupational therapist or a sports med doctor on exercises to build it up slowly.


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