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About 5 months ago I started getting pain in my hip, as most of us do I ignored it and ignored it...went to physio and took painkillers to push out the pain and keep teaching.  About two months ago it got really bad and I finally found a Doc who was actually interested in finding out what the problem was and not just taking my money to give me a bit of a massage.

I had an ultra sound and a CT and that showed nothing, so 4 weeks ago I had an MRI.  Turns out I have a stress fracture in my Femur, a Labral tear and assoc Bursitis :(  Not the news I was expecting.  I'd been resting the week before the MRI and the week after till I could get back into my Doc.  He then told me to rest for the next four weeks and we would re-look at things. 

so i'm now into week 4 of no exercise and i'm climbing the walls, i'm cranky, i'm irritable and i'm fat (ok, I know i'm not fat but I feel bleugh).  I can't wait to get back into it.  And the hardest thing is the food!  It's so hard to cut back on my food, i'm used to eating a heap and obviously I can't justify that when i'm sitting on my ***!  It's reafirmed for me that I exercise to eat lol!

 So, has anyone had similar injuries and gone back to being an effective instructor?  I'm so worried this will plague me forever...I don't know what i'd do if I couldn't teach, I love it so much.

TIA guys :)

Well, here's the thing- chances are your injury didn't start out as a stress fracture and the degree of the tearing was probably not as signficant when the injury first happened. It was continuing to stress those areas while the initial injury still existed that exacerbated the condition. Teaching these programs is a very physically demanding process- the propensity for injuries to occur is there, especially if you're teaching multiple classes/formats a day and/or are very active outside of the gym. Pain's there for a reason- it's your body telling you that something's wrong. Sometimes pain is acute and very short-lasting and the issue resolves itself in a few days...other times it's blindingly obvious that professional treatment is needed post haste. I'm not saying that every single ache and pain is a signal to call your provider, but I am saying that when something doesn't feel right or if it's lasting for more than two days, it's either time to pull back and take care of yourself, see a doctor, or both.

As for your initial treatment, painkillers do just that...they mask the pain but don't treat the injury that's causing it. It's a shame your physio didn't do better by you. A rehabilitation plan and a little rest could have gotten you back in the game much faster.

As for what to do now, take this as a lesson learned. The next time something doesn't feel right, honor what allows you to do the things you love- your body. Sure, you could work through the rest of the class and those you have for the rest of the week, but in my opinion, it's far better to take a week or two off and be able to teach again in full form than to possibly face never being able to teach effectively again.

There are still things you can do while you heal- get with a trainer to devise a program for the interim and use your doctor/PT's treatment plan for rehabilitation.

heyyyy ya, i'm sooooo sorry to hear you got such a nasty injury, BELIEVE me i can sympathise with not being able to exercise and henceforth getting cranky :P 

i have stress fractures in my spine, (thank you, gymnastics) and a list as long as my arm of other injuries that cause me a certain amount of grief on a daily basis... the only thing i can tell you is this:

your body will probably NEVER go back to being the way it was (pre injury) but if you take care of yourself now and really work at having a positive attitude (I KNOW harder than it sounds ;)) but attitude will heal your body amazingly

and i really dont see any reason why you cannot go back to teaching, just keep your strength and stuff up now as best as you can, take different things (tai chi, aqua aerobics - probably sounds boring i know) but these things will hopefully a) stop you going out of your mind till you can get back into it and b) help you retain some of your strength and muscle tone in other parts of your body...

there always is the possibility that you will maybe have to teach something less high impact... (balance etc) but try not to focus on that... but also it is my strong belief that your body gets injuries for a reason...

i was an gymnast training at one of australia's elite institutions till about 3 months ago, and i loved gymnastics more than i loved my own life - and it almost killed me... an outrageous pain in my elbow (which now needs surgery) finally got me, and the physio took one look at me and nearly keeled over... i had (by then): stress fractures in my spine, needed surgery on BOTH my elbows, dequervanes tendonitis in my left wrist, stress fractures in both shins, my pelvis was displaced and i just felt *** all the time....

and to this day i love gymnastics more than anything, but in my interim i was forced to quit gym and found body balance (which i HATED at first) lol but learned (over the period of MONTHS) to love... you will find something else if you cannot go back to instructing what you previously were... and it was my time to quit gymnastics, my mind just wouldn't let me ever admit it, so my body had to step in and tell me...

i'm not sayint this is what's happened to you... but just something to consider... 

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"This is my body and I can do whatever I want to it. I can push it, study it, tweak it, listen to it. Everybody wants to know what I'm on... What am I on!?! I'm on my bike, busting my ass 6 hours a day. What are you on???"

Listen to your doctors - if you do, you may have a chance to get back into Combat. If you don't, you may end up with more than a stress fracture, and worse-case scenario, with a hip replacement.... which I think would mean that you would not be teaching anything.... don't mean to scare you, just want to make sure you take care of yourself!

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So damn easy to say that life's so hard Everybody's got their share of battle scars. As for me, I'd like to thank my lucky stars that I'm alive and well... It'd be easy to add up all the pain And all the dreams you sat and watched go up in flames. Dwell on the wreckage as it smolders in the rain. But not me...I'm alive (Kenny Chesney)

I'm afraid I don't have much knowledge of this type of injury... just want to wish you the best of luck getting back into combat!

I also want to emphasis the point others have made, listen to your doctor!  Much as you hate it, it's better to take a few weeks off than to continue to push yourself through your injury and injure yourself for life. 

I had a high ankle sprain and was out 6 weeks. I couldn't even walk. Usually when I do my own weight training, I run circuits (and I couldn't even do that). Since, it's your hips and legs is there a possibilty of you doing upper body workouts and maybe RPM. I did RPM to keep my wind and since there is not impact top the joints it really helped. So, here is my kicker; when I first got back I was not good. I was worried about my inhuries, my cueing was off (since it was 2 nibths); however once I got past that I feel that I was more effective. Being away for so long, made me appreciate what I did more.

 

Good luck

Thanks so much guys, I am definatly going to listen to my Dr.  He said if I didnt' it could turn into a full blown fracture and obviously I dont want that :(

The Dr said I could do spin but my PT said I shouldn't as he knows me and i'll more than likely get caught up in the moment and push myself too hard.  I could jump on the bike myself but I have a bit of an problem making myself stop IYKWIM???  It's embarrassing but I get to half an hour and I think I can do another then the little voice says do another half and then when I fianally do get off I feel like poo because I think I should have done more...it's a problem I know I have so I just stay away from the machines and I don't have to deal with it!

I'm doing upper body with my PT but I just want to get out of breath and sweaty!!!  Fingers crossed only two weeks left.  It's good to know that I CAN get passed it if I rest.  And the Dr said the good thing with bone is that once it's healed - it's healed so bring on the healing! 

RachelM:

Thanks so much guys, I am definatly going to listen to my Dr. 

The Dr said I could do spin but my PT said I shouldn't as he knows me 

Have you discussed swimming as a rehab option? What you're after is a low-impact exercise that will get your HR up while not unnecessarily exacerbating your injury.

You're right to be cautious though as micro/stress fractures have notoriously slow and inconsistent healing. While I'm sure it's exceedingly frustrating, your persistence with this safe approach will pay off.

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The forum member "pipera" is not a Les Mills Instructor, though his posts, signature and profile will claim otherwise.

Since he has been economical with the truth on his profile, read the real facts here.

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In our gym in the weight room there is a bike that you can use with either just your legs, or just your arms (adjustable) -- I've used it only with upper-body during workouts, for a cardio interval, and man do you ever sweat with this thing!!! If you could find one of these, it would be great!

Be good and be careful!

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So damn easy to say that life's so hard Everybody's got their share of battle scars. As for me, I'd like to thank my lucky stars that I'm alive and well... It'd be easy to add up all the pain And all the dreams you sat and watched go up in flames. Dwell on the wreckage as it smolders in the rain. But not me...I'm alive (Kenny Chesney)

Hi,

 I am not an instructor but I had the same situation. I hurt myself doing BodyAttack. Somehow my spine colapsed and I managed to burst 5 discs. I couldn't walk or move for a month. I was doing same thing that you did. Physio, massage and only made it worst so I got an MRI and thats how they found out. After taking 2 months off exercise I am now pain free. So I know what you are going through. Try not to worry too much, rest for now so you dont make it worst like I did.

Now i've been pain free for 3 months and back doing classes :)

 

 

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Whoever said techno was dead must have been mistaken :P