cathe update

[terribleterra]

Originally Posted by Elisa B.

So, I guess you can ruin your knees with high-impact exercise, or you can ruin your knees by doing nothing! I would rather take my chances with exercise.

Elisa

Couldn't have said it better!

[lfcjasp]

My dad had that knee replaced some years ago, not just recently. He's never voiced any regret over the running or the volleyball, but I think he's relieved I've found other ways to exercise intensely without punishing my knees so much

And yes, part of it is genes...he's already warned me my turn is coming

My mom, btw, was completely sedentary and obese for ages and also had bad knees that needed replacing (she passed away before tackling that problem), so I have no choice...

I'm d$%ned if I do and d@^ned if I don't. So I exercise as strenously as I can, but I do pay attention to those things my body really doesn't like and need...like high impact. I keep thinking when the time comes to have the knees replaced, I'll have some great muscles to help in the recuperation...I hope

[pfhanna]

Originally Posted by Debbie S.

Ahhh, you can always count on a good public spanking whenever Cathe and the word modify shows up in the same thread.

I see absolutely no Cathe bashing in this thread, and hopefully it stays that way!

Kudos, to Cathe for NOT listening to the doctors who told her that they couldn't find a problem. Kudos, to her for taking her health into her own hands and not giving up. I admire the heck out of her for knowing her body well enough to know that there definitely was something wrong that the doctors and the diagnostic tests missed. This should be a lesson for all of us. Doctors do miss things.

Cathe's main concern right now is her recovery and how this injury will impact the rest of her life. I wish Cathe nothing but the best on her road to recovery.

Thank you Debbie for saying it so well. I meant no Cathe bashing at all in my previous thread. I love her to death and I hope she recovers fully, and quickly. I was just thinking that she MAY have to do lower impact moves for a litlle while until she is confident enough to go high impact again. She is and always will be my favorite. Debbie, you just said it much better than I did, Pam.

[DRD0]

Originally Posted by lfcjasp

My dad had that knee replaced some years ago, not just recently. He's never voiced any regret over the running or the volleyball, but I think he's relieved I've found other ways to exercise intensely without punishing my knees so much

And yes, part of it is genes...he's already warned me my turn is coming

My mom, btw, was completely sedentary and obese for ages and also had bad knees that needed replacing (she passed away before tackling that problem), so I have no choice...

I'm d$%ned if I do and d@^ned if I don't. So I exercise as strenously as I can, but I do pay attention to those things my body really doesn't like and need...like high impact. I keep thinking when the time comes to have the knees replaced, I'll have some great muscles to help in the recuperation...I hope

It sounds like you are doing the best you can do to keep the bad knees at bay. And that it runs in the family so high impact is something to stay away from. And you did not make the blanket statement that high impact will do us all in, just related your family history.

I take exception when someone makes a blanket statement that everyone who does high impact will end up with bad knees, because I know enough older runners, and older aerobics teachers to know that is not all that true.

[FitBoop]

Everything that is said here regarding whether Cathe will or will not be able to resume her previous activities is speculation. None of us can put ourselves in Cathe's shoes because her athletic abilities and her business differ from most of ours, so her ability to bounce back and her motivation to do so may be far greater than we can imagine---and I hope that's the case for her sake as well as for those of us who love her workouts. If she is filming in a few months, and feels great, then that would be wonderful. I think that everyone here is concerned for Cathe's well-being and don't want her to feel pressured to make the DVDs and possibly compromise her healing. If some people have said that they think it's Cathe's age catching up to her, or something along those lines, then I think that is their opinion. Cathe's not that old, and her current injury may not be due to her age as much as the use of the knee, or it could be a little of both. I think Cathe's doctors are the only ones who can make that call. Still, even with all the speculation and opinion given here at VF, I haven't sensed malice.

Cathe did have knee surgery once before, didn't she? I don't know when that was, but she was able to recover fully. From the way she described her surgery, a part of her knee was removed, and I wonder if that will affect the way she can use the knee. Any doctors here know how removal of that band affects the knee?

[Helen S]

Originally Posted by Abbe

Cathe did have knee surgery once before, didn't she? I don't know when that was, but she was able to recover fully. From the way she described her surgery, a part of her knee was removed, and I wonder if that will affect the way she can use the knee. Any doctors here know how removal of that band affects the knee?

Abbe,

I was just going to mention that Cathe had knee surgery before. I remember in one of her workouts, there is a clear shot of her incision.

I also wish that Cathe makes a complete recovery. Like Debbie S, I give her kudos because she kept going to different doctors until she finally found the answer to her injury.

In the future, I definitely want to buy more Cathe workouts. But right now, I want her to concentrate on healing properly. If she chooses to do the low impact option while another background exerciser does the high impact option, that is fine with me. And I'm not saying this because I think she's older and needs to watch her knee, etc. I just think that it will take a shorter recovery time for her to film a low impact workout than a high impact one. That doesn't mean that she can't do a high impact workout in the future or for this filming (if she chooses to wait to heal enough to do high impact). I'm sure Cathe will know when she's ready to do it.

Helen

[DRD0]

Hey, we keep calling Cathe older.....and she is younger than me! Wait, I guess I am getting older!

It was mentioned that athletes do not continue. I know a lot of men and women who continue to play baseball and softball well after 40 and 50. I have already mentioned that I see lots of older runners. I also see many, many swimmers competing. At the Nationals I competed at, there were some incredibly fast 90+ swimmers. while swimming does not affect legs, you certainly have to watch your shoulders and over training.

I recently had a spot removed from my skin(not cancerous), and the doc told me that I would have no trouble healing, in fact, he said people in my kind of shape heal real fast. Well Cathe is in better shape by far than me, so I would think her rate of healing should be good, but we do want her to be smart about it. It sounds like she is.

[KathAL79]

One must understand that many people have a fear of injury. When a fitness professional, especially one as loved, trusted, and admired as Cathe, injures herself, naturally some begin to question their own ability to prevent injuries. In my very humble opinion, it doesn't do as much good to scold people for their fear as to redirect said fear into evalutating why one is afraid, how to alleviate that fear in terms of one's workouts, etc.

Debbie, you're right that the best lesson to draw from this is the value of knowing one's own body and listening to it over someone who says, "But there's nothing wrong with you."
(I have been going through a similar, but less painful and drawn out, experience myself, and it took visits to four medical professionals, including one who implied I was nothing more than a hypochondriac, before I received a diagnosis. I cannot imagine Cathe's frustration and pain in her own situation.)

[rhbrand]

I just hope she doesn't try to rush things.

I can only imagine how anxious she must be to get these workouts filmed. I hope she forces herself to wait until she's 100% before filming. I'd hate to see her rush things, even by a couple weeks, only to reinjure herself.

Glad she got that 3rd opinion!

[DawnP]

Originally Posted by Abbe

Cathe did have knee surgery once before, didn't she? I don't know when that was, but she was able to recover fully.

Apparently Cathe had a full ACL reconstruction after a skiing accident many years ago that required 9 months of 'long and painful recovery' in her own words - see this thread here: http://69.0.137.118/dc/dcboard.php?a...ng_type=search

She also discusses how she is prone to achilles tendonitis and lists some of the classes and exercises she taught many years ago that might have contributed to her injuries.... including barefoot plyometrics and water aerobic routines demonstrated on asphalt. So perhaps Imax is 'scaled back' from that perspective.