Personal problems (includes ranting, whining and more than a dash of self-pity)!

[Taiga]

Originally Posted by Vintage VFer

........The short story is that I have a mild T12 veterbral fracture.......

I do have osteopenia. I had a DEXA last summer and it didn't say osteoporosis and now I figure it is osteoporosis if I crack something with just coughing. Or, it was damaged before and the coughing made it hurt.

An x-ray was taken confirming “mild anterior wedging of T12.” ....

At my next visit, she didn’t seem concerned. Well, as far as I have read about veterbral fractures, they are like chocolate chip cookies. One usually leads to another. The doctor did give me a script for Physical Therapy and I’ve done about 6 sessions. The therapist has recommended a spine specialist and I’ll get an appointment ASAP. (Damn holidays!!!)

I do have a doctor in another city that I have worked with before. I can’t take any of the bone drugs, so I am back on BHRT. It helped me before.

Needless to say, I am completely freaked out about my spine. I am being super careful about everything I do. I’ve bought some DVDs specifically for osteoporosis. Some are the dreaded Pilates. I hate Pilates, but I will do what I must.......

I'm sorry you have to deal with this -- the scariest moments are when you have a diagnosis and no plan to give you hope. Then you dig in, form a defense and go all Rocky on it!!!

Maybe your doctor didn't seem overly concerned because you have the best case scenario for the situation. You have a mild T12 fracture/wedging, which means no life changing structural changes and you are not necessarily predisposed to additional neighboring fractures if you get proper treatment. I would strongly suggest that you have your doctor test your vitamin D (don't just supplement with the hopes that you are getting enough, test and supplement until you reach optimal range!). I have a friend whose doctor gave a general rec to start calcium/vit D after her osteoporosis diagnosis. She spent years taking vitamin D and I still pushed her to get tested. She had a severe deficiency along with elevated markers showing bone breakdown (the markers corrected when her low vit D was resolved). What you supplement/how much you absorb and how much you need can vary greatly amongst individuals.

Pilates can be an excellent rehab resource. Consider scheduling with a pilates teacher with a rehab certification. If you have access to a studio with rehab reformers, you may find you have much less dread for pilates. The equipment can help you bridge to a level of strength that is genuinely enjoyable. For many folks who open this door, they find themselves feeling much stronger and more flexible than with any other workout regimen in the past. Many buy home reformers etc. It's hard to imagine now, but by the time the dust has settled, you may actually find yourself feeling far more bullet proof than you have in many years. Your body let you know that something was wrong, but it gave you plenty of advanced warning to fix it. You strike me as a person who will take full advantage of that. Best of luck and I hope you find a good place to land soon

[Vintage VFer]

Stephanie - Thanks, I'll email you.

Dorothy - Thanks! I'll look for that thread! Some of the drugs looks so scary. The BHRT worked for me before. It's the "risk vs. benefit" thing.

Demeris - Thanks for the thoughts.

Karen - Sure, I'd like to see the Mirabai Holland DVDs. I'll PM you! Thanks!

Taiga - I had my Vitamin D level checked last year and it was around 54, which is good. Thanks for your encouraging thoughts. I never liked Pilates. It is a great system, bit I find it hard and boring. Looks like I will have to change my mindset!

[Sue B]

Wow, get better soon, Alta! It always seems to be the little things that take us down. My back completely "froze up" once as I was bending over to take something out of the fridge.

I just want to say, if you hate Pilates, don't feel like you're required to do it. From what I've read, resistance training, weight-bearing exercise and lots of protein help keep bones healthy.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28464798
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21991450

[Vintage VFer]

Originally Posted by Sue B

Wow, get better soon, Alta! It always seems to be the little things that take us down. My back completely "froze up" once as I was bending over to take something out of the fridge.

I just want to say, if you hate Pilates, don't feel like you're required to do it. From what I've read, resistance training, weight-bearing exercise and lots of protein help keep bones healthy.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28464798
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21991450

Thanks, Sue! That's scary about your back! I hope it is all better.

I love weightlifting, but will have to wait a bit to get back to that. Several of the Physical Therapy exercise are close to Pilates. I have Susie Hathaway's DVD for when I get back to weights. And , my old stand-by, Margaret Richard's Getting Better.

[Taiga]

Originally Posted by Vintage VFer

Taiga ....Thanks for your encouraging thoughts. I never liked Pilates. It is a great system, bit I find it hard and boring. Looks like I will have to change my mindset!

Many people feel that way about mat pilates and end up loving pilates on the reformer/other equipment. The equipment really can help you transition to higher levels of strength/conditioning with less perceived effort. Great results take the "boring" right out of it.

I think too many people get stuck at a certain level with mat pilates. They can't get to the exciting moves or make decent progress even with persistence/modifications. The progressive spring assist from the equipment provides just enough help to keep you moving forward and you can really surprise yourself. It is a whole other level of strength and effortless posture. It can give you a flexible steel core to protect your spine while still stimulating it to improve density. The newer reformers also come with rebounders/jumpboards that help to stimulate muscle/bone density without fully loading the spine. And they are a blast


ETA: sample workouts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4mhmvM2oHY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TM_Mta1xNO4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oFj-Tb-mKQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Y_MaNDkRMU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sp02SOfGZd4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_wIBGfu-Gg

[Dorothy J]

Alta, here is a link to that thread: http://forum.videofitness.com/showth...light=Scorpio6

(Hope that works. I just searched for 'Scorpio6'.)

[Vintage VFer]

Taiga - Thanks for the links.

Dorothy - I sent Scorpio6 a PM.

[videofit]

I wonder if you didn't have a tiny fracture already from exercising or an accident you thought at the time was minor, so when you had all that coughing it was your weak spot.

That's why they will have to pry my estradiol patches from my cold dead hands. It stopped what little bone loss I started to get years ago. Sorry to hear you are ailing but I'm sure you will feel better back on your hormones.

My upper and mid back have a habit of locking up, making me breathless. My chiro said the area was weak and it was related to my diaphragm so recommended an appointment with a Pilates teacher. She wants me to show the teacher what exercises I do now. Then the teacher will recommend ways to incorporate a few mat exercises to either substitute or add to strengthen the area. I hate mat Pilates but never had individual coaching so we'll see. I loved the Reformer but can't afford it now.

[LAC]

Originally Posted by Dorothy J

Alta, here is a link to that thread: http://forum.videofitness.com/showth...light=Scorpio6

(Hope that works. I just searched for 'Scorpio6'.)

First I want to say to Vintage VFer that I'm sorry to hear you are dealing with a compression fracture and I hope you are feeling better soon.

Second, I took a look at the above mentioned thread where the person had posted about her increase in bone density. The poster indicated her lumbar spine was at +3.9. I'm not a medical professional, but, if that number is accurate, it seems abnormally high (+1.0 being "normal" and anything over +2.5 being high). Possibly there is something else going on, such as osteoarthritic degeneration, or an underlying disease. Also, if one of the supplements the person is taking contains strontium, a false score would be generated. Strontium has a higher atomic weight than calcium and replaces calcium in the bone. This interferes with the DEXA machine's ability to accurately measure bone density and artificially inflates the score.

Info about abnormally high bone density: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3651616/

I don't mean to rain on anyone's parade, but bone mass pretty much peaks by age 30 and after menopause it steadily declines. A regular exercise routine can help offset that ongoing loss (and strong muscles are better able to support you and help ward off falls), but generating an actual measurable increase after menopause is pretty difficult as I understand it.

Info about peak bone mass https://www.bones.nih.gov/health-inf...osis/bone-mass

[BunnyHop]

I'm so sorry you're going through this, but you're not alone.

It's gotten to where I dread routine doctor's appointments because they inevitably lead to finding out yet another something about my body that's in gradual decline.

At the moment I'm recovering from a head cold and it's taking forever. So much for those fitness gains from the summer. Sigh.