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THE PENROSE POST
MARCH 2023
PENROSEPT.COM | 360-456-1444
Small-Group Training Sessions Now Being Held in Person!
Celebrating 10 Years After Back Surgery I’m Proof Recovery Is Possible!
Ten years ago, I was lying on the operating table with surgeons bending over me. They worked on my spine — specifically an L5-S1 disc herniation that made my life miserable. Surgery was the last resort, but I had to do it! Most people are surprised to learn I’ve had back surgery. Ten years later, I still run and lift weights, proving that with good physical therapy, recovering from surgery is possible! But before I talk about that, I want to explain how I ended up on that operating table. In the summer of 2013, while training for a half- marathon, pain twinged deep in my hip on one of my practice runs. I shrugged it off, thinking, “Ah, a tight muscle. I’d better work on that when I get home.” I massaged and stretched my hip throughout the rest of my training, but the pain wouldn’t go away no matter how much I worked the muscles. That was my first warning sign — but I ignored it. After all, I was a physical therapist in great shape! It couldn’t be more than a pulled muscle, right? Two weeks after the race, the real pain hit. It radiated from my hip down my right leg and into my back. When my leg went numb and started tingling, I knew this wasn’t just a muscle issue: I had a nerve problem. Nerve issues are tricky to diagnose because the
symptoms are often delayed. I’ve seen lags of up to a month! When I realized how much trouble I was in, I quickly made an appointment with my physiatrist. I knew he wouldn’t recommend surgery unless I absolutely needed it. We identified the L5-S1 as my problem spot, and he ordered an MRI to see how bad the situation was. Meanwhile, my pain mounted — I couldn’t sleep, work, or even lift my 2-year-old out of his crib.
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Penrose Posture and Flexibility is a modified version of yoga using a chair. This version focuses on poses that increase bone density while improving your posture and mobility. You will FEEL more fluid and taller after this class. Tuesday: Penrose Posture, 9 a.m. Thursday: Penrose Posture, 9 a.m.
When the MRI came back, my heart sank.
“You have a huge herniation,” my physiatrist said, explaining that a jelly-like material had been squeezed out of my spine like toothpaste from a tube. “Your body will reabsorb the material over time, but considering how bad your herniation is, it will take years of misery.” Sighing in defeat, I agreed to a microdiscectomy. I felt lucky: The surgery was straightforward with good odds for success since I was young and healthy. (Spinal surgeries that require fusions or hardware are much riskier, with about 50/50 odds of success. That’s why I help my patients avoid them at all costs!) I waited six months to start running again and used all my physical therapy knowledge to ramp up my activity slowly and protect my spine. Today, I’m pain-free and fully recovered! If you’re still living every day in pain, I hope my story will give you hope. With help from the right medical professionals, you can get back to the activities you love, too. – Dr. Jennifer Penrose
“We identified the L5-S1 as my problem spot, and he ordered an MRI to see how bad the situation was. Meanwhile, my pain mounted — I couldn’t sleep, work, or even lift my 2-year-old out of his crib.”
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Soreness or Pain? KNOWING THE DIFFERENCE MATTERS
Exercising improves our bodies and minds, including mental health, sleep quality, and disease prevention. However, the one downside to exercise that deters some people from engaging is soreness the day after a workout. However, soreness is completely normal! It means your body worked hard to become healthier and stronger. But sometimes, that soreness can be more intense, and the level of discomfort is more severe than a subtle throb. When the discomfort after a workout is unbearable or persists for a few days, this may be a sign of pain from an injury. Telling the difference between an average level of soreness and something more serious can be difficult, especially if someone is starting their fitness journey for the first time. So, let’s set the record straight. Here is how to tell the difference between normal muscle soreness from exercise and pain from a possible injury. Soreness When we exercise and push our bodies to become stronger, we’re actually making tiny tears in our muscle fibers. This is normal; our muscles become stronger as the body repairs these tears because the fibers become thicker and more powerful. However, this tearing and repairing can make us sore the day after a workout.
To identify soreness, recognize that muscles will feel tender, and you may feel an ache when you try to use the muscle while sitting, standing, or lifting something. Typically, this ache is only present when those muscles move again, not at rest. However, the longer these muscles stay static, the tighter the muscles will get as they repair, which makes moving them again painful. So, the critical characteristic here is that soreness is typically present as you force the muscle to move .
Muscle soreness should also only last for 2–3 days and onsets about 24 hours after physical activity occurs.
Pain Be concerned if the sensation is a more jarring and sharp pain rather than merely soreness with movement. Pain can occur outside the worked muscles, like in the joints or tendons of an affected area. While soreness is a dull ache, pain can feel like a stab with specific movements. Also, pain may be present even when the muscle is not moving . If someone is lying down after a workout and feels pain in their knee, even when not in use, that is pain, not just routine soreness. Pain may last longer than 2–3 days and can happen as you exercise or within 24 hours. Also, while muscle soreness subsides as the muscles move, pain can become more severe when you move the injured area again. If you believe your discomfort is pain and not muscle soreness, consult with your doctor to help identify the injury and outline the next steps you should take to heal.
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What Is Healthspan? And How Can You Improve It?
Invest in all aspects of your fitness. Exercise is always an excellent investment for a healthier life, but to increase your healthspan, you’ll need to invest in all facets of your fitness, not just cardio. To diversify your health investments, focus on strength, power (how much energy you can output in a short time), balance, flexibility, and cardio. You can accomplish this through any activity, but ensure that your weekly exercises are well-rounded and include at least one exercise in each category. How much you invest matters. We all get busy, that much is true, but how much time you invest in your health makes a difference in how much you get on the return. Ideally, you want to exercise in one of the above categories for 30 minutes daily. If your schedule is slammed, and exercise seems impossible to fit in, try to exercise at a higher intensity (at a level where you cannot hold a conversation
If you're retired or about to retire, you have a new and exciting life ahead of you. You may plan to travel the world, start a home project, or adopt a pet. Whatever you decide to do in your retirement, it’s essential to ensure you have as much time to enjoy it as possible.
So, how do you make it last?
The best way to ensure you get the most out of your life after retiring is to focus on improving your healthspan. While your lifespan is how long you live, your healthspan is how long you can do things independently with complete physical and cognitive ability. Your healthspan also impacts the quality of life left in your lifespan, and the more you invest in it, the more you can enjoy your sunset years to their fullest. Here’s what you can do to invest in your health now to get the highest return in the future.
during it) for at least 15 minutes a day for roughly the same results.
Investing in a well-rounded exercise routine with consistent time durations can improve your healthspan for many years. While the amount of time you have left is important, the quality of that time undoubtedly matters too. When you invest in your healthspan, you’re investing in your independence!
CLASSIC CABBAGE ROLLS Inspired by TasteOfHome.com INGREDIENTS
TAKE A BREAK!
• 1 medium head cabbage • 1 1/2 cups chopped onion, divided • 1 tbsp butter • 2 14.5-oz cans Italian stewed tomatoes • 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tbsp brown sugar • 1 1/2 tsp salt, divided
• 1 cup cooked rice • 1/4 cup ketchup • 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce • 1/4 tsp pepper • 1 lb lean (90%) ground beef • 1/4 lb Italian sausage
DIRECTIONS
1. In a Dutch oven, cook cabbage in boiling water for 10 minutes; drain. Rinse in cold water; drain. Remove 8 large outer leaves; set aside. 2. In a large saucepan, sauté 1 cup onion in butter. Add tomatoes, garlic, brown sugar, and 1/2 tsp salt. Simmer sauce for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. 3. In a large bowl, combine rice, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, pepper, and remaining onion and salt. Crumble beef and sausage over mixture and mix. 4. Remove thick vein from cabbage leaves for easier rolling. Place 1/2 cup meat mixture on each leaf; fold in sides. Starting at an unfolded edge, roll leaf to completely enclose filling. Place rolls seam side down in a skillet. Top with sauce. 5. Cover and cook over medium-low heat for 1 hour. Reduce heat to low; cook 20 minutes longer or until a thermometer inserted reads 160 F.
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1. Jennifer’s Recovery From Back Surgery 2. The Difference Between Muscle Soreness and Pain 3. The Investment You Can't Afford to Skip Classic Cabbage Rolls 4. A Viral Workout That Actually Works! INSIDE THIS ISSUE
A WORKOUT TREND THAT’S HERE TO STAY THE POWER OF 12-3-30
Benefits of the 12-3-30 Exercise One reason this workout is gaining so much traction on the internet is because of the benefits. The first benefit users love is that this exercise gives you almost all of the same aerobic perks as running without the high impact on joints (thanks to that 12% incline!).
Workout fads come and go, but the benefit of aerobic exercise has never gone away. Right now, a popular exercise trend called the 12-3-30 Workout is circulating the internet. The thing is, this fad actually works, and fitness professionals are giving this exercise the green light.
So what is it, and why is it so good for you?
12-3-30 Explained The 12-3-30 Workout is pretty simple once you understand what the numbers stand for! Each number in the name correlates to a part of the exercise performed on a treadmill. Twelve percent is the incline you set the treadmill to, 3 mph is the speed at which you walk, and 30 minutes is the amount of time you walk. That’s it! These three numbers create the ideal circumstances in which your body has the resistance to utilize its muscles while also moving fast enough to increase heart rate and reap aerobic benefits. And 30 minutes a day, five days a week, is the ideal exercise to ensure your heart, body, and mind stay healthy.
The second benefit the 12-3-30 Workout offers is endurance. Walking uphill instead of on a flat terrain causes us to activate more muscles, while 30 minutes of exercise forces us to remain at a high-intensity level for longer. This ultimately forces our bodies to acclimate to rigorous movement, which improves our health. Like any other workout, the 12-3-30 is also great for weight loss, regulating blood sugar, and improving cardiovascular health. But it’s also important to remember that no one exercise should be your only source of movement. Consider adding the 12-3-30 exercise to your weekly rotation, or use it to follow your weight training or other strength exercises for the best results.
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