Pic of Karena in the water – I had a great team to get me back in the ocean: Surgeon, physical therapists and Pilates Instructors!
Pilates Stopped Working For Me
by Karena Thek
I’m one of those people. You know those people who credit Pilates with giving them back their lives, their career and their aspirations. When I was 12, I fell down the stairs. Despite diving into copious amounts of my grandmother’s Bengay®, the pain never really stopped until I turned 25 and started Pilates. I was at the University of Utah, studying modern dance. My professors told me I would never dance professionally if I didn’t start doing Pilates—I was too floppy, like an uncontrollable baby giraffe. I didn’t know if I would ever dance professionally anyway; I was in too much pain. Miraculously, when I started doing Pilates, the back pain went away. And I did dance professionally. After retiring from dance, I still did Pilates, keeping my back pain in check. Then I sneezed. I immediately lost use of my right leg. Pilates stopped working.
My orthopedic surgeon looked at my MRI scans and said, “Oh, you have scoliosis.” Even though I had never heard this before, I said irritably, “Doesn’t everyone?” He took a deep, patient breath and said, “No.” Then he explained that my loss of lower leg function was the result of a large fragment of disc that had hit my sciatic nerve “like a hammer.” He put me on steroids for the weekend and even though I still couldn’t use my right leg, I felt great. Really great. In fact, I cut down our peach tree while standing on one leg. True story. My son said, “Probably not what the doctor meant when he said, ‘Don’t overdo it.’”
When I went back to the surgeon, we scheduled surgery. He said with the pressure not coming off the nerve, the damage would be permanent. He wanted to do surgery the next day. I asked, “Exactly how long can I wait before the damage is permanent?” He said, “Six weeks.”
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Karena Thek is a Pilates Instructor with a passion for managing pathologies in the Pilates setting as well as disseminating information for those who are ready to change. Her work has led her to author OsteoPilates, Increase Bone Density, Reduce Fracture Risk, Look and Feel Great! (2003) and Scolio-Pilates, Exercise for Scoliosis, A Pro-Active Guide (2011). In addition to her books, she has numerous webinars and free YouTube videos on the topics that she teaches. Karena is the host of a women’s health talk radio show, Alive & Well Radio on AM1220 KHTS. You can listen live from anywhere on the planet at www.hometownstation.com. She previously hosted Pilates for Healthy Bodies on PBS (2009-2011). And when she’s not teaching, writing or thinking about Pilates? You can find her on Facebook and Twitter posting pics of daily adventures with her partner John and their furry little child, Gus T. Basset Hound. Learn more at osteopilates.com