Sandra's Story- Knee Pain Journey
“I wasn’t very active before coming to Align, even as a kid. I felt like I needed to be active, but had trouble sustaining any activity. Though I belonged to a gym, I often felt no motivation to go and was inconsistent with attendance. As a result, I was lethargic, had no energy, and didn’t do much physical activity. Additionally, pain in my right knee often limited my activity level.”
Before Align
“In 1990 I was encouraged by friends at work to train for and participate in athletic events starting with a sprint-level triathlon event for women sponsored by Danskin. I trained and completed 2-3 other Danskin events as well as running events of various lengths over the next few years. While training, I realized that a waterskiing fall sometime in the 1980’s had caused lasting damage to my right knee. I had arthroscopic surgery to improve flexibility but the surgery was not successful."
"They diagnosed me with arthritis and told me I had very little meniscus left. My knee was “bone-on-bone." I was offered steroid injections- no thanks! I’m not a friend of needles! I was also told knee replacement surgery was in my future, but I should delay it as long as possible so I wouldn’t have to have another surgery once the initial one wore out.”
Making A Change
“I did as much as I could, stopping whenever knee pain and stiffness required, waiting to reach an amount of pain I felt would warrant knee replacement surgery. But the older I got, the more I realized I didn’t want to go through surgery. Then I learned about Align. I went to a couple of seminars offered, and finally went in to talk to someone about the problem. When I learned that it was possible to work with Align and correct/improve my physical condition without surgery, I was in!”
Life Now
“I like the personal attention, encouragement, and knowledge Align gave me to improve my situation. The trainers are all amazing! I have less pain, improved posture, a stronger body, and more energy! I’m no longer limping! What surprised me the most was the amount of change between my initial evaluation and the subsequent follow-up evaluation with comparison of posture pictures. I am taking action to improve my physical condition, and that is empowering!”
The Coach’s Perspective
Coach Jaylee: “Sandra came to Align to decrease her pain and be able to do the things in life she wanted to do without surgery. The knee is very rarely ever the root issue, but it is the dumping ground for extra load from unstable/weak hips and ankles. Sandra needed to get strong in the right places and that’s exactly what we did. We progressed from smaller stabilizing exercises to large movements like deadlifts and squats. Sandra was nervous at first to begin heavy deadlifts, but with proper progression and guidance she is now deadlifting over 100lbs!"
"She can garden, go for walks, kayak, and travel without pain. What I have also noticed is how much her energy levels are impacted by her workouts. She is more energized and feels better when she is consistent with her programs. She is good at recognizing when she’s unmotivated, but still needs to workout- she shows up and always feels better afterwards. I think a lot of people are unmotivated and don’t take care of themselves- Sandra is a great example of choosing otherwise, and her hard work has paid off!”