Outdoor Central Oregon Issue 1 | October/November 2017 | Page 29

OCT/NOV 2017 29 HEALTH| INJURY RECOVERY BY SAGE CATTABRIGA-ALOSA REBOUND PT HELPS PRO FREESKIER GET BACK ON SNOW Once Sage was cleared for the ability to put weight back on his leg/ankle/foot and out of the boot we began by strengthen- ing from the ground up, literally starting at his foot. We did this barefoot in order to build intrinsic strength. Just as he trains for the mountain, we started off the initial strengthening phase in a holistic manner using both sides of his body and making sure he could move the rehabbing ankle in all directions. The largest difference in treatment for Sage versus a recreational athlete occurred once he was cleared for impact. Sage is an exceptional athlete when performing jump and balance tasks. The real creativity to challenge him began with cardio; squatting and dynamic balance were performed on top of a therapy ball and slack line. Lindsey Hagen PT DPTJ Here are a few things about my recovery. I approached Sage and his injury as I would any other athlete looking to return to sport. Due to weight bearing restrictions post-surgery, we were limited to addressing specifics commonly overlooked with lower extremity athletes; such as lateral hip and lateral core stability. Meaning: we had to go slow and really build core strength before beginning or training through regular exercise emphasizing his left ankle/foot. I had never had a injury that took months of recovery before tearing my Achilles last February. I didn’t know what to expect, or how things would go. My first appoint at Rebound, I showed up in jeans, and was wearing a protective “boot” that I would need to continue to wear, even while starting rehab, for several months. I quickly learned that what I could do with my leg, even in the boot was pretty minimal, and that I could start tuning up the rest of my body to become well balanced so that when it came time to start pushing the strengthening of my injury I could keep up. For being an “athlete” as my job, I also realized that I had a lot of weak spots; core, balance, and endurance were all surprisingly undeveloped. We started ad- dressing these issues, and progress was pretty slow. As time went by and I was able to start to push my leg more, eventu- ally without the boot, I started to see some changes. One of the toughest parts of rehab as I was able to do more, was tak- ing it slow and easy. To me, I felt like I was taking things slow, but swelling, and some pain after what I thought was a “mellow” bike ride, gave me another perspective. The mental side of getting over an injury was a bit of an up and down experience as well. There were moments when things felt real good, like I was progressing quickly and then times when it seemed I wasn’t making progress at all. As I brought up these feelings to my therapist, who has seen the process over and over, there was reassurance that this was just part of the process and things would get better. I Just returned from a 12-day ski trip in South America. The feeling of getting back on skis, was amazing. It felt like I was back at home, and ready to be there. After finally completing months of rehab to the point I could return to skiing, I walked away with a few take aways. First, healing takes time, and you just have to be patient. Second, there will be ups and downs, not focusing on huge progres- sions, or minor set backs is key to keeping the mind positive. And third, everyone has their own pace and experience, my thera- pist at Rebound really helped me find my pace, and what specific recovery routine worked for me as an individual so that I could and would get back to the slopes. P: Andrew Orlich PRODUCTS| SKOUT BACKCOUNTRY [email protected] Skout Backcountry is a combination of the passionate pursuit of an adventurous lifestyle, the sustainability of using only organic foods, and the transparency of knowing the exact origin of every ingredi- ent. Skout has connected with the outdoor community in the PNW with participation in many events and their outstanding ambas- sador team. Skout Backcountry’s Organic Energy Bars and Organic Oregon-Grown Pumpkin Seeds fuel all kinds of adventures from thru-hiking to skiing, biking, and ultra- marathon running. They are the perfect mid workday snack, picnic treat, and they are kid approved! 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