CLIENT OF THE MONTH (JANUARY 2010)

Client of the Month

Jacqueline S.
Age: 13


Hobbies:
Dance
Figure Skating
Equestrian Horse Back Riding
Dirt Biking

Jacqueline is an inspiration to people that feel having an injury can overcome their dream of achieving success at what they love..

Have you ever been doing something you love then been told you can never do it because of an injury? better yet an injury your were told you had but then turned out you did not have? This past summer I had the pleasure of of working with 20 amazing individuals that left their blood sweat and tears on the dance floor. We put them through hell conditioning every morning and then dancing for 4 hours a day some days even more.

I first met Jacqueline at age 12 and mother Lucie owner of J'equinesport.com this past summer ready to take on the Touched by The Streets summer dance intensive program. The program was a 3 week dance program that took 20 dancers from all over North America and taught them the foundations of both dance and Fitness with the help of last years partner Touch International Entertainment.

As fitness assessments moved forward and I got to know what the dancers goals were, this one dancer came up to me and said " I really enjoy dance but I find it hard because of a knee issue I was told I have by my doctor and Physiotherapist" I proceeded with the usual questions what do you have?, how long have you had it?, and does it hurt?

I programmed for her knee injury which was diagnosed as "Patellar Femoral Syndrome (PFS)" which, is when the knee cap does not move properly with in the grooves of the femur(thigh). As time went on she kept dancing constantly icing when it got irritated and sat out on the side when it got to the point where it felt unstable which caused her knee to slip out of place every now and then. The exercises I had given her did not seem to be working but actually making it more painful at times. When that happened it sent of some senses that something else is wrong and we stopped the original exercise program.

I thought to myself something does not seem right about all this and I decided to probe further into the situation. I thought it might have been something more then PFS and had my own ideas like a muscle imbalance or ACL tear. Seeing as how I am not certified to diagnose a problem I did some researching and decided to send her to a sports physiotherapist at Totem in downtown Toronto.

While talking to Lucie(mother) I found out that dance is not the only activity Jacqueline takes part in she is actively involved in Equestrian Horse Riding, Figure Skating, and Dirt Biking all very different activities which all have different demands on the body.

As we spent a hour with the Physiotherapist from Totem it was determined that low and behold it was not PFS, it was a muscle imbalance that was causing the issue. Like a bent rim on a bike this example shows just how one small muscle can cause damage to the body.

It turned out her Gluteus Medius muscle was weak on her right side which was causing a shift in her hip, causing her other muscles to pull her knee cap(patella) out of place when dancing.

I designed a special program for her focusing on body awareness and muscle balance to do during our morning workouts and back at the hotel where we utilized the fitness center to help strengthen the weakened area and condition that area to become stronger. Later she started feeling more stable and that she was not experiencing the same pain that had been bothering her before.

In a recent follow up with Jacqueline's mother I was told that she is still following her program that was given to her over the summer using swiss balls (exercise balls) and therabands (elastic tubing). Jacqueline's knee has been great and she is currently figure skating doing bigger tricks and feeling more confident that her body will not fail her in time of need. She also feels less pain when participating in other sports she loves like Figure Skating, Dance, Dirt Biking and Dressage Riding.

I look forward to working with Jacqueline and her family in the near future as I will be developing a new Equestrian Strength and Conditioning Program for her and many other equestrian riders like herself.

Written by: Michael Meadows CPT
mmeadows@street-souls.com