I’ll bet you’ve heard of the ANA, the American Nurse’s Association? Let me share with you, an exciting initiative they started about a year ago. Something called Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation. Nurses should be the model of health, right? We should ooze health- eat, sleep and breathe healthy options and choices – we should live […]
Author: Laurie Trezza
A Registered Nurse, turned Personal Trainer, with a specialization in corrective exercise, I bring a unique perspective to the world of fitness. I have journeyed through joint replacement, weight loss and other obstacles, all of these experiences shape the trainer I am today.
This concept was created out of a love and appreciation for movement. I'm sure you have heard the cliché, "You don't know what you've got 'till it's gone!" I kind of experienced that in reverse.... Let me explain...
As a little girl I truly despised running and moving quickly- any game that required speed and agility was just not for me. I gravitated to slower, low impact activities- movement was really just the worst. Why? My knees hurt after a short time of running or jumping. No one really knew what to tell me, they'd shrug it off and run away. I was just "no good" at sports. Despite my lack of fast motion, I did remain pretty active.... but those knees!
As I got into my college years, I finally went to a specialist. He refused to even image my knees. I was "too young" for any type of issue he said. "Take an anti-inflammatory, get some more exercise and ice afterwards. You'll be fine." he continued. That was not what I had been hoping to hear. Maybe I was oversensitive. Oh well.
I graduated from college, got my first job as a Registered Nurse on a busy telemetry unit in a large teaching hospital in the NYC metro area. I got married, a few years later had my first baby, then my second.... then number three (oh, and bonus! it was twins!!!!) Still... those knees.... worse, worse, and worse....
The final straw- at a party, I met another mom, also carrying twins, as we chatted about all things twin pregnancy related, she squatted down to the coffee table below us to retrieve a snack.... Whoa!!!! Her baby-filled belly was even larger than mine (she was further along than I was) and she got up and down like she was an American Ninja Warrior! There was no WAY I could do that with my knees!
Once the babies were born, and life was humming along at a relatively normal-insane pace, I found another orthopedist. He listened, imaged, and found that indeed, my knees were a disaster. For a number of years we played with all types of treatments to prolong the inevitable... total knee replacements.
The year I turned 40, I was given one of the best gifts ever... a pair of titanium and polyethylene prosthetic knees! The surgery was difficult and painful to recover from, but the results were truly life altering.
Since recovering from my total knee replacements (TKR's), I have re-discovered exercise and movement again. It does NOT have to hurt. Exercise and movement does not need to be high impact and harmful to your joints to be effective in changing your body composition and changing how you feel. Exercise and movement absolutely must be, a part of your life to keep you fit both physically and mentally.
Newton's law of physics... "A body in motion STAYS in motion."
I had no idea how impactful motion would be on my life, until I could move without pain. It has made such an incredible change for me, I decide to make it my livelihood.
I've tied my nursing background in with my life experience with joint replacement, and looped that with a certification in personal training and specialization in corrective exercise. I am focusing this work to help others like me- who may be struggling to regain motion and emotional control after a difficult surgery or other life-altering situation.
Physical activity is the most under-utilized antidepressant out there, and in my observations, it seems we have a society that is more depressed than ever. Focusing on movement to better the body, mind, and spirit, that's what my work is about.
Grab YOUR OpportuKNEEty and SHINE!
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Once the decision has been made to undergo joint replacement surgery, as with any big surgery, it’s time to start planning. The more prepared you and your family are for the post-operative recovery phase, the smoother you can expect it to go. One huge area to devote time and attention to is your home. Preparing […]
One of my favorite lines I preached to my patients as a hospital nurse… “There’s no Gold Star for pain!” Anytime I was given push back on taking medication for pain. I always kind of envisioned giving my patients those gold foil stars, for a “job well done!” like our teachers used to put on […]
A few weeks prior to my joint replacement surgery, I was required to have pre-admission testing completed. There was a laundry list of things to get done, blood tests, chest x-ray, EKG, a review of systems essentially, to make sure my body was up for the fun and games to come. What had I gotten […]
I’ve always been intrigued by tattoos- the stories behind them, the incredible individuals that sport them. While working professionally, I served on a task force for our State’s Board of Health. Our charge, to help educate tattoo and piercing studios statewide about clean practice- from minimizing the spread of blood borne pathogens to keeping their studios […]
August 1, 2013… I was being discharged from the hospital. It was post-operative day three, following bilateral total knee replacements for me. I remember being so nervous and so excited at the same time- almost as nervous and excited as the day I took my first-born home from the hospital. Although I was in much […]