From Chronic Pain to Performance

By Kate Burgess
Editor’s Note: Kate Burgess is a freelance producer who brings large-scale events, corporate meetings, entertainment programs and conferences to life. In 2016, she started a second business of Health and Wellness Coaching, helping people live a healthier, more ambitious and joyful life through fitness, nutrition, and community. She can be reached by visiting Kate Burgess Fitness: https://bchbody.life/3bv4VU3
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You’ve been an athlete most your life, into your mid-thirties or forties. With the snap of a finger or, in my situation, the hoisting of a five-pound weight, an injury changes life dramatically. All athletic activity—gone. Life centers around managing chronic pain. It’s frightening, frustrating, and, at times, depressing.
When you enter a room, your first thought is about what kind of chair you can sit in. You spend too much time on the floor, wondering not just when you’ll get back to athletic activity and competition, but also when you’ll do everyday activities without increasing your pain.
Making Shift Happen
How do you get out of this rut?
Shifting mindset becomes key because competitive athletes aren’t the giving-up type. When facing a chronic pain situation, you should remind yourself what you think of as your bottom-line motivation for making change happen. What are your dreams? What brings you joy? What are you not willing to give up for the rest of your life?

Kate: “My hope many years ago was to find a way to make the impossible possible. Competing in triathlons is a dream come true.” Photo by Focal Flame Photography.
In my case, degenerative disc disease and a bulging disc brought a decade of pain that took away not only my ability to be active in any way, but also stole my sense of humor and passion for life. I was at risk of losing myself completely. Most of all, I wanted a life where I could move without pain. All the while, I kept focused on my specific passions and dreams, like traveling without fear of pain, hiking, golfing, playing with my nieces and nephews, and someday doing something big: a triathlon.
A pivotal moment came when my third doctor said, “Well, Kate. Nobody can do anything for you. You’ll just need to take an anti-inflammatory every day for the rest of your life.” My internal response was “That’s unacceptable”—among other choice words. I walked out the door, determined to find solutions. My attitude adjustment started that day.
Likewise, I encourage you to not give up, to be your own best advocate, and to not accept defeat when it feels as though experts have told you to just deal with your pain through medication. However, in being your own best advocate, this includes working with your doctor, not excluding her. It remains imperative that you review all exercise plans/movements with your personal physician—before you start—to make sure nothing you attempt puts your unique physical condition at risk of further harm. This is a “together” approach, not “either-or.”
Enough is Enough
I shifted my mindset to—Enough is enough. Start now. And I followed up by taking small steps as being key to the process. For example, at the beginning, a short walk provided plenty of effort.
Movement was necessary, although it would hurt. In the end, movement saved me. To learn to move safely and build strength, three methods guided me back to better health.
No. 1: TRX Training

Years ago, Kate sometimes needed canes to help her move. They still hang in her closet as a reminder of her journey back to better health, as well as motivation to keep working hard to move forward. Photo courtesy of Kate Burgess.
Photo by Kate Burgess
TRX is Suspension Training® that helps you stabilize the core and joints, improve cardio, and build strength through use of your own body weight. Its distinct functional mobility training reiterates details of proper body mechanics with precise execution of movement.
For silent sporters, TRX could certainly help perfect the kayak paddle stroke and body rotation, as well as give you proper movement for all aspects of life. This means, too, that when you’re 80 and the kayak hangs in the garage, you can still get up from the floor with strength. There are endless exercises in the suspension trainer. I promise, you’d never get bored with TRX.
No. 2: On-Demand Workout Platform
A streaming workout platform can provide the variety needed to help you dive into different fitness formats and styles, including endurance, strength, sculpting, pre-natal, cardio, recovery, meditation, core, dance, and weightlifting.
For me, the platform that brought relief and renewed strength was Beachbody on Demand, a streaming workout platform with 1,500-plus creative workouts and 60-plus programs to follow, with nutrition plans, guides, recipes, and world-class trainers. It’s easy to choose workouts based on immediate need. For example: Feeling exhausted and sore from your cross-country ski race and need a recovery day? Find a good yoga or PiYo workout. If you’re someone motivated by the commitment to a larger goal, select a multi-day program—an organized schedule of workouts with a beginning, middle, and end.

Once fearful of adventure due to chronic pain, Kate recently enjoyed a kayak outing during a week-long hiking vacation. Photo by Linda Baehmann
After finishing the 80-Day Obsession program and following its timed nutrition eating plan, I never felt stronger. Following the 80 unique workouts, I built muscle, toned up, lost some weight, and strengthened my core so much that my back pain diminished significantly. That’s just one of many programs that had a direct and positive impact on my overall health.
There are workouts for all abilities and fitness levels, most with modifiers to follow for anyone with limitations or injuries. The ability to access these workouts whenever and wherever was key. Just hit PLAY.
No. 3: Foundation Training (FT)
Never neglect that posterior chain. FT gives you an innovative, corrective-movement discipline designed to help people live without pain by focusing on building strength to the entire back side of the body and reducing stress on your joints. FT may look like yoga, but I assure you, it’s not.
FT helps correct structural imbalance, decompress the spine, strengthen the posterior chain, and develop core strength. It’s all about the perfect hip hinge. Thanks to FT, I have a better long-term spine health and now have a pain-free way to empty the dishwasher. Developed as recently as mid-2000s, FT is now accessible nationwide.
Paying it Forward

What used to be painful days wearing a custom back brace and using canes are now joyful days completing Triathlons. Photo courtesy of Kate Burgess.