ankle – Ascension https://www.ascensioncalgary.com Strength and rehab training in Calgary. Mon, 09 Jan 2023 02:15:30 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0 62793933 Zak McGurk https://www.ascensioncalgary.com/zak-mcgurk/ Wed, 06 Mar 2019 22:58:53 +0000 https://www.ascensioncalgary.com/?p=1725

Profile: Climber, Design Guru, Giant dog owner 

Injury: A really fucked leg

Issue: Falling

Shattered Tib Plateau, blown LCL, fractured ankle, two surgeries and 6 weeks in a wheel chair. Diagnoses: Straight up f*cked.  And thats probably how my leg would have stayed if it wasn’t for Ian and Ascension.

It took hard work, countless “zero” reps ( you’ll learn about these the hard way ) and lots of verbal abuse from Ian

At first, I was sceptical about working with Ian. It wasn’t until he approached me at the climbing gym and asked why I was doing the physio exercises I was doing. My response “because my physiotherapist told me too”. So he had me do one exercise. In 5 minutes I made more progress then I had made in five 1 hour sessions at physio. I signed up for a membership at Ascension the next day and drank the kool-aid.
Now buying a membership didn’t automatically fix my leg. It took hard work, countless “zero” reps ( you’ll learn about these the hard way ) and lots of verbal abuse from Ian. But all joking aside, he changed my life. The hard work and abuse was worth it. I made leaps and bounds and not just in the recovery of my knee. I went into training with Ian in a weak and frail state and I came out the other side, stronger than I had ever been.

Even though my leg is better now, I still train at Ascension today and will continue to train there until Ian kicks me out. This isn’t just because I believe Ian is an amazing trainer, it’s because of the atmosphere and all the incredibly talented people who train there. Ascension is always a motivating, humbling and inspiring place to be.

Zak McGurk

]]> 1725 Noel Bolso https://www.ascensioncalgary.com/noel-bolso/ Thu, 14 Feb 2019 19:16:44 +0000 https://www.ascensioncalgary.com/?p=1634

Profile: Ex moto, rides bikes, goes fast

Injury: Ankle, shoulder position

Issue: Too fast.

I came to Ian looking to improve my functional movements.  After a short time I began seeing improvements not only in posture and movement but also in my sports.

My body shows many tales from years of motocross and mountain biking. Along with some that I’ve sustained in sport recently. Ian has been a great help in rehabbing old injuries and expediting recovery when I dislocated and fractured my ankle this summer.

Issues which have in the past reared their head during multi day events/races, effecting my performance have parted ways as well.
On top of all that. Ascension is a pretty inspiring environment to be part of. I’m pretty sure every person there has a wallet that says Bad Ass Motherf#cker on it… (If I can reference Pulp Fiction).. ‘grin’

Noel Bolso, Bad Ass.

]]> 1634 Anna Cameron https://www.ascensioncalgary.com/anna-cameron/ Thu, 07 Feb 2019 04:24:57 +0000 https://www.ascensioncalgary.com/?p=1607

Profile: Surgeon, Runner, Occasional Climber, Lover of Books

Injury: Fractured one of those foot bones.

Issue: Frail Bones

On August 26, 2017 I took a lead fall and fractured my left talus. Not just broken in half but entirely displaced tearing most ligaments and tendons in my ankle, I needed  emergency surgery and two screws and a bone anchor to put the pieces back together. The outcome potential was dismal, 70% risk of avascular necrosis (meaning a collapse of the bone and an ankle fusion). My surgeon firmly suggested I forget the possibility of running again.
I spent three months non-weight bearing. By mid December I was finally hobbling around without crutches. By mid February I was backcountry skiing, but utterly unable to walk as soon as the ski boot was off. I knew I needed to rehab properly and other than mobilizing the joint, physio was doing nothing to rehab the rest my body that had spent months compensating for the useless left leg.

My surgeon firmly suggested I forget the possibility of running again.

After one day of backcountry skiing, I made it to a friend’s place barely walking due to the pain. Ian talked me into let him mobilize my ankle. Fifteen excruciating minutes later, I managed to walk out with barely a limp and minimal pain. Convinced, I joined Ascension and the regular torture sessions continued. Working on the ankle, the entire leg and all the compensatory overuse habits I had developed, Ian made sure my strength and balance returned. His fingers really are wooden and they leave bruises, but the range of motion and functional gains are well worth it.

A year later, I’m still rehabbing, working on strength and range of motion with Ian. But I rarely limp and I am running faster than I was prior to the fracture. My surgeon swears that I shouldn’t be able to do the things I can do.
So don’t tell my surgeon I’m climbing again…

Anna Cameron, MD

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