[jetski]

Hello to All: Quad Walker here. T-1 & 2 Incomplete. 6 years.

Now that I have a responsive forum to speak to I have some questions that I would like to address before the group. The first of these questions being: how do any of you who are classified as walking quads feel about physical therapy. Have you experienced good or poor benefits from any program that may have been assigned to you?

In my own case, I have found that on every occasion, the benefits of physical therapy have been more of a deterrent than that of being helpful. My doctors, whether they are a neurologist or a physiatrist, (a rehabilitation medical specialist) have all insisted that I be enrolled in a physical therapy program. Over a six-year span of time, I have been involved with three separate programs.

Each time I immediately learned that the physical excises did not, repeat, did not increase my muscle strength, but in fact, did exactly the opposite. The excises made me weaker, caused my blood pressure to rise and I began retaining more water.

I have found the greatest benefit to me was rest, and plenty of it. Basically, I have found that after a day of active excise, I require a week to rest to recuperate. Traditionally, I have a very slow muscle recovery rate.

So far, I have not had any success in convincing any of my doctors that physical therapy does not provides help for me..

Have any of you who are walking quads experienced anything such as I have described.

Hoping to hear from some of the walking quads on this forum.
Thank you, Bill of Illinois

[Apparelyzed]

Hi Bill,

I am not a walking incomplete, but a complete c5/6.

I think the key to long term physiotherapy is moderation, ie, a little often.

Initially after injury, physiotherapy is used to build strength and stamina, helping to maximise potential function.

If someone goes into intensive therapy after months or years of no therapy, then it's bound to hit them hard.

I would suggest starting off with light exercise, ramping up the intensity over a couple of months.

I have an Uppertone gym at home, and whenever I go on it after a rest of several months, it's always hard, but gets easier, and I can feel my shoulders getting stronger after a couple of months. As a result of the exercise, I find it easier to push my chair, easier to transfer, and find my stamina increases, giving me more energy.

The less you exercise, the weaker you become, and the harder it gets over time to carry out more demanding tasks.

It's hard work, but my attitude to my remaining function, is "Use it, or lose it".

Regards

Simon

[athaldo]

Hi everyone,

When I was first in rehab, nurses told me that 8 hours in PT was the norm!I was NOT amused at that prospect but I wanted to get better...What turned out to be 5 hours in the gym a day was hard and encouraging-with a "drill sargeant" as a PT ! She was good and hard on me ( in a good way that PT's should) but she was soon "discouraged" ,I think, by others complaining about the "hard work and wanting to go back to bed or have a smoke outside". Well, this PT, soon , while working on me(my time), was helping other PT 's (they did NOT need the help!) I was,like,"hey! more help over here,please!?! She went to too many holidays and when I became an out-patient, I got to the gym and they told me to grab a walker and "go for a walk"...WHAT?????If I could have done that, I would not return to this damn place!!!

Good thing I was athletic before and devised my own exercise plan and grew better every time! Of course, lifting a pot to boil noodles,etc.. was hard ,but I did it!
Exercises started with stretches and Isometrics which were and are very important for strength and require very little time! and as I read earlier about "the next day to have an exhausted body ",to say the least,I agree with you.This is where stretching and isometrics came in! (google "Isometrics")I knew their important properties and applying them was easy in my bed at anytime, in my chair at anytime,etc..muscle tone came back faster and "use it or lose it" idiom is soooo true! I'm a firm believer in it! Breathing exercises I use are freaking my friends out because I have almost lost my "quad belly"-As I write this, being a walking quad, I do regular exercises that freak me out a little, because I did not ,at times before, to EVER do these ever again!! Exciting stuff,especially when I did not have family to help me(they live far away) and my friends were all fair-weathered!
Hope this helps anyone at least.Don't give up and anything is possible.Work hard 'cause it pays off! My story should help...

This post has been edited by athaldo: 07 July 2008 - 06:48 PM

[hurbshankin]

athaldo, on Jul 6 2008, 08:27 PM, said:

Hi everyone,

When I was first in rehab, nurses told me that 8 hours in PT was the norm!I was NOT amused at that prospect but I wanted to get better...What turned out to be 5 hours in the gym a day was hard and encouraging-with a "drill sargeant" as a PT ! She was good and hard on me ( in a good way that PT's should) but she was soon "discouraged" ,I think, by others complaining about the "hard work and wanting to go back to bed or have a smoke outside". Well, this PT, soon , while working on me(my time), was helping other PT 's (they did NOT need the help!) I was,like,"hey! more help over here,please!?! She went to too many holidays and when I became an out-patient, I got to the gym and they told me to grab a walker and "go for a walk"...WHAT?????If I could have done that, I would not return to this damn place!!!

Good thing I was athletic before and devised my own exercise plan and grew better every time! Of course, lifting a pot to boil noodles,etc.. was hard ,but I did it!
Exercises started with stretches and Isometrics which were and are very important for strength and require very little time! and as I read earlier about "the next day to have an exhausted body ",to say the least,I agree with you.This is where stretching and isometrics came in! (google "Isometrics")I knew their important properties and applying them was easy in my bed at anytime, in my chair at anytime,etc..muscle tone came back faster and "use it or lose it" idiom is soooo true! I'm a firm believer in it! Breathing exercises I use are freaking my friends out because I have almost lost my "quad belly"-As I write this, being a walking quad, I do regular exercises that freak me out a little, because I did not ,at times before, to EVER do these ever again!! Exciting stuff,especially when I did not have family to help me(they live far away) and my friends were all fair-weathered!
Hope this helps anyone at least.Don't give up and anything is possible.Work hard 'cause it pays off! My story should help...

Glad to hear therapy pays off. I am curious though. About how long did it take to be able to transfer yourself, all by yourself? I've been bustin' my butt doing all kinds of strength building, stretching and cardio. I'm about a year post and have been doing about 5-6 days a week of therapy alternating muscle groups and all the right stuff. I was an athlete before my injury, so I know how to build strength. I'm just not used to how slowly the muscle building process goes.

Hurb

[athaldo]

Hi Hurbshankin, In one word:Momentum!!!From chair to bed, I swung myself carefully knowing where my hands were so as I could have one hand on chair and other on bed so as I wouldn't fall in between them--I did fall a few times!! lol .Nurses and cleaning staff kept on forgetting to LOCK the bed in place!Not trusting them after a couple of falls, I used "smarts and luck"-all after a day of rehab.On your other query, Patience and perseverence! You've heard those words a thousand times and you will a thousand more! But,success is achieved by means of patience and perseverence in everything we seek-like I learned-as others have , too !Keep up with the exercises and learn to trust your body a little more in that,you must believe that you can do it-in this case,a transfer! I used this simple yet, very effective rationale to transfer with only half the strength of one arm,only!Improbable but NOT impossible feat!Keep it up and feel a grin come upon your face! P.S. I made my first transfer(all with a 10 lbs. Halo on my head, in two and half months).

[hurbshankin]

Thanks Athaldo, Yesterday in therapy I had my best transfer yet with slide board. I should add that I damaged my left hand pretty severely in the accident and is half as strong as the right which is about 20% of what I was pre-sci. But, I am getting stronger everyday. I'd like to be able to transfer all by myself by September. I should be getting back in the classroom then.

Hurb

[robbo100bike]

I find physio type exercise aimed and concentrated on my weak mscles such as legs, doesnt bring any measurable improvement and becomes detrimental to their function. I spent 1st 3years of rehab doing therpay every day and never saw any real improvement in year 3.

You need to listen to your body and be realistic.

I also used to go to a "regular" gym use exercise machines which need strong leg fucntion - treadmills, rowers, bikes etc. I found this really depressing because it was uncomfortable, didnt give me a "workout" and left my legs fatigued. It also reminded me what i had lost. In the days aftyer a gym seesion i would find myself tripping up and struggling with my walking.

I find that exercise which concentartes on what i can do and uses muscles which do work such as arms are best. I go swimming and handcycling, these keep me fit, trim, improves my overall wellbeing, reduces spasm & pain, improves my mental health and self confidence. If i dd go to gym i do arm based exercises like weights and work on the principle the walk from the car / changing rooms / from station to station is all the excercise my legs need!!!!

[jetski]

Hi Robbo. Yes, yes, finally someone who has experienced or is experiencing the same situation as myself in regards to exercising. These cases really throw the doctors because you and I are not suppose to react in the way we do.

Physical exercise makes me ill. Originally, all of my body organs had shut down and were dying. All of them. After they removed the tumor from my spine, a year later some of the function began returning to my body organs, but to this day(6 years post), they have never regained their full functions.

Like you, I have tried exercise 3 months nonstop, but I just kept getting weaker and weaker. When I would stop, after several months, I would regain the use of my body organs. We're talking stomach, kidney's, bladder, etc.

About a year later I would try the exercise programs again. Very gently, taking it easy, but after about 2 to 3 weeks, the illness began to return again. My legs gave out, sick all the time, no energy.

I finally tried the exercises one last time some months ago, and now I am having to rest and hope that I will regain my strength back again.

I guess there are some of us that exercising just don't help. It is not the panacea for healing.

jetski

[athaldo]

I guess there are some of us that exercising just don't help. It is not the panacea for healing.(???)


This sounds like saying "I tried eating , but I keep on getting fat!" Exercise is a must for every body-Understand that there are VARIOUS WAYS to exercise , like different diets. From stretching to yoga to pushing a ball back and forth to Isometrics to any sport activities to chi gong! OMG! Health MUST include some form of exercise to at least get blood circulation going to help avoid infections and sickness.We must all try to get our bodies to any level of activity! Talk to your doctor and PT for help. It is NOT enough to just do what they say, but to ask a hundred questions , if it takes that, to get you to understand your body with a "team" who wants to help you with your independence. Giving up should never be an option! Don't go gung ho if your body demands rest. "Pushing it" would certainly hinder any improvements.Try different things as I mentioned-exercise or sports. P. S. : Physical activity also improves mood !

[dom]

i did rehab in stoke mandeville on a wobbleboard and calf raises,my ankle swelled up like a balloon the doc advised me to relax it so in my experience it was very bad advice i received from the rehab

[macad]

my husband does hydrotherapy at our local public pool, he feels like he's had a workout without the direct weight load as the water helps with suspension.(he is a walking para)
Rehab was not a good experience for him either after 6 months non weight baring they got him on his feet the first day and pushed him hard (as they never read his file they did not know he had L4, L5 and S1 nerve damage until his 2nd week there, and his feet had swelled after the first day and were too painfull to walk, but beacause he was determined to come home he pushed himself) They discharged him after 3 weeks as they got him up and mobile and his problem with his feet were not the rehabs problem so they sent him home.
When he went back to the ortho for a check up the Doc was furious, he wanted him to start in water.(This was pretty pathetic to hear as the rehab he was sent to doesn't have a pool, that kind of facility is 1800km away)
We went home to our local physio and she gave him a series of exercises to do, he has found these very helpful, he goes very slow and steady while doing them. He has even started a light gym program to try and build some upper body strength to help with the crutches.
It's just a matter of finding what works for you and to start off steady.