New research suggests that treadmill training soon after a spinal cord injury can have long-lasting positive effects on recovery – as long as the training is accompanied by efforts to control inflammation in the lower spinal cord.
Yes, indeed! My post-paralysis rehab started at around 3 weeks. I received supported-weight treadmill training about 6 weeks post injury. Fell on my face the first time on and broke nose! Wore a catcher's mask the next time... Therapists moved my legs to keep them in a sort of gait, and it really did help. But the major improvement for me was when I got treatment at 8 weeks with cold laser. By then was on walker, and could manage about 300ft with screaming wheels--all weight on platforms. After cold laser, first treatment, went 1000ft with walker, still too much weight on arms, but could have gone another 1000ft--or at least thought I could! The astonished PT asked, "What did you have for breakfast?" I could not reveal about cold laser, because the practitioner was not licensed in that hospital and came in visiting as a friend of mine (which he was) and gave me treatment. I continued cold laser until I was again put on very high doses of prednisone for flare of my disease. Prednisone cancelled the effect of the treatment, but when I tapered dose of prednisone the benefits were still there. I plateaued after a while, but cold laser is why I think I am walking. Need braces and forearm canes to support my "floating" (my perception) torso, and I cannot feel my lower body. Still have pain there, imagine that! But I am walking, and now can bear much of my weight on legs through practice.
Hoea ra!
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I tried using the treadmill at my local gym that I go to most days and found it difficult so i stopped using but i think i will take another try at it, it definitely looks like it is worth trying again. I felt very awkward on the treadmill as i found it 'forces' me into a correct gait that makes it harder for me to maintain the exercise through....but i think i need to build up slowly my time on it. When i walk on crutches, im so used to compensating the lack of signal to certain muscles that they support me well enough to maintain a relatively well practiced and upright and even gait. I found that when i was on the treadmill my hips 'swing' more due to weak hip abductors and glutes and i was tiring but i think now i need to work at this as its so beneficial.
It's great to hear the improvements you have made wavewolf...i am mostly numb in several parts of my legs and saddle area and feet..it seems odd that we can walk. Today im in some pain from overdoing this walking business but its so tempting to want to keep upright rather than relying on my chair too easily which i do find totally comfortable as a means of mobility.
Post by kilg0retr0ut on Aug 8, 2013 6:51:27 GMT -8
I think exercise is crucial. Exercise every muscle you can. The only thing for me is that with my issues I don't want to much muscle on top because it would make it harder for me to balance. It's work, and it's something I will always have to do. A strong core is key for me staying upright.
kilg0retr0ut, that's a good point. If you are limited in function due to body weight, whether it's fat or muscle, it's not a good thing! For myself I have to watch my weight because thins such as transferring, wheeling will get harder the more I put on weight.
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I tried using the treadmill at my local gym that I go to most days and found it difficult so i stopped using but i think i will take another try at it, it definitely looks like it is worth trying again. I felt very awkward on the treadmill as i found it 'forces' me into a correct gait that makes it harder for me to maintain the exercise through....but i think i need to build up slowly my time on it. When i walk on crutches, im so used to compensating the lack of signal to certain muscles that they support me well enough to maintain a relatively well practiced and upright and even gait. I found that when i was on the treadmill my hips 'swing' more due to weak hip abductors and glutes and i was tiring but i think now i need to work at this as its so beneficial.
It's great to hear the improvements you have made wavewolf...i am mostly numb in several parts of my legs and saddle area and feet..it seems odd that we can walk. Today im in some pain from overdoing this walking business but its so tempting to want to keep upright rather than relying on my chair too easily which i do find totally comfortable as a means of mobility.
Thanks for encouragement! Treadmill really should be used with trained assistance at first, I think. You can prepare for it by strengthening your hip abductors and glutes by whatever exercise you are able to do, and again, professional guidance to get started right makes effort maximally worthwhile.
What crutches do you use? Mine are these: www.millennialmedical.com/Catalog/InMotion-Forearm/ Wouldn't want any others, even the titanium "supercanes"! These are affordable and durable, and great design. Articulated feet last longer and are more secure than any other feet I have tried. Canes still look good after 3.5 years of my abuse! My gait is upright as when I was AB, but to place weight on legs I must slow down speed and lessen length of step.
My problem is that I want to use my arms more, since my upper body strength is good, and I like to walk fast! But allowing myself to consciously place most of my body weight on legs and reserve canes for balance points and rescue as needed will keep me upright longer. Need to save those body parts that are not made for walking and are diseased with RA and sarcoidosis in bone.
I need to use a wheelchair more, to conserve energy in general and reserve upright time for where it is most advantageous. My wheelchair is a Invacare Tracer EX "tank", heavy and too forward-weighted. It was not sized to me at all, just sent by insurance when I had to have WC to leave rehab. So it is 2" too wide, which kills the shoulders. In October I have an eval for custom ultralight WC--very excited!
Hoea ra!
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wavewolf..your crutches look similar to mine?....talking of chairs..i need to get a new lighter one...mine i pretty heavy too. When i used DJ's chair I loved how light it was so i'd love to get a new one now
wavewolf...one of the conditions you have is it related to sarcoids if you don't mind me asking?
I agree about exercising the hip abductors and glutes and i do use a machine at the gym to help with this.....they seem to be improving. It sounds like we manage our mobility in a very similar way ..im very conscious about preserving my upright mobility for times when i most need it and otherwise i use my chair.
DJ...i wasn't showing off was I? LOL....that's so not my nature ........but who was showing off zooming by leaving me way behind in his super fly power thingy!!
Hahahaha--WC speed battles! TiLite ZRA is a sexy chair, handles very nicely. For me with weird neuro sensitivities, I prefer the more rigid TiLite TR with Frog's Legs front casters, and not too hard a rear tire. Was told by Spinergy customer service that their LX or Spox wheels can be fitted with Schwalbe Marathon Plus and inflated less (to about 95psi) for cushioning. Depending on how I load my chair into car, I may go with a TiLite folding chair, as I have one now and that loads from seated position in driver's seat without lifting much. I rigged a pulley to assist from an easy angle while sitting. I would love to have the new Spinergy ZX1, a detachable power chair that fits onto the camber bar/axle of a rigid WC, so considering that!
Lara, our canes do look similar. But the offset angle on mine is a key advantage, although it's downward shape looks odd. If you stand and hold the shaft of your cane with hand in a neutral position, you will notice that your front end is downward at about 20 degrees. That is the angle of the handle on mine, and it saved my median nerve from compression.