Physiotherapist's review of my OP exercise " regime" . . .
Posted , 8 users are following.
Hi all, I had a review apt. last week with my Physio. She has an established reputation in the city for her expertise in OP and has trained and run esercise programs in the US as well as in a major university hospital here.
As I have severe OP in my back my focus was on this area. I outlined my 30 min. brisk walk daily and my ATTEMPT to do back-strengthening floor exercises 3 thimes weekly which I hate with a vengence! Other than that, I do household and garden chores daily.
Her advice - when walking, instead of a steady brisk walk do kind of 'pulse walking' ie. slow down a bit, speed up a good bit, slow again etc. This is better than a steady pace.
Re. floor exerdise - confine to 2 days per week, not consecutive, and do 3 specific exercises: : bridging, Superman, and chest raises (from prone). Two sets of 10.
Gardening, housework, etc. great but be carefull of lifting, twisting etc.
Her conclusion: doing all this is DOING FINE. Stop worrying about fractures as MOST occur from falling - and there's little you can do about fragility fractures which may not happen anyway. Eat well, keep active, take medication if advised as it may help reduce fracture risk but get your doctor to monitor it. Finally, she said you can only do your best and stop worrying.
My overview of what she was saying (and I think it's relevant to a lot of chronic illness) is - don't turn 'lifestyle changes' into a stress. We've enough of that already!!
Thought I'd share this with you as it may be relevant to others as well as myself . . .. J
1 like, 17 replies
Anhaga Juno-Irl-Dub
Posted
That's encouraging. I also liked the advice we were given by the therapist at the bones clinic I attended last month. When having to go down low, say to pick something (lightweight of course!) off the floor, don't bend the back, but squat down slightly as though about to sit in a chair. This helps to keep the spine straighter and reduce chances of compression fracture - good advice for people who are worried about their spinal bone density.
You are so right that we shouldn't stress about lifestyle changes. Much is simply commonsense or paying attention. Cheers!
Annmarie12 Juno-Irl-Dub
Posted
Hi Juno
Thanks for posting that. It was good to hear, as I have been stressing a lot lately about my op and wondering if I'm doing enough and doing the right thing. I too have severe op in my spine, hips not bad. I'm in Dublin too and have signed up to the ucd better bones programme starting soon. Looking forward to that.
Juno-Irl-Dub Annmarie12
Posted
Hi Annmarie12, I did the Better Bones Program 2 years ago. Was good but I was then recently diagnosed and was very nervous about pushing myself( wiith severe spine OP) when there were people present who had osteopenia only. In a group you always feel you should be able to 'keep up' - however that was my problem, not theirs. Ask loads of questions. The main omission I felt with this program was a question and answer session which would deal wtih OP medications. Maybe that's included now. . . . Good luck and keep in touch. J
PS. Can I ask what medication (if any) are you taking? I'm nearly finished my 2 years of Forteo.
kippy Juno-Irl-Dub
Posted
thebuffyrat Juno-Irl-Dub
Posted
This is really helpful advice, thank you!
linda20769 Juno-Irl-Dub
Posted
shaq26875 Juno-Irl-Dub
Posted
I have had a very painful knee for the last 3 or 4 weeks and had my 1st physio session. Her advice was dont sit on the floor with knees bent, dont kneel and stop wearing high heels even after my knee improves( to prevent a fall) but ok to wear platform shoes...(bring back the 70s eh); have to keep excercising (without overdoing it). I tend to walk up escalators (as well as down) and was told to stop that also....permanently.
Anhaga shaq26875
Posted
Do you know the reason for your painful knee? Depending what it is, that would affect the kind of activity you'd be advised to do (or not do). I have exercises (from long ago) which involve lifting weights on my ankles, for example. And then a completely different set of exercises, which I no longer need, from when recovering from a broken tibia.
Juno-Irl-Dub shaq26875
Posted
Hi Shaq, here we go - the 'superman' exercise is as follows:
On 'all fours', knees should be directly below your hip joints, and hands/arms directly below shoulder joints. Raise right arm out in fromt of you and raise left leg behind you. Try and keep your body straignt and not allowing it to twist. Return to starting position and repeat for opposite side.
Do check with your doc. or physio that this is ok for you - and remember to get down and up from 'all fours' very carefully. . . . J
Juno-Irl-Dub
Posted
Anhaga Juno-Irl-Dub
Posted
I was given this exercise about 15 or 20 years ago when I thought I was having a stroke, but it turned out a nerve in my back is being affected. I do it 60 times nearly every morning and evening. Along with other things. It was losing the ability to perform these exercises which finally got me to get my PMR diagnosis. BTW if I think about it I'm still aware of that slight numbness down one side which triggered a trip to the emergency department and ruling out any stroke or heart issues.
Juno-Irl-Dub Anhaga
Posted
Apparently one can 'graduate' to raising right arm and right leg at the same time (instead of R arm and L leg). I couldn't do this under any circumstance, would fall over . . .
BTW I was part of an evaluation for research on exercise and OP recently. Consisted of 3 tests - strength (squeezing a 'pincher' type device), reaction time (sitting on chair, then quickly jumping up and running to a marked spot and back), and balance (standing on one leg for as long as possible, then the same with eyes closed). Interesting. . . . . J
Anhaga Juno-Irl-Dub
Posted
shaq26875 Anhaga
Posted
i think i was overdoing the walking (almost running) up escaltors....even in heels......The problem is, I have a bad knee from poor exercising for decades and now paying the price for it.. It acts up now and again esp. when i ignore the pain and continue with excercise. The xray showed osteporotic knee. I have been meaning to restart the excercise with ankle weights. (procrastination) . the only thing the physio did was put on electronic 'patches' which stimulte the nerves which i found it quite uncomfortable ...almost like sciatic pain running down to outer side of foot (except at a very low level) . This was then followed by an ice pac...15 mins of each and that has made a huge difference to my knee. The 2nd session is today .
Anhaga shaq26875
Posted
I remember having some sort of electrical pad placed on my upper back and finding it really disconcerting. It wasn't painful, but it felt like prickly "things" running all over the area. I got used to it after a bit - when I reacted badly they reduced the intensity and left me alone with the machine and the controls so that I could increase it as I got more used to it. Doubt if it helped, as I was at the time undiagnosed with PMR and any physio interventions were probably the last thing I needed! In the past acupuncture has helped me with things like repetitive stress from work, etc. If you are in a community where low intensity light therapy is available you could look into it. Google those words and toronto and you should be able to find information. I get this for PMR to reduce inflammation and I'm pretty sure it's helping me, but it really works well for things like injured joints.