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Physiotherapist's review of my OP exercise " regime" . . .

Posted , 8 users are following.

Juno-Irl-Dub
Juno-Irl-Dub

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

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  • LayneTX
    LayneTX Juno-Irl-Dub

    Posted

    Nice to know thank you!  For core balancing work I was taught to sit on an exercise ball (big air filled balls), sit up straight, legs like a chair, then lift one leg and using the other on the floor for balance. Hold for 2 minutes.

    Nice gentle work. Might keep a chair on either side for balance if start to lose it. wink  don't need to fall to the floor. 

    Also so in gentle yoga what I love that I learned was do poses as if a force is pulling you opposite directions, like pulling each arm  or the legs, hard to explain, but somehow thinking of the forces from above, below, left, right helping you stay in pose or even standing. Feels nice. 

     

    • Juno-Irl-Dub
      Juno-Irl-Dub LayneTX

      Posted

      I think that 'core balancing' exercise would work well Layne.   J

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