HI SANI ~ I am glad that you posted in our Physical Challenges thread; it is for anyone who has any kind of obstacles to deal with. I was born with Spina Bifida so I have trouble with bending or lifting, walking up hills, on a slant, in sand or snow (so now I use ski poles and they help me a lot), etc.
I also had some bad falls leaving me with a dislocated right knee (down a huge flight of stairs) and a fractured left calf causing a clot (slipped in some gravel in a parking lot). This caused me to have a lot of difficulty walking for a long time (years) as you can well imagine. I also injured both of my shoulders: one in a baseball game collision, and the worst one was from a repetitive motion injury. My right knee used to collapse all the time, but now only if I overdo it and walk or stand on it too much.
Now, what do I do? Upon waking, I do at least 30 minutes of toning exercises while laying on my bed; this makes it easier for me as with bad knees I can't put weight on them on the floor. Sometimes, I do some on the sofa too; but I also do a few CHAIR AEROBICS every day, esp while sitting at my PC. I can do some light housechores, as long as I spread them throughout the week and rest on a few days.
TONING EXERCISES: Lateral knee lifts with arms (knees up to chest and arms see-sawing in parallel motions); I used to do this with a rope exerciser which I lost in a move so now I just do it without it on the bed. That is my latest invention, but easy does it, if you have injuries; start slow and do only about 5-10 to start.
OTHERS ARE: thigh presses or butterflies; single knee lifts; butt squeezes; butt lifts; tummy tucks; whole body stretches; leg rolls (to meet each other flat on bed); etc. I started with 5-10 of each move; increasing with time. I also do more than one of each kind; esp in duration.
As I mentioned in our thread, I also use hand weights, stretchie bands, arm aerobics or RTM's (repetitive therapeutic movements), chair-situps, etc. Of all the helping machines, I find the Rowing Machine is the easiest for me, but I start out small and work my way up on that too.
The rest of the time, I just do plain old-fashioned WALKING ... when and as I can; I do some here at home each day, but about 3-4 times a week, we try to go out for a walk whether it be in a large department store or a favorite park or other place. I do have to be careful not to overdo it or I end up too sore and have to rest for 1-3 days; so it is better to leave a day in between to rest for me ... hope some of these ideas help you a bit! Rosebud
TKR and Mobility Challenged: What do YOU do?
