Not able to walk for 4-6 weeks

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juliafromrf
juliafromrf Posts: 106 Member
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
The title says it all.

I've been happily maintaining for about a month and now this: My doctor told me I mustn't put ANY weight onto my left leg (due to an edema in my femoral head) .. which basically means very little to no walking for about 4-6 weeks (with crutches outside the house).

To people who have been in a similar situation or who have experience in this:
How many calories am I supposed to eat to maintain: BMR, or higher? Is there any kind of exercise that I can do? (I know I need to consult with my doctor before actually doing something, I would just appreciate ideas).

My biggest fear is that all my muscles will shrivel away. How long does it take (for a 19 y/o female) before muscles start to disappear?
I'm ok with gaining a few pounds, I can lose the weight again if necessary, but I don't want to wake up in 6 weeks being plump, feeling fat and having lost all my motivation to exercise because I've become so "used" to not doing anything at all. :/

Replies

  • SimaN2014
    SimaN2014 Posts: 23 Member
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    I didn't have that, but I did have tendinopathy of my achilles tendon. Was proscipted from walking for about 3 months. I was allowed to swim. I don't know about femoral head edema, but if it is a problem with weight bearing (as opposed to motion), you should ask your doctor about swimming.
  • kpk54
    kpk54 Posts: 4,474 Member
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    Chair aerobics. When I had a bum knee I did seated exercise. There are several on youtube and like all exercise, you can modify/ intensify.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
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    kpk54 wrote: »
    Chair aerobics. When I had a bum knee I did seated exercise. There are several on youtube and like all exercise, you can modify/ intensify.

    You can also do chair tai chi. It can be really useful - my dad did it while he was ill. Set to sedentary. Crutches take a lot of energy. Watch what you eat and you'll do fine.

  • Anonycatgirl
    Anonycatgirl Posts: 502 Member
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    Ask your doctor if you can swim or do yoga (the gentle, stretchy kind where you can stay on the floor), or if she has any other suggestions for exercise you can do while you heal, to keep you from going stir-crazy.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,624 Member
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    I had ankle surgery a few months ago, and had to be strictly non weight bearing on one leg for about the same amount of time. I exercised by hopping on the one good leg with crutches or behind a walking frame. According to my HRM, it was very strenuous. Fifteen minutes of hopping on one leg behind the walking frame got my heart rate to 140, and burned about 250 kcal in 30 minutes. That's the same burn rate as my regular workout on the elliptical.

    I did stop doing weight training for a month because it was too much trouble to get to the gym. I noticed I had to deload by by up to 5 kilos on several of my lifts (lat pulldown and bench press, in particular).
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,624 Member
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    Oh, by the way the MFP exercise entry for "walking on crutches" was spot on for hopping on one leg behind the walking frame. I compared it with my HRM. The entry was made by someone on FL who broke her ankle and used an HRM to calculate average energy expenditure while she was using crutches.
  • xmichaelyx
    xmichaelyx Posts: 883 Member
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    I've been in a similar situation thanks to 2 knee surgeries.

    You really should be seeing a physical therapist, who can give you tons of exercises to keep the leg active.

    Within a week of not using the leg, it'll get significantly smaller. Even with physical therapy EVERY SINGLE DAY for the first 3 weeks after my surgery (and tons of working out after that) it took over a year for my legs to match each other. The were equally strong after about 6 months, but one was significantly skinnier for a long time after (this may not be as bad for you, depending on how muscular your legs are now).

    BTW, I also lost a ton of weight during that time because I never wanted to eat, and crutches are HARD work.

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