exercising while temp disabled?

chelekaz

Last Sunday I suffered 2 spiral breaks I. My left tibia and fibia. I has surfer Mon to insert rods and pins. I am stuck between lying in bed and sitting in a wheelchair for short periods of time. I cannot put any weghit on leg for another 4-5 weeks. I know that there is nothing I can do for my left leg until I hit tehab but I need to keep from losing the progress made since Sep.

I am thinking of having my husband get me some small hand weghits for my arms but what about my good leg? Obviously will need to be strong to support the other one. Doc says 4-6 months until walking without assistance. I want to do all I can to insure I do not gain back the weight and to still keep up strength.

Suggestions are most appreciated!

dlcam61

Do what your Dr recommends. Possibly will be sent to physical rehab. Sorry to hear about the breaks hun, but you need to take your time to get well so don't fuss about leg lifts or anything with your good leg. I'd probably stretch it to keep the blood flowing, but I like your idea of light upper body weights. Please consult your Dr before you do anything. You sure don't want a set back & be laid up even longer than you already are. Just try to eat well and stay focused. This is just a temporary set back, but you will be ok. :flowerforyou:

acasey0123

I have a sprained right shoulder, wrist and thumb so I am unable to lift weights on my right side but I still lift on my left side since I dont want to lose the muscle on my good side. Since one of your legs is good you can do leg exercises on good leg like leg lifts and the leg exercise where you sit and then kick leg out and then in. Also doing weights would be beneficial so you can get some exercise in

good luck

chanstriste13

have you ever done any pilates? i my class, there is a lot of leg work done lying down. it's pretty simple stuff, but very effective. i would suggest checking out some pilates moves and using them on your good leg. they'd probably be good for when you hurt leg is ready to start moving again too. best of luck to you - i know you can do this!

chanstriste13

Please consult your Dr before you do anything.

and this, of course. don't do it if your doctor says it sucks!

david081

Look after yourself first and foremost - when the doctor advises, start walking with crutches...

thisisjulz

I had the same injury on my right leg, its been 7 months and i'm working out again lightly on the treadmill mostly doing walking. It is a long recovery, you may think won't get better, but it does! Take it easy and follow your doctor's instructions, recover completely or it will cost you more down the road as far as pain etc. I hope you feel better!!

Suzy12

We suggested this a friend who had double bunion surgery and was unable to workout for quite a while. Grab some great classic music and fashion a chopstick into a baton!! Best of luck!!!

http://www.drmirkin.com/fitness/1159.html

FitRodr

Arms with weights. purposful neck and shoulder rolls. Purposful means to concentrate on every muscle that you are using. See it in your mind. This lets you get the most out of your workout because you put more focused energy into each movement.

chelekaz

I can't do traditional leg lifts as confined to bed/ wheelchair. But perhaps with ankle weights. I am not looking to go crazy nuts but I don't want to just sit back either.

kao708

Remember, you can still lose weight by maintaining a calorie deficit as set forth by MFP. Don't do too much but the ankle and small hand weights would probably be ok!

Good luck and fast healing! :flowerforyou:

TDGee

I feel your pain, I broke both of my legs several years ago. Coming back is slower than you want it to be, but you will come back. One thing I learned, that I haven't seen posted yet is that wheelchairs can be a great upper body workout, as can crutches. You can put weight in/on the wheelchair and just go! Wheelchairs and crutches rock if you want to develop your triceps. Like everyone else has said, check with your Dr, and don't overdo things. I'm currently working to come back from a back injury that came right after a knee injury. Good luck!

waverly9876

I had 3 brain surgeries and was partially paralyzed. I am walking alot better now and work out on the ellyptical and bike. Have you tried the bike? Pilates? Arm weights? Good luck!

chelekaz

Right now I can't do machines. Im confined to bed or wheelchair. I am only 6 days post op. 4-6 weeks before I am allowed to even let my foot touch the floor... not counting weight bearing support which will take longer. No pilates, biking, etc. I can't even go from lying down to sitting upright without support. Basically I need 24 hour care. :0(

Atlantique

Stick with what the doc says for now, and make sure he gets you into PT as soon as possible.

I did workman's comp claims for years, and I can tell you that if this was a WC injury, you'd be in a MUCH more aggressive recovery plan than the average health insurance program will advise, and get better results. Who knows why, as the injury is the same! But the PT will not only help you recover, it will lessen the likelihood of excessive scar tissue growth (the body sometimes overcompensates and develops so much scar tissue that range of motion is compromised in the long run), improve ciruclation to the site and speed recovery.

Lower leg fractures are hard though--gravity is working against you, trying to pull the fx apart. Don't go against doctor's orders.

Your nutrition plan is CRITICAL now, too. You need to speak to the doc to be absolutely sure you have enough of the right nutrients to fuel repair. There's going to be no room for crap in your diet while you are recovering because that deprives you of nutrients needed to heal.

If you by any chance smoke, please try to quit. Smoking tends to rise dramatically when people are immobile, due to boredom and the effect on pain control. Yes, pain control--circulation is compromised with smoking, so pain is lessened. But compromising circulation prolongs and hurts recovery, so you see the vicious circle there.

If you aren't going to take your pain meds, tell the doc. I had so many claimants tell me that they let the doc hand them meds and then didn't take them that it was maddening. If you are the sort who is plain uncomfortable with pain meds, tell the doc! That way you get some alternative pain management recommended or prescribed. Also, the doc assumes you take what he gives, so he will intepret your check-ups very differently if you just opted out of meds but didn't tell your doc that you did. I referred a lot of claimants to osteopaths--MDs with chiro degrees as well-and physiatrists, both of whom are very pro-PT and not so excited about pain meds. Excellent outcomes when these docs worked with the PC doc.

Lastly, the estimate you were given for getting back on your feet is the average. You may recover more quickly if you are in excellent shape, or take longer if you're in poor shape. So don't take that as gospel this early in the process.

Wishing you a speedy (and most importantly) effective recovery!