Arthritis & injury friendly exercises?

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makibird
makibird Posts: 9 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi all!

I suffer from psoritatic arthritis which affects my hands, hips, knees, ankles, feet and shoulders among other things. I have to walk with crutches. I also broke my leg and foot last August (tib, fib, two breaks in foot, chipped off bone and torn ligament). I had to have the metalwork removed from my leg (but not my foot) in April and up until a week or two ago I was hooked up to a machine as they wanted the wound to heal itself rather than stitching it. I still have an open wound in my leg (thankfully it's not a gaping hole any more) so I can't work that leg too hard in case I damage it.

Since breaking my leg I put on a lot of weight, and all my muscles have gotten lazy. I've been inactive for 10 months and was pretty much bedbound for three at the beginning (add that to two weeks in hospital where I was only allowed to get up to use the bathroom). I'm looking for gentle exercises I can do to get my core muscles working. I am waiting for my physio referral to go through, I know they'll give me exercises appropriate for my condition. But in the meantime I'd like to start working on things myself. I don't want my first few physio sessions to be agonising because my muscles aren't used to working.

Do any of you have any suggestions on starting exercises? Have any of you had broken bones or suffer from arthritis and been inactive because of it? How did you go about strengthening your muscles up?

Thanks :)

Vicky x

Replies

  • RebeccaHite
    RebeccaHite Posts: 187 Member
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    SWIM burns calories and you can not get hurt in water.
  • makibird
    makibird Posts: 9 Member
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    Thanks Rebecca!

    Unfortunately, I cannot swim although I want to learn, and I cannot get my wound wet. Due to some severe contact allergies with certain materials, I am restricted to a soft bandage dressing, and I cannot find a suitable waterproof cover for my leg. Once my leg is healed up, I'm hoping to get some swimming lessons.
  • beckyboop712
    beckyboop712 Posts: 383 Member
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    Definitely swim! resistance from the water PLUS little/no impact! My feet were killing me last summer (between my weight and running, I must have done something to them) but after swimming every other day for about a week, my feet were back to 100%. I'm looking forward to doing the same this summer....in fact, I'm jumping in the pool tonight.
  • beckyboop712
    beckyboop712 Posts: 383 Member
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    Thanks Rebecca!

    Unfortunately, I cannot swim although I want to learn, and I cannot get my wound wet. Due to some severe contact allergies with certain materials, I am restricted to a soft bandage dressing, and I cannot find a suitable waterproof cover for my leg. Once my leg is healed up, I'm hoping to get some swimming lessons.

    Once you can get in the pool, stick with the shallow end and just walk back and forth. At least until you can get some swim lessons in.
  • makibird
    makibird Posts: 9 Member
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    Thank you, I'll try that :) I've been in the pool once or twice with my partner and I love the feeling of being in the water, it really relaxes my joints and helps with my aches and pains.
  • dym123
    dym123 Posts: 1,670 Member
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    You can do deepwater running, wearing a floating device around your waist. You may have to purchase it at a speciality sporting or running store. I agree with taking swimming lessons, swimming is a great workout.

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