New Group Member

Posted February 4, 2004 · February 4, 2004

If you have access to a gym, squeezing a ball between your thighs while doing

leg presses is great for the inner thighs. Also, a physical therapist just

suggested to me today that I walk backwards on a treadmill to strengthen that

area.

New group member

I am a 31 year old male who is an avid mountain climber but has been

sidelined for a few months. I've been diagnosed with

chondromalacia, and I'm having a hard time staying motivated for my

at home physical therapy exercises. I get very frustrated and lose

belief that the exercises work. I also have very powerful legs, so

the simple isometrics I was prescribed don't seem to be

strengthening my inner thigh muscles. Can anyone offer me some

encouragement about the exercises as well as some good exercises to

try for my inner leg muscles? Thanks!

_____

Posted February 4, 2004 · February 4, 2004

If you already have strong thigh muscles, try one of the smallest therapy

balls. You'll be sitting on it in pretty much a squatting position and bounce

on

it. This sound goofy but the smaller the ball you sit on the more burn

you'll feel, for added exercise lean from one knee to the other kind of like a

lunge sitting down (make sense?) you can do this while watching T.V. and you

really don't even thing about it plus you burn calories. I realize it may sound

kind of stupid to someone if they've never got to play around on the therapy

balls but they really work and they make it fun. And most of the balls come

with an exercise chart too with more things to try, usually about 30 exercises.

Posted February 4, 2004 · February 4, 2004

Dear sirgalt -- you are not alone. I have trouble with home PT exercises.

Sooooooo boring, and such slow (if any) progress. I finally gave up & had

surgery. I'm not saying that surgery is always the answer, but it's one option.

I'm glad I had it done because he found a plica in there that was causing a lot

of damage by rubbing against the femur and tibia (and probably was responsible

for the destruction of 2/3 of my lateral meniscus). It didn't show up on MRI.

I have a good one for your inner leg muscles (from my PT). This one's more fun

to do. Actually the exercise is designed to strengthen one of the 5 muscles in

your hip joint, one that gets neglected (don't know the name of it). Can't hurt

to strengthen it. You sit in a chair that lets your feet barely touch the floor

(I put a firm pillow on my chair). Loop a Theraband around the metatarsal area

of your foot & anchor the Theraband somewhere lateral to that foot. Now turn

the whole leg so that the foot is lifted up in front of the other leg (keeping

knee bent). Don't lift the thigh up from the chair. You can emphasize either

the hip muscle or the adductors. (You may have to train your mind to learn to

feel which muscles are working).

If you're interested in working on those 5 little muscles, I have another one.

With the Theraband anchored low somewhere (I hook mine to a vertical board I

screwed into my walls, and onto which I screwed large eye bolts), with you

standing and facing the anchor, loop the Theraband around your heel. Making

sure that you don't let your body bend with the action (keep facing forward),

pull the leg back (not too far -- a foot or two) and at the same time, in one

smooth action, turn your foot out (keeping leg straight).

And thirdly, lie on the floor on your " good " side with both legs bent so that

the feet are in line with your spine. Keeping the heels together, raise your

bad knee. Again, don't let your body follow the movement -- keep your pelvis

in the same position it was in when you started.

All these are 3 sets of 10-20.

I think, if you have access to a gym, that the ski machine, if they have one,

works your inner thighs. Oh-- I confiscated a 10 " child's ball that found its

way into my yard & use it as a Thighmaster.

Ann

New group member

I am a 31 year old male who is an avid mountain climber but has been

sidelined for a few months. I've been diagnosed with

chondromalacia, and I'm having a hard time staying motivated for my

at home physical therapy exercises. I get very frustrated and lose

belief that the exercises work. I also have very powerful legs, so

the simple isometrics I was prescribed don't seem to be

strengthening my inner thigh muscles. Can anyone offer me some

encouragement about the exercises as well as some good exercises to

try for my inner leg muscles? Thanks!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted February 4, 2004 · February 4, 2004

>If you already have strong thigh muscles, try one of the smallest therapy

>balls. You'll be sitting on it in pretty much a squatting position and

bounce on

>it.

But - but - but -- If you have chondromalacia, that squatting position isn't

good for you, is it?

>This sound goofy but the smaller the ball you sit on the more burn

>you'll feel, for added exercise lean from one knee to the other kind of like

a

>lunge sitting down (make sense?) you can do this while watching T.V. and

you

>really don't even thing about it plus you burn calories. I realize it may

sound

>kind of stupid to someone if they've never got to play around on the therapy

>balls but they really work and they make it fun. And most of the balls come

>with an exercise chart too with more things to try, usually about 30

exercises.

I think it's safer to do it lying on your back, lifting your (bent) legs while

crunching the ball between them (make sure you don't strain your lower back).

Ann

Posted February 8, 2004 · February 8, 2004

Another one from Kip:

Yes, I have to walk backwards (crouching) on a treadmill as well in

physical therapy. I thought it was a little odd, but now I realize

that it must be one of the standard exercises.

> If you have access to a gym, squeezing a ball between your thighs

while doing leg presses is great for the inner thighs. Also, a

physical therapist just suggested to me today that I walk backwards

on a treadmill to strengthen that area.

>

> New group member

>

> I am a 31 year old male who is an avid mountain climber but has

been

> sidelined for a few months. I've been diagnosed with

> chondromalacia, and I'm having a hard time staying motivated for

my

> at home physical therapy exercises. I get very frustrated and

lose

> belief that the exercises work. I also have very powerful legs,

so

> the simple isometrics I was prescribed don't seem to be

> strengthening my inner thigh muscles. Can anyone offer me some

> encouragement about the exercises as well as some good exercises

to

> try for my inner leg muscles? Thanks!

Posted June 28, 2005 · June 28, 2005

I had this problem for several years. They finally did a Mylogram CT

scan (not sure of spelling) and found one of the fusions had only

partially fused. So when I moved, it pressed on nerves.

I also went to a Pain Management doctor. He recommended Massage with

accupressure, and I took a class on how to do accupressure as well.

This helped until I could have surgery to repair the broken fusion. It

didn't show up on X-rays at all.

Good luck!

in Oakland

wrote:

>Hi, my name is ; I am 27. I have idiopathic scoliosis; I have an

>S curve. Before I had my surgery, I had two 60 degree curves. I had

>my spine fused from the base of my neck to L-5 when I was 14 in 1992

>at the AI DuPont Children's Hospital in Wilmington, Delaware by Dr.

>Dan Mason. I now have two 32 degree curves. No major problems,

>though I have chronic back pain around L-5... and a lot of noisy

>hardware sounds when I move. I have seen several doctors, had MRIs,

>and CT scans, and all have told me that every thing is intact and that

>my pain stems from facet arthritis. My understanding is that I have

>minor arthritis. However, there are some days I simply can't move, I

>am in so much pain.

>

Posted June 28, 2005 · June 28, 2005

Hi ...

I'm sorry that you're in so much pain, and that you haven't found

anyone to take you seriously.

I'm curious about " hardware sounds. " I haven't ever heard anyone

describe this. Do you mean that it sounds like metal scraping against

metal?

I think you need to keep looking until you find someone who has a lot

of experience treating patients with prior fusions. Here are some

names to investigate:

Todd J. Albert - Philadelphia

http://www.rothmaninstitute.com/ourdoctors/detail2.cfm?DrID=6

L. Asordian - Baltimore

http://www.gcoa.net/DoctorProfile.asp?DoctorID=3

A. Balderston - Philadelphia

http://www.3bortho.com/Balderston.htm

Abbott Byrd III - Virginia Beach

http://www.atlanticortho.com/doctors/byrd.html

C. II - Baltimore

http://www.marylandspinecenter.com/surgeon_profiles.htm

C. Lauerman - D.C.

http://www.georgetownuniversityhospital.org/body.cfm?ID=8 & ?CFID=688431 & CFTOKEN=6\

4441906 & UserAction=DoctorDetails & doctorid=4448

Regards,

> Hi, my name is ; I am 27. I have idiopathic scoliosis; I have an

> S curve. Before I had my surgery, I had two 60 degree curves. I had

> my spine fused from the base of my neck to L-5 when I was 14 in 1992

> at the AI DuPont Children's Hospital in Wilmington, Delaware by Dr.

> Dan Mason. I now have two 32 degree curves. No major problems,

> though I have chronic back pain around L-5... and a lot of noisy

> hardware sounds when I move. I have seen several doctors, had MRIs,

> and CT scans, and all have told me that every thing is intact and that

> my pain stems from facet arthritis. My understanding is that I have

> minor arthritis. However, there are some days I simply can't move, I

> am in so much pain. I try to describe my pain to the docctors...

> unfortunately, I believe they think the pain is all in my head. I

> don't like suffering in silence and I do not like taking meds to cover

> up the pain. On top of that, I simply can not afford to continue to

> see doctors for " nothing. " Maybe someone can offer me some advice on

> where to go or what to do? I live in the Columbia Gorge area of

> Washington. I have been to OHSU but they have not offered me any

> effective help.

Posted June 28, 2005 · June 28, 2005

Well, it's just a bunch of clicking sounds. Like someone is tapping on a wooden

xylaphone all the way up my Lumbar area. I sound like a rickety 100 year old

person moving around, sometimes.

It's hard to explain; but, I do know people around me can hear it, too.

Do you have any names in Oregon or Washington?

Thank you for listening to me,

Racine <linda@...> wrote: