Re: what kind of brace do you use? how do I get off the couch and back in life?

January 2, 2007

Hi Marie -

My suggestion to you would be to find a credible

physical therapist and explain to him/her what you've

told us. Yes, there are ways to exercise without

" killing " yourself and a PT, who is worth their weight

in gold, will be able to tell you if a different brace

would be beneficial. You don't need a script from

your doc to go to PT, but if you need to have it

covered under insurance then you'll want to tell your

doc that you want PT.

A good therapist should meet your needs, and shouldn't

be a " one size fits all " kind of person. They should

take into account your current activity level, your

pain, and your whole lower body, not just the knees.

Exercises (non weight bearing) for your knees include

working your hips as well as quads, hamstrings,

glutes, etc.

SInce very few have a pot of gold to spend on physical

therapy, be sure to ask them for a home program that

doesn't involve expensive equipment. Usual some ankle

weights, a swiss exercise ball and maybe some elastic

straps will go a long way towards getting an exercise

program in place.

Oh yea, that losing weight thing......bottom line,

it's good advice, but often poorly given. NOTHING is

going to happen overnight, it's a slow process. You

might want to check out SparkPeople.com, a website

that covers healthy eating, as well as gentle " work at

it " exercise.

Good luck,

nne

Idaho

what kind of brace

do you use? how

do I get off the couch and back in life?

When I was 30, I was told I had " crappy " knees and if

I never ran or

did aerobics again, I might be able to avoid an

operation. Many

doctors later, I'm 43, I've been wearing Breg PTO

braces for 12 hours

a day about 3 years, and Cho Pats for just laying

around the house. I

even sleep in the Cho Pats. I've gotten fat, out of

shape and lazy. I

just checked out a stack of knee books to read and am

going to try to

see what I can do to help myself, because all I'm

getting for medical

advice is lose a little weight and try a little

exercise, possibly

swimming. The fact is, I'm afraid of water, and my doc

doesn't care

about that.

How do I get myself off the couch? Would a different

brace help?

What's popular? What's good/not so good? I'm also

wearing orthodics.

Marie

January 2, 2007

I ran 2-3 miles a day at least 5 days a week, restricted calories to under 1500

a day and the best I could do was a size 12. So after my car accident I

developed CP, had a 2 children just under 2 years apart, and a very difficult

time excercising. I am like you, currently working on dropping extra weight so I

don't get a doctor telling me the same thing " your knees are bad because of your

weight " when my knees are bad and thats why I am struggling with my weight. I

walk, at first I could only do (2) 5 minute sessions a day, worked my way up

from there. Last night I walked 3 miles in 62 minutes, I know it is very slow,

but it is progress. You have to find something you can do, we all can tolerate

different exercises. I focused on walking because all it costs is the best price

you can find on the best pair of walking shoes out there.... for you. For me it

is Addidas running shoes. Also, moving from a house that had stairs

dramatically reduced my swelling and cut my pain

greatly, I would say I am in 40% less pain. My PT suggested Pilates to me, and

even suggested those chair workouts that you see for senior citizens. That was

enough to scare me into getting up and moving. Best of luck to you, I know Ann

exercises very frequently and I think she may have some great suggestions for

you!!

marie_pintar <mpintar@...> wrote:

When I was 30, I was told I had " crappy " knees and if I never ran or

did aerobics again, I might be able to avoid an operation. Many

doctors later, I'm 43, I've been wearing Breg PTO braces for 12 hours

a day about 3 years, and Cho Pats for just laying around the house. I

even sleep in the Cho Pats. I've gotten fat, out of shape and lazy. I

just checked out a stack of knee books to read and am going to try to

see what I can do to help myself, because all I'm getting for medical

advice is lose a little weight and try a little exercise, possibly

swimming. The fact is, I'm afraid of water, and my doc doesn't care

about that.

How do I get myself off the couch? Would a different brace help?

What's popular? What's good/not so good? I'm also wearing orthodics.

Marie

__________________________________________________

January 2, 2007

Um, thanks for your confidence in me, but I haven't exercised very frequently

lately. Any disruption & I get set back a couple of weeks. Now that the

holidays are over, I'm hoping to keep up a more regular schedule. But I do want

to say that even when I've just been negligent for a couple of weeks, I have to

really back up & start slow again. However, I'd also like to say that, after

going 6 years w/o much exercise, and gaining a lot of weight, I did find that I

had been trying to do too much too fast & that was preventing me from getting

regular exercise. Starting slow like is doing has worked for me so that

now I can take 5-mile walks at a good clip. My " knee muscles " had gotten weak

over the years & exercise put too much demand on -- something -- don't know what

-- but not good for my knees.

Ann

Re: what kind of brace do you use? how do

I get off the couch and back in life?

I ran 2-3 miles a day at least 5 days a week, restricted calories to under

1500 a day and the best I could do was a size 12. So after my car accident I