Guest guest Posted March 28, 2004 Report Share Posted March 28, 2004 Has anyone been given suggestions for what exercises to do and what to avoid please? Hoping to have op sometime in May Margaret Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 29, 2004 Report Share Posted March 29, 2004 Margaret, Great question as pre op conditioning can make a huge difference - the stronger you are going in, the faster your post op recovery and rehab. I didn't get any recommendations from the doctors but personal trainers and physical therapists gave me some good exercise advice. I’m sure you’ll get lots of advice too, but it’s a little difficult to give a specific pre op exercise regimen as much of what you can do depends on your specific disease(s), current strength level, range of motion, and pain tolerance. Make sure your surgeon okays pre op exercise. Most of us have terrible range of motion pre op in addition to significant pain. The snapping an popping sounds from a bad hip can be unsettling. There are some exercises you can do at home, but I found weight resistance machines at a gym provide the best results. These are from my personal experience - I had seriously advanced bone to bone OA and had been very active all of my life. I suggest enlisting a certified trainer, especially if you have limited experience using gym equipment. Many people dealing with hip disease have related problems with their knees and back. A trainer will avoid any exercises that improperly stress these areas. You want to strengthen your legs and abdominals and work on cardiovascular conditioning. Weight training offers the best results but may be more than you can tackle. It also must be done with correct form to pay off. Here’s a fairly advanced routine on weight machines: abductor/aductor which work both legs simultaneously. Then do these with your single leg (your bad leg first then your good leg): leg extensions, leg curls, kick backs, calf machine, and if a leg press only if it supports your back and avoid going more over a 90 degree angle from your thigh to shin. I used an ankle strap attached to a cable machine for some kick backs and side kicks with light weight. Lunges are good if you have the range of motion to do them properly. As a general rule, do three sets of each exercise with an amount of weight allowing for 12-16 repetitions per set. If weight training is not for you, I have several things you can do at home. Let me know if you’re interested. Stretching is important, both before exercise and after, but I don’t know of anyone that doesn’t have a limited range of motion pre op. I found that you get your strength back post op before your range of motion. There are many good abdominal exercises but some unduly stress your back. As a general rule, make sure your knees are bent for any stomach exercise. If your maximum is 25 crunches at once, do 3 – 4 sets of 15 instead of one set of 25. Cardio work depends on what you like and what you can tolerate– walking, biking, life cycle, elliptical machines, stairmaster, are all good. There are guidelines as to how much cardio to do at what heart rate, even a short walk will help. High impact exercises are definitely out. 10 minutes of cardio work before your weight training is also great as a warm up. You may want to take an anti-inflammatory after your workouts, but make sure you discontinue them in advance of your surgery as required by your doctor. Doctors usually say Tylenol is okay and may give you a prescription to Vicadin. Again, your pre op investment will pay off. There's a lot of advice on exercise out there and not all of it is good. Be motivated, but be smart about what you do. If a specific exercise hurts any area other than your hip, stop it. Again, this is what worked for me. I'm doing great at 6 weeks post op on my second hip. Best of luck. Dave G. C+ Dr. Amstutz, 3/24/98, 2/12/04 > >Reply-To: surfacehippy >To: surfacehippy >Subject: Pre Op exercises >Date: Sun, 28 Mar 2004 15:26:38 -0000 > >Has anyone been given suggestions for what exercises to do and what >to avoid please? > >Hoping to have op sometime in May > >Margaret > _________________________________________________________________ FREE pop-up blocking with the new MSN Toolbar – get it now! http://toolbar.msn.com/go/onm00200415ave/direct/01/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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