Item | Current | Lowest | Reviews |
---|---|---|---|
Drums Pedal Black Aluminum Alloy Children Rack Dr… | - | - | 3.7/5.0 |
^Item Info | Bot Info | Trigger
Item | Current | Lowest | Reviews |
---|---|---|---|
Item B07CK7QDSL | - | - | 0.0/5.0 |
^Item Info | Bot Info | Trigger
I'm writing this out because I know a lot of people don't have the resources/insurance to go see medical practitioners even though that is 100% the best advice, sometimes it isn't feasible for whatever reason. I had that opportunity and still saw some areas that were lacking, so I'll write out the main exercises I did to learn to walk again.
I also had a back injury (June 2020) which resulted in paralysis (stopped relying on wheelchair in Decemeber), and while I'm not currently back to normal, I can squat/lean forward to pick stuff off the ground and lead a reasonably normal life. Since I don't know your actual problems whether it's limited flexibility/balance due to muscle weakness or innervation take all of this with a grain of salt. But in my case it's both weakness and innervation (my only non-affected leg muscle group was quads; everything else was completely void of nerve function and muscle tone), so first thing was to work on glute strength (which is what allows you to lean forward without collapsing presuming everything else is somewhat ok, I can't bend over at the waist with straight legs because I don't have the strength in my ankles to prevent me from tipping, but I can bend knees and squat down without issue).
So for glutes I did lots of bridge exercises and standing leg extensions (braced against something like a wall of back of couch; kicking straight back and then out and back at a 45 degree line; like if you are standing on a clock facing 12, I'd kick my left leg back at 7:30 and right leg at 4:30; also kick out at 9 and 3 for building up side extensors). The hardest glute exercise for me at first was laying on my side and doing clamshells (put your back and feet against a wall to ensure you aren't cheating, this was months of agony).
I also had to do a ton of hamstring work where I'd just stand and bend my leg back to try to touch my ass; at first I'd get to about 3 inches off the ground, now I'm well past 90 degrees.
Once I had glutes and hamstrings reasonably well activated I started doing balancing exercises (literally trying to just stand still). I found this literally impossible in the beginning so I would go into a half squat. I mounted standoff clamps (https://www.mcmaster.com/3311T63/) and a top rail for a chainlink fence to a hallway in my house to make a handrail for balance during these. Slowly I built up from 3 seconds of balance in a half squat (now I can do 30 second squats) and then moved onto full leg extension standing balance; this is still pretty difficult, but I can do it for ~10-15 seconds (I find it easier if I move my arms back and forth a bit to get some gyroscopic stability; I do this mini exercise while brushing my teeth).
For general balance, I used a battle rope (while wearing my leg braces) for 3 - 1 minute sessions of up and down, and then side to side swinging. I did it in a half squat, it'll light your quads on fire but also it will begin to activate tiny muscles in your feet and calves for stability.
For calves/ankles, I haven't found anything designed for people with basically no strength (it's always standing on a step or curb to raise your body up, and for me I'd completely fall on my face). So, for this, I used a drum pedal like this one (https://www.amazon.com/Drums-Pedal-Aluminum-Children-Beater/dp/B07CK7QDSL/) remove the beater and the spring on the side, then get an assortment of extension springs like these with the loops on the end (https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-5-8-in-x-2-1-2-in-and-5-8-in-x-3-1-4-in-Zinc-Plated-Extension-Spring-4-pack-16089/202045478) then put one loop over the cross bar at the top of the pedal, and the other end at the top of the foot plate. Now you have a fairly light resistance stepping machine, just sit on the couch and press it down for 30 second sets each night. Add springs to increase resistance as you gain strength.
For general walking strength, it really is just walking; I had a relatively straight section in my house the was about 30 ft long, so I first started using my walker to do 100, then 300, then 500, then 1000 ft in 30 ft laps; timing myself to increase my strength. Then when I was doing 1,000 ft with my walker, I switched to a rollator, rinse repeat. Once I could do that, I took the rollator outside and used google maps to find a 700-800 foot stretch of pavement starting at my driveway, walked it and back (first day I had to take two breaks, the unevenness and speedhumps were a bear), then kept increasing it until I could walk around the block. Once I could do that reasonably well, I stopped using the rollator and switched to lofstrand crutches, rinse repeat from the beginning in my house doing laps. Once I could do that, lose one of the lofstrands, and keep walking around the block. Then when that became moderately easy, lose one of the leg braces (my current step) and time yourself, try to go faster each time. I'm currently at an average of 1.1 m/s for a 1km walk (a standard test for mobility and ambulation); 2 weeks ago I was at 1.0m/s. So keep track, I intend on losing my second brace (walking completely aid free) by new years (19 months after injury). Note: every time you make something harder, expect that your time will drop; this should make intuitive sense, but be prepared for it.
The biggest things I've taken to are: 1.) be diligent, especially in the beginning. I worked out every single day for the first 8 months (including when I was completely reliant on a wheelchair, get on the floor to do clamshells and bridges, then learn how to get back into your wheelchair from the floor without assistance); set an alarm in your phone, every night do 20-30 mins of things, even if it sucks, do it. 2.) challenge yourself, at 1 year I went to the Rockies and went hiking (took the non-paved trails) for a week and there was a definite increase in activity directly after that. I also take stairs when at work if I can, the first time sucked ass and felt like a workout all on its own, now I can do 2-3 flights fairly easily. Keep pushing. 3.) don't be discouraged by what you can't do, be happy for what you can (mindset is huge); I can't stand still for more than 10 seconds without moving, but I can mow my own lawn with a pushmower, I can walk around unassisted everywhere I go (my original prognosis was 0-13% chance of living without needing a nurse/assistant), I can still lift and carry 50+ lbs at a time. So yea, I stumble when I brush my teeth, but that is such a minor inconvenience considering I couldn't move a single muscle in my legs 14 months ago.
Feel free to reach out with any questions; hope this helps someone.