Hi Grace, Oh, oh! That's why I mentioned in my e-mail that neither the hopping nor skipping were exercises but that she was using them for diagnostic purposes. When she had me try to hop, she had me stand in front of a grab bar on the wall and she stood with me. When I had to try and skip, I was near the grab bar along the wall and she was standing very close on the other side in case of a possible tumble. I really wouldn't recommend trying these exercises by yourself.
As I mentioned, she didn't seem to think doing them on a regular basis would make my hopping or skipping improve. But, I figure, if the damaged nerves improve over time, then the hopping and skipping tests could be used to indicate if there was some improvement in the message response time in our spinal cords. I have recently gone through a setback with all my tm problems since the beginning of August due to a death in my family, a great deal of stress and various cold- and flu-type illnesses that cropped up during the couple of months after. I couldn't go to physiotherapy and it is amazing just how much the neuropathic pain, stiffness, spasms, etc., worsened during that time. Several times, my whole left leg has gone into a spasm that has pulled my toes down into a point and I can't feel my foot or put it flat on the floor. It was like being a ballerina on point. The first time it happened I was frightened that I was going to end up in the hospital. Even my bad knee (a problem prior to tm) flared up with excrutiating pain during the past month. I was in so much pain I couldn't exercise. I've been trying to get back on track for the past week or so and I can feel a bit of improvement already but there is still a long way to go. One thing I've learned by this situation is that, for example, if we were fit prior to tm and were exercising regularly at the gym then hurt something and had to stop for awhile, our bodies would respond fairly quickly once back at our exercise program. Conversely, in our tm situation, if we have to stop physio because of a health, emotional, physical problem, or other reason, and the tm symptoms get worse, it takes much longer to even get back to where we left off, let alone make any improvement. Sorry for rambling, but I guess I'm trying to say is that physiotherapy is a necessity in order to manage the residual effects of our tm attack. We may never get back to where any of us were pre-tm (whether we are in a wheelchair, on a walker or walking with a cane, etc.) but physiotherapy is vital just to keep us from regressing. We need all the help we can get. If you are in physio, keep it up. If you aren't, then ask your doctor to send you to a physio- (physical) therapist to see if they can create a home-program for you that you will be able to maintain over time. We really need to be our own advocates in dealing with the residual effects of the tm attack. I won't be going to the spinal cord injury clinic for long but, before I am discharged from this program, I hope the physio will set up a three-tier program that can be sustainable at home. Ideally, it will consist of several exercises to target the necessary muscle groups at a level that reflect my current abilities. The other two levels should consist of a less strenuous set of exercises targeting the same muscle groups (in case of a knee flare-up, other setback, etc., so I can continue to do something) and a higher level of the same exercises that I could do when/if I get stronger. It also helps if the exercises are written down on paper with sketches of each as it is easy (for me at least) to forget the correct way to do exercises over time. That is my two cents worth on the importance of physiotherapy but I've really found, from my recent experience, just how important some exercise will be during the rest of my life. Regards to all. Louise ----- Original Message ----- From: Grace M. To: Heather & Pieter Cc: Louise Croyden ; Todd Tarno ; sal r ; tm Sent: Thursday, November 08, 2007 10:17 PM Subject: Re: [TMIC] scissoring legs Hi Louise, I just tried skipping---and absolutely cannot do it. (In fact, it was almost tragic.) The hopping thing is so bizarre---I actually feel like I've hopped despite accomplishing nothing. Now the skipping was a dangerous undertaking for me and I don't think I'll try it again anytime soon. Just managing to take off, it felt like my legs weighed 1000 pounds each, and of course once I did *take off*, my skipping mechanism pooped completely out and I had to make a quick grab for the couch. Sheesh! Grace
