Walking

[CW]

I am going out for a walk. No big deal to most but I spent the last year in a wheel chair. In the last month, I have progressed from the chair to a walker and now just a cane. I'm so badly out of shape though that I can only make it about a block before I have to rest. Oddly enough, I have to constantly remind myself how to walk. You wouldn't think you forget but apparently I did. My knee is still bone on bone. My doctor seems to think I am to young for a knee replacement. He said to give it a while and see if the pain goes away. I'll see how it goes. Airports should be fun. I have a steel plate and 15 screws in my lower leg.

[cedarsonny]

in a wheel chair. In the last month, I have progressed from the chair to a = walker and now just a cane. I'm so badly out of shape though that I can onl= y make it about a block before I have to rest. Oddly enough, I have to cons= tantly remind myself how to walk. You wouldn't think you forget but apparen= tly I did. My knee is still bone on bone. My doctor seems to think I am to = young for a knee replacement. He said to give it a while and see if the pai= n goes away. I'll see how it goes. Airports should be fun. I have a steel p= late and 15 screws in my lower leg.

Hang in there. Apparently you're doing great with your progress. Yep, whe= n the knee becomes more of a handicap, signifcantly affecting your life and= living, then it's time for the replacement. If you had the operation now,= it may very well affect your progress with learning to walk again. Prior = to any knee or leg operation, one needs to have their muscles built up, to = help with the surgery recovery. Well maintained strong/toned muscles do wo= nders for recouperation, that way. When there's pain, it's your body telli= ng you to back off, from whatever you're doing. =20

Good luck and keep at it. Sonny

[SonomaProducts.com]

in a wheel chair. In the last month, I have progressed from the chair to a = walker and now just a cane. I'm so badly out of shape though that I can onl= y make it about a block before I have to rest. Oddly enough, I have to cons= tantly remind myself how to walk. You wouldn't think you forget but apparen= tly I did. My knee is still bone on bone. My doctor seems to think I am to = young for a knee replacement. He said to give it a while and see if the pai= n goes away. I'll see how it goes. Airports should be fun. I have a steel p= late and 15 screws in my lower leg.

Dude, welcome back among the living. All the best. The body is an amazing t= hing and hopefully it will respond to your request for improvement.

[G. Ross]

Yep! My wife has a knee replacement. When we went to Japan, she had to have the whole body scan, or x-ray. They paid it little attention in Japan, but when we got back to Atlanta, they gave her the full body x-ray again before they would let us leave the airport. Not sure about the logic in that.

Hope you continue to do well.

[tiredofspam]

Cool.. that's a big step.

See a sports orthopedist for a second opinion on the knee replacement. They have a different view of some things than regular orthopedists.

Good luck... walk each day a little bit more.

See if you can get a stationary bike for a low impact muscle strengthening, if you are not going to a physical therapist.

You can stick it in front of a tv or your computer and build up.

[Lew Hodgett]

----------------------------------------------------- Congrats.

Have a friend who got a knee replacement.

As others have said, you want to be in best shape possible going into that surgery.

Good luck.

Lew

[Mike M]

I had both my femurs shattered and was like you in a wheel chair, the doctor is likely right. When I first started walking and sometimes now you can hear me coming the knees are popping so loud. I had bone to bone in the hip, but as you strengthen and build core muscles it start to work it self out. Ironically 3 years later I'm back at the same place doing physical therapy. It's a problem when your mind makes promises the body can't keep and your too stubborn to realize it.

Mike M

[-MIKE-]

Glad to hear you're walking! Keep up the good work, as hard as it may be. Opinions on other issues aside, I'm very glad to hear that you are progressing. My "niece" had a leg amputated due to childhood cancer. She got new crutches the other day and was bragging about learning how to "run" on them. Obviously, that really opened the waterworks for me and the wife.

Congrats again, and I pray for continued success and healing.

[Han]

"CW" wrote in news:Gpadne13P8N4OITNnZ2dnUVZ [e-mail]:

Happy for you for your progress. Sorry that you still have a way to go. Hope it will seem like last century as soon as posssible.

I have a couple of plates in my leg and a dozen screws. No problems with airports. I think mine may be titanium, but I'm not sure. Titanium is a metal that bones grow into. Weird but true. Some Swede found out and that's why tooth implants are made of titanium, and I think the screws for bones too.

[Han]

tiredofspam wrote in news:FYudnUHCpunbIITNnZ2dnUVZ [e-mail]:

I'll second the bicycle for muscle strengthening. Think about it - it exercises and strengthens, but you don't have all your body weight hitting your knee with every step.

[Ed Pawlowski]

Congrats. Glad you are getting about.

The doc may be right about the pain going away, but, unless I guess your age wrong, you are not too young. My daughter had both knees done before she was 40.

IIRC, life expectancy of a replacement is 20 years and they can do two of them before the bone is too short.

[tommyboy]

CW, hope it all goes well for you. At the very least you're out of the wheel chair.

tom

[Morgans]

I am going out for a walk. No big deal to most but I spent the last year in a wheel chair. In the last month, I have progressed from the chair to a walker and now just a cane. I'm so badly out of shape though that I can only make it about a block before I have to rest. Oddly enough, I have to constantly remind myself how to walk. You wouldn't think you forget but apparently I did. My knee is still bone on bone. My doctor seems to think I am to young for a knee replacement. He said to give it a while and see if the pain goes away. I'll see how it goes. Airports should be fun. I have a steel plate and 15 screws in my lower leg.

************************************************************** Hope you get along well. As far as the airport, the steel used in surgery is nearly always non magnetic grades of stainless steel. I have a bit of hardware in my back, too.

-- Jim in NC

[WW]

I am going out for a walk. No big deal to most but I spent the last year in a wheel chair. In the last month, I have progressed from the chair to a walker and now just a cane. I'm so badly out of shape though that I can only make it about a block before I have to rest. Oddly enough, I have to constantly remind myself how to walk. You wouldn't think you forget but apparently I did. My knee is still bone on bone. My doctor seems to think I am to young for a knee replacement. He said to give it a while and see if the pain goes away. I'll see how it goes. Airports should be fun. I have a steel plate and 15 screws in my lower leg.

This may or may not help you. I had knee pain in both legs for years. got so bad I had to pull myself up stairs using a hand rail. I took Glucosamine Chondroitin with MSM for a year with no results. Sister in law with same problem, but was on crutches. Did same thing with no result. She was alerted to add about 1/3 cup of Aloe Vera JUICE with each pill. After a short time no more pain and tossed the crutches. Doing fine now. I started the same regime and in a months time no more pain and go up steps no problem. I assume the aloe acts as a catalyst to make the pills work. I buy the Aloe juice at Wal Mart for $7 a gallon. So inexpensive to give it a try. My knees were worn out due to age (85). Now I still motorcycle trail ride with no problem. WW

[Larry Blanchard]

Hang in there. But make sure that "out of shape" isn't due to circulation problems before it's too late. I was getting out of breath after a short walk and blamed it on asthma. When I finally went to the doc he found I had an artery that was 98% blocked. He said "don't wait so long next time!".

And yes, you can forget how to walk. I was diagnosed with rheumatic fever when I was 8 or 9. Spent 3-4 months in bed. When they finally let me get up, I had to crawl or hold myself up by hanging onto a wall. Took a week or two before I could walk normally again. I remember thinking it was a big joke -on me! It might take a bit longer for an adult to relearn but you'll get there.

Good luck and keep us posted.

[tiredofspam]

Cool, I like the fact that at 85 you still trail ride. I have a question, I play Volleyball almost daily. I have had both shoulders rebuilt, my knees are my Achilles these days. I blew both ACLs, and that's part of the problem the other is just the vertical that I have, when I land it is a pounding.

Can the juice work on it's own, or do I need the Glucosamine Chondroitin with MSM ? I took them for a while and they didn't help me. They were expensive too.

And Twayne like Leon said FO!!

[Leon]

I am sure that we are comparing apples to oranges here but I have a couple of inspiring feats accomplished by a customer of mine and by a friend of a friend.

First off, my customer rides in the MD bike ride from Houston to Austin. This past Spring she rode 100 miles on the first day of the trip and 75 miles on the second day. She is 76 years old.

My friend used to own a bicycle shop in Houston and her husband at one time organized that same ride from Houston to Austin. A couple of years back an older gentleman made the trip in one day, 175 or so miles. He was 94.

[Scott Lurndal]

If you have a costco in the area, you can get GC+MSM (1500mg/1500mg) for about 6-10 cents per day.

have worked well for my knee (slightly torn meniscus).

scott

[tiredofspam]

We are due to get a costco here in the next year. Right now it's about 45 minutes away.

[Han]

Larry Blanchard wrote in news:jvedku$f4f$ [e-mail]:

I was bedridden for 6 or so weeks around same age. No box at my feet. Achilles tendon shrunk, and I couldn't walk right away either ...