I mentioned previously that back in June I had a physiotherapy review with the Community Neuro rehabilitation team. At the time they did not feel I should be starting anything until I had got the SCS sorted and was getting better pain relief. Above all else the physios wanted agreement from the hospital neuro team that I was ready to undertake some form of exercise. Having got the ok I had a session with one of the rotational physios, Harriet.
Given my history, particularly my more recent experiences, Harriet wanted to start gently. My neck had been giving me quite bad problems when I was getting up in the morning, both pain and stiffness. She therefore recommended some neck rotations, followed by trunk rotations. I found neck rotations to the left particularly challenging. That’s the whole point of the exercise. You do enough to challenge without overdoing it and causing pain or damage. Next was some sit-to-stand. This is one of those things that really shows the randomness of my mobility issues. I might do one where I’m really wobbly and take several seconds to get any sense of balance. Then I do a few and it’s like nothing is wrong. Then suddenly my balance is shot to pieces again.
We then moved on to some leg exercises. Standing next to a worktop, Harriet asked me to walk on the spot, exaggerating the knee lift. Well that was a disaster! The idea of being next to the worktop was to provide something I could gently put my fingers on if I needed something to aid my balance. Evidently it is not supposed to be there for me to grip on to for dear life so I don’t fall over! 😱 Harriet suggested we park that exercise for the time being and try something purely aimed at balance. She got me to do a tandem stand.
I would describe this as manageable but variable. Naturally left-footed, I always considered my left leg my stronger side. However, since my condition developed, that has changed significantly. My left leg is now noticeably weaker. My left ankle is very stiff, though not painful. It simply doesn’t bend forward nearly as much as my right ankle does. With my right foot behind (now the stronger of the two) and bearing most of my weight, I remain fairly steady. However, constant movements in my foot and toes reveal the effort my body exerts to maintain balance. When I try the opposite stance, with my left foot mostly planted (using that term loosely), it’s a different story. My legs continuously adjust, wobbling back and forth and side to side to keep me upright. I also rely noticeably more on the worktop to steady myself.
Harriet suggested that, despite my obvious unease, this would be a good exercise for me to persevere with. I just need to be mindful of the line between challenging myself and risking harm.