Pleasant surprise

[Pea_WoS]

I just wanted to quickly share this little story with you.

Being a long term stroke survivor, with limited support and various forms of discrimination working against me, I have somehow managed to survive a stroke and lived to tell the tale as it were.

I have not had a chance to visit this site as often as I would have liked, but am making an effort as I feel it might help some of you.

Recently, after various stop starts and attempts to find solutions, I have been introduced a leg exerciser. I am heavily immobilised and sit in chair or lie in bed and require double up assistance to move around. As a result exercise is difficult and has been pretty much non-existent and a consequence of this is muscle loss, locked joints etc.

Since I started using the leg exerciser just over a month ago or maybe two months (time has no meaning for me. Each day is just another day ) I have found myself feeling happier and my muscles and joints seem to be improving .

My leg knee joint was heavily locked at almost 90 degrees, but now it has loosened up and I can straighten up to 45 degrees or better. Also, my hip feels looser, though it is not directly exercised by the leg exerciser - maybe a side benefit of leg exerciser.

The most surprising thing, I am able to control my legs a little better without much effort and I have easily done 30 minutes continuously each time I have “walked” and today I did one whole hour and did not even work up a sweat. At the end of it I felt as fresh as a daisy.

Unless I am stopped in my tracks, I intend to continue and see how much more I can improve. The improvement has been almost exponential and considering how long I had been inactive, this is the most surprising bit - I had heard “use it or lose it”, and had worried about it as muscles did show shrinkage, but right now, I can debunk the “use it or lose it”. I did not use it for over 5 years and I’ve still got it

Yes, I’ve still got it

Wishing you all the best.

[pando]

Wow, that’s no small feat… bravo to you. That’s very encouraging progress, and now you’ve glimpsed a world full of possibilities, you’ll pick up momentum and strength like never before !! Go man, go !!

Roland

[IreneFC]

@Pea_WoS This is very uplifting. My mother in law when she suffered a stroke in 2018 she has been receiviing physio and the improvement was excellent, however physio stopped and so did the improvement. So she is now stuck, but your story is so encouraging. I did say to my wife to get her mum private help and maybe she could gain more mobility. I am a believer if you don’t use it you lose it. I now i am talking for myself as a stroke survivor. Your story has uplifted me for they day, Thank you for sharing. Good luck

[Susan_Jane]

Hi @Pea_WoS well done you , that’s very inspirational. Thank you for sharing your story, it’s what makes this such a useful place to be. Keep up the good work.

Regards Sue

[Mrs5K]

@Pea_WoS thank you for sharing this. It is fantastic to read such a positive update. It sounds like you are making great progress now & you will no doubt enjoy the possibilities this opens up for you.

It may be worth sharing a few details of your leg exerciser so others can explore it as an option if they wish to.

Fantastic news. Go you.

Ann

[Mich-mm]

Hello @Pea_WoS your story is so inspirational,please do tell us exactly what this leg exerciser is.i like you have been immobile for 4 years.

[Jbob]

Hi @Pea_WoS thank you for sharing this achievement this is so uplifting to hear on a dark winter day this is a beacon of light. Wishing you continued success.

[Trisha2]

Great news! Can you share the make please?

[Pea_WoS]

Thank you for your comments and I hope those of you who expressed delight and interest in what I had to say will not be disappointed as I share the product I am using. This is me in my wheelchair with my feet on the two pads which move forward and backward.
This model has 5 levels (speeds) with Level 1 at 32 steps and increasing by 4 steps per level so that level 5 is 52 steps (I must admit I am not sure if this is steps per minute) as I haven’t timed them and I haven’t read the manual. My main interest was being able to get movement activity whilst sat in a chair. I have sat with this at level 3 for 90 minutes no problem.

This was bought a few years back as I mentioned - the stop starts and was put on the shelf as I was not able to benefit from it due to the condition of the legs/joints. Then recently as mentioned in my post the dust was shaken off and I was put on it and much to our surprise I was able to use it and benefit from it.

This particular product might no longer be available but you can have a look for it.
We bought this from Coopers of Stortford.
It is a Low Impact Leg Exerciser by Vivadia.

I include a picture of the box it came in.

As i coundn’t find this, I had a look at what might be available and came across something that looks similar and is also in the price range I paid for mine.

Buy HoMedics Leg Exerciser Easy Foot Touch Control & Remote, Lightweight Compact Storage, 3 Speeds White? Compare at Bigshopper
This has 3 speeds per the product info and I cannot share personal experience, just that it looks similar to the one I use.

---

Excited by the success of this I have actually upgraded to this

DR-HO’S MotionCiser Fit Foot & Leg Massager with Exercise Bands — VitaDora UK

It is much more expensive, but I thought it would be worth the money if it can help me towards my stated goals.

I wish you all success and if you do decide to join me, I shall look forward to your updates.

Thank you.

Pea

[Mrs5K]

Thanks for sharing the details of the product you are using. It looks ideal for the purposes you describe & I am sure if will help others too. It is great that you were able to dust ut off and start using it again. I hope the upgraded product moves you smoothly to the next level of your recovery.

[HamPorkson]

Amazing effort. Keep going.

[EmeraldEyes]

@Pea_WoS

I can debunk the “use it or lose it”. I did not use it for over 5 years and I’ve still got it

But that’s not how that terminology is meant to work. It’s not saying you lose it forever. Yes, you do lose it and that makes doing things even harder because you lose muscle strength. It becomes a vicious cycle until your muscles are as flat as a deflated ballon, and that’s where/how you ‘lose it’.

But muscles can be re-inflated so to speak, built back up, with work, time and determination. And it will take a lot of time, months to years depending on how long those muscles have been wasted. Together with a protein enriched diet and strength and resistance exercises it can be built back up again. And that can be started even from a bed or wheelchair just by clenching and flexing the various muscles in your body while you sit or lie there. Just 20 minutes, 3 times a day will a long way to getting up on your feet and ready for the next phase of exercise.

Lorraine

[Pea_WoS]

Thanks for the explanation @EmeraldEyes .

I guess I took it to mean that you literally would lose the muscles. The balloon analogy helps explain the meaning. It’s good to know, but either way “I’ve still got it” and so I am happy.