regaining strength after surgery ?? - Cerebral Palsy Message Board

mdctlew · 05-11-2006, 07:37 PM

HI . my son had his hamstrings lengthened last YEAR in april and his achellis tendons lengthened a year ago this coming aug . we are still having a hard time regaining the strength in his legs . he still has spascity really bad .
we work him and stretch him everyday . he is walking on a treadmill too . we are up to 7 minutes on it but we cant seem to get his walking with a walker downpat ,
has anyone here had struggles with regaining strength after any surgery ?
thanks debbie

JellyRJFan · 05-12-2006, 09:38 PM

hi debbie,

I had my hamstrings lengthened 7 years ago this june and never regained full strength. It's frustrating, but you've just got to stick with the work outs!

Zagreus · 05-13-2006, 06:38 AM

My son actually regained strength relatively quickly and is now stronger than ever, but his spasticity is not at all severe. Every child's different. We did, however, have intensive physical therapy and have been blessed with an insurance policy that's allowed him to have a minimum of weekly therapy for several years.
If you think your child is regaining strength too slowly, look into the possiblity of extra therapy sessions. Maybe some different types of exercise would help?

Steffers2318 · 05-13-2006, 09:57 AM

After my hamstring lengthening, I used aquatherapy (therapy in a pool) and gained strength back very quickly. Even if you can't find a PT place with that, maybe you could try doing some exercise at the pool this summer with your son. Let's see, I did things like walking in place, kicking one leg out to the front, side, and back; floating on my stomach and trying to bring a leg out of the water, floating on my back and kicking my legs (like pedaling a bike)...and probably other stuff I can't remember. The water is good because it holds you up somewhat while adding resistance. And it's more fun than regular exercise!

I had to have someone with me in the pool, though.

What exactly do you mean by he can't walk with a walker? When I was in the pool they first made me stand in place to gain more balance, and then I walked around by myself a little. It was hard, but it did help my balance outside of the water...like I said, the water makes it easier because it holds you up.

HTH...good luck

insomnio · 05-13-2006, 06:22 PM

I just had my achilles lengthened for the 3rd time in April. In the past my doc recommended to ride my bike a lot. This time I'm going into PT, different doctor though, so slightly different methods.

I just had my cast taken off just 2 days ago, and I'm still in a removable cast, so I havnt had to deal with regaining strength on this one just yet. So maybe I'll have some more insights later, but when I was a kid it was always the bike.