Exercise My Way by "Ask our MS Nurse"

By: Cherie C. Binns RN BS MSCN

In the fall of 2006, when I first began “Rehab My Way” I could not have imagined how well it would work for me nor could I have fathomed the interest other people with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) or mobility problems would have in what I was doing. As a result of severe osteoporosis in my feet (several non-healed fractures over the period of a year) I was advised that my walking days were over and a motorized chair was recommended by several physicians and physical therapists as a lifestyle change. Water exercise, I was told, would allow me to keep joints active and mobile without stressing the fractures more and might also relieve some of the joint pain I was experiencing from inactivity.

After trying out the public pools that were available in our area, it rapidly became clear that the exhaustion factor and inaccessibility of wet pool decking to someone in a chair or on crutches made them not only unsafe, but impractical for my needs. So we looked for alternatives. Thank goodness the Economic downturn (recession?) had not begun to radically impact our lives at that point and we had more choices to meet this need than we have in today’s economy. We shopped the Internet for various forms of pools or water therapy areas that we might add in the yard or on a deck or porch or in a small addition to the house. Because I have never enjoyed swimming and I literally broke bones doing a flutter kick with my left foot, something like a lap pool or endless pool where one swims against the current did not seem to be the right solution.

To continue reading this story, click here to be redirected to the MS Views and News website. Then scroll down on the page to read "Exercise My Way"

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