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  • Physical therapy

    Hi all,

    I was just reading some threads here and was wondering about Physical Therapy. It seems like a lot of your children have had PT. I asked our surgeon about this when we went for our postop visit last week. He doesn't prescribe PT. He suggested that Laura begin walking now and should be really working hard and breaking a sweat by the time we see him again at the end of Feb. Any suggestions?

    Maureen
    16 year old Daughter Laura; surgery done Nov 18,2004 for congenital kyphosis and scoliosis.

  • #2
    The physical therapist wanted to send Jamie to oupatient p.t. immediatly following surgery, but our doctor and I talked about it and decided not to do so. The therapist said she was leaning forward and not real steady on her feet. This was three days after surgery and she hadn't even eaten anything yet! No wonder she was wobbly.

    At her two week check-up the doctor did mention p.t. starting after her next appointment which is Feb. 3rd to work on her flexibility and mobility. I'm not sure if that's because he fused down to L2 or not. I'll let you know!

    Mary Lou

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    • #3
      Reading the boards in the past, I remember seeing that many people do PT and many people do not. It seems like using PT varies by doctor. Someone on one post suggested that possibly it depends on whether the doctor has had a negative experience with it.

      I asked our surgeon at Bill's last appointment (which was about 6 weeks post op) and he said "Absolutely not." And then I said "Never?" And he said, "Not until he is fused." He said the best thing Bill could do is walk, and if we have access to a pool, then he could swim.


      Susan

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      • #4
        PT before Surgery

        My daughter is having this surgery this summer. I was wondering whether anyone did any PT or specific exercizes leading up to surgery and if so what kind? I'd like to keep her as strong and limber as possible leading up to surgery, in the hopes it will make recovery easier.

        Susanna
        Susanna
        ~~~~~~
        Mother of a 17 year old daughter. Her "S" curve was 40 degree thoracic from T3 to T9, and a 70 degree rotatory thorcolumbar from T9 to L4. She was operated on March 9th, 2005 by Dr. Boachie-Adjei at the Hospital for Special Surgery in NYC. She was fused from T11 to L3, using an anterior approach, and the major curve corrected to 20 degrees. She's doing great!

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        • #5
          Susanna,

          This probably isn't going to help you too much but I did want to respond.

          Bill didn't do anything "official" to prepare. He's in marching band and with marching season starting in August and his surgery in November, he got lots of exercise - lugging a horn, playing and marching for several hours a day definitely helped prepare him.

          I think the most important thing is doing something - maybe swimming or walking. I do believe it helped him in his recovery to have been in such good shape prior to surgery.

          Susan

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          • #6
            Hi Bills Mom

            I think I was the poster :-). I'd say start when your doctor wants it started and then make sure the p.t who they send Bill too has experience in scoli surgery patients. I am (even though my surgeons not) very pro physical therapy at some stage in recovery (whether at 3 months or a year) because it was the best thing my parents ever sent me to and I hate to imagine what kind of shape I'd be in flexibility wise movement wise if they hadn't (I still go today twice a year 5 years post op :-). My p.t never involved weights and stuff (still doesn't), at the start it was simply stretches and working on how I sat and walked. As time went on it started to involve a fitness ball and balance disc but it was just stuff that could be done within my own body.

            Hi Susanna

            I didn't do anything specifically before my fusion. I just kept up the stuff I normally did; which included swimming, athletics, dance (ballet mostly) and stuff we did in P.E in school (I still had the brace until a week before surgery which left me a bit floppy muscle wise but that was the only bad bit). I think the main thing is that you keep on doing stuff that's active.

            Best wishes to both of you

            Alison

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            • #7
              There are always so many different views on what to do. On another site I read a post from a man who had scoliosis (and kyphosis too, I think). He talked about NOT having surgery done yet (he was in his late 20's now) and that the program he devised for himself included PT, chiropractic, use of an inversion machine, swimming and other activities which kept him flexible and in his view away from surgery. Granted, the scoli and kyphosis are skeletal problems, but certainly muscle tone and flexibility are important issues, especially for scoli/kyphosis patients. Not that work on muscles will cure the skeletal problems, but good muscle tone and flexibility could only be a good thing in my view if done at the right time. Also makes sense to me that good muscle tone would be a help in surgical recovery.

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              • #8
                hi
                i just thought i'd write since my daughter had surgery nov. 3rd and after 1 month the dr. prescribed p/t. I was very worried about my daughter doing it and did post asking if others had to do this as well. It just made me nervous that they would do something that would hurt her, but the dr. gave me a list of p/t's that had experience with scoliosis patients. All they really do with her is work on her posture, they have her do some stretching and desencitizing of her back. I wonder why some drs prescribe it and some do not.
                jennifer

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                • #9
                  Thanks everyone. This is all good information.

                  Jennifer, we have our first consult with Boachie tomorrow! I am so anxious. All the research and the questions leading up to this day.

                  How's your daughter doing? Based on your posts, sounds like she's doing great! You seem to have transitioned from "worried mom" to "surgery veteran" with advice for us!

                  Happy New Years!

                  Susanna
                  Susanna
                  ~~~~~~
                  Mother of a 17 year old daughter. Her "S" curve was 40 degree thoracic from T3 to T9, and a 70 degree rotatory thorcolumbar from T9 to L4. She was operated on March 9th, 2005 by Dr. Boachie-Adjei at the Hospital for Special Surgery in NYC. She was fused from T11 to L3, using an anterior approach, and the major curve corrected to 20 degrees. She's doing great!

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    hi susanna
                    let me know how it goes with dr. boachie and what you thought of him. Good luck. Nicole is doing very good and i just cross my fingers that it continues. It is amazing.

                    write me after the appointment
                    jennifer

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