snibgo wrote:531colin wrote:... but I don't see why you shouldn't do exercises that dont hurt, as long as you go very gently at first, and dont put weight on it
I was told that pain wasn't a reliable limit to my exercises, as I could damage the healing of the bone around the screws without realising it.
But I did (and still do) more exercises than have been suggested to me. There seems to be a conflict here: the healing bone wants no exercise, but the muscles do want exercise.
Particular thanks to you, Snibgo, your detailed account is very useful in lieu af any clear advice from the powers that be. It has got me thinking as I have had a back problem for years whereby something tiny (e.g. putting on a sock) appears to tweak a tiny muscle in my lower spine; the injury is nothing but all the lumbar muscles go into spasm and my back is painful for up to ten days as a result (my wife calls me "banana man" whilst I am suffering as I seem to lean to one side when walking.) Using crutches is fairly stiff on the lumber muscles anyway, so at present I constantly feel on the verge of pulling my back - especially when leaning over a washbasin. Clearly immobility of my back would compound my current difficulties at present so I would like to avoid it. Before the operation the anaesthetist bent several needles attempting to give me a spinal injection, saying my spine was calcified (it appears I have my father's spine - at least he has the excuse of having broken his as a reason!). I suspect the calcification and my ongoing back niggles may be related, so it may be worth building this into the picture for any future physio. I like the idea of a physio working towards a goal (thanks AWP, mine is to be able to run, swim and cycle at least as well as before).
I think I will make a GP appointment whereby I can give him the hospital paperwork that they don't seem to have sent him, ask him to try and fill in the details of questions unanswered by the hospital, get me in touch with my local hospital services and I may even wave the health insurance trump card to try and get an early introduction to a physio to at least plan for my future recuperation.
Some years ago I worked in South Korea. The people there were lovely but there is a big Korean cultural issue called "Kibun". This refers to "group feeling", similar to "good karma", and it is very poor etiquette to upset the Kibun. This has the unfortunate effect that they leave it until the last possible moment to give you bad news, by which time it is too late to plan around a problem which they may have known about for weeks. My experience of Swindon hospital was very similar, and similarly dispiriting. I hope now to take control of my destiny a little more firmly; although I really don’t want to upset the NHS as every individual person appears truly dedicated.