to walk or any other kind of exercise as much as possible. You have to help your vascular system flush out whatever's 'settled' and enable new juices to get into those nooks and crannies to help heal what's damaged. Also, if new nerves are growing? You gotta give them something to do besides ZAP or ZEEP! You have to program them! They want to know their job!
It is very hard to find the right way for YOU! though. It's taken me a lot of rounds of PT for the PN and for broken bones etc. to find the right combination of 'tricks' that work for me. Truly, more than I care to recall overall. MOVING is plain old important!
As for finding out what is good vs. bad exercise pain? Well, that is why I advocate finding good therapists...Of Course I've gone thru a few before finding the right place with the right people who can work with me, understand my PN issues [and other problems] and can devise a HOME PROGRAM that can help me do it all on my own.
Knowing what is good vs bad is tricky? I've found my own 'barometer' is either I'm soo hurting I do not think I can drive home on my own safely...to finding out that X times five reps all at once is too much in the pay-back-pain factor the next day...and that doing X times five reps scattered during the PT session and switching off onto other equally 'exciting' tasks in between helps keep the pain down immensely. I call it 'little bits'. That what I do AT PT I then do at home is useful too..in that I can do those reps of '5' spread out thru the day...I have found that I can creep up on the reps and build my strength up more slowly, but effectively w/far less pain. We all TRY TOO HARD at times. This is a situation where you have to be far more slow and steady than the tortoises. But, just keep on going. It all adds up.
The most annoying part of all this PN is that I really have to PLAN! I've got to plan where I go and for how long..... and plot out how I go and shop or do anything else in terms of moving through any building etc. But, I've found the 'plotting' has saved me a lot of frustrations in the long run. I tho, have learned my current limits - even tho I push them? I am careful to have access to some sort of help in the process. Should I get STUCK! And I have at times. Tales for another time?
Hope this helps! Keep on keeping on... - j