Thanks again to both Mrs. D and Dr. (not-a-real-doctor) Smith.
That part about the CIDP worries me a bit. I read that it's often apparent in early adulthood, and Mom was 78 when she noticed the symptoms. She's 87 now, and while the disease has progressed it hasn't affected her autonomous nervous system or anything much above her knees.
She's otherwise vigorous for her age...but then, she's a smart woman with a lot of determination, and I'm not sure how much discomfort she's simply decided not to mention.
Maybe I'm rationalizing (because I'm worried, of course).
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I poked around a bit on the Internets just now. Here are some PN-specific exercise stuff I found:
Quote:
Resistance training is a great way to improve overall muscle strength, especially for people with peripheral neuropathy, and there’s research to prove it. In a 2006 study, subjects who walked for 1 hour, 4x/week, slowed down the worsening of their peripheral neuropathy.
Researchers at the University of Louisville showed that lower-body weight training (30 minutes 3x/week) improved muscle strength and quality of life in patients doing such routine tasks as walking to the car.
You should avoid high impact exercises (e.g., running on a treadmill or jumping up and down) because they more often result in foot injuries. Seated resistance exercises are an excellent choice, as are swimming, rowing, and pretty much any upper body exercise.
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From another site:
Quote:
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Certain exercises can keep tissues healthy by maintaining muscle strength, joint mobility and blood circulation in the areas affected by the neuropathy. When nerves are damaged, the muscles they service gradually shrink and become weak and the joints controlled by those muscles lose mobility. Stretching and gentle strengthening exercises can maintain the length, tone and functionality of the muscles. Practices such as yoga or the Chinese discipline of tai chi are good ways to gently stretch. strengthen and promote range of motion in the joints without much risk of further injuring vulnerable nerves, muscles and joints.
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OK. Fine, but pretty general.
It looks like common-sense stuff: keep mobility in the lower legs by doing foot exercises, avoid high-impact stuff, work the large muscles by doing strength and aerobic training.
I like it when recommendations make good sense...
