Hey all!

I'm trying to find easy ways to hit that sweet spot between not enough and too much physical activity that it seems many of us struggle with. Like many of you, I find the pool super therapeutic, but it can be a hassle/expensive to go all the time. I was thinking about walking on a treadmill as a way to get the right amount of activity for my knees and maybe keep the weight off as I start Lyrica

Anybody tried this and have comments or tips on this idea?

Everything is worth a try. Within reason of course . I have kept a bunch of motivational mottos in my head through this whole recovery process. One of them is "Start Low, Go Slow". Try it at a slow pace you can handle, ie: one slow enough to keep you from getting sloppy with your mechanics and form and do only a small amount the first day. Set a goal based on what you know you can handle. If that is a tenth of a mile or a hundred feet start there and see if you flare. You want to separate motion from distance as a flare trigger. Don't make yourself miserable pushing too far. Figure out your limits and then just push a tiny bit. The treadmill is a great way to make progress methodically. If you think you can handle a bike a little maybe try that too. You can always start something new with just two minutes and no resistance to see what happens without risking harm.

If the treadmill is too much stress, a rolling walker is an option and allows you to just stop or slow down right away if needed. I measured out different distances in my neighborhood in the car so I could gauge progress that way and just doubled around so I was never too far from home if my foot blew up.

Wow awesome tips!!! Thank you!!!

I have been thinking along these same lines for the past few days...since my last pool therapy session.

I haven't personally found that 'fine line' myself either and I wish somewhere between telling me all the things I can't do, someone would tell me the things I can. I find it so difficult as it seems while I am up, eyeballing if the curtain rod is level, I'm fine. But...as soon as I sit back down, I'm hurting. If I continue walking around, in 5-10 minutes, I'm hurting to a point that I need to sit down on the floor & scoot to the sofa or put the brakes on my walker & sit on the seat.

Littlepaw...thank you for those suggestions! I have a treadmill, a recumbent bike and a strider. All my therapists tell me to stay off of them. I sure would love to lose the 40 or so pounds I've gained from the gaba!

Finding the sweet spot took me what felt like a jillion tries. It can change from day to day it seems!

On starting low, After my nerve repair I asked my surgeon if I could bike 5 minutes. He shook his head and said "hmmm, no". So I asked for 2 minutes and he said yes. It feels silly but i give myself permission to start at a level most people would find ridiculous. I give myself praise for 2 minutes, three minutes. If it feels like a bad idea or I flare the next day, I pull back and start again lower or find something else. I only tried one exercise every couple days so I could tell what was what. It helps when there is a problem. I can't do recumbent but I can do regular bike. Takes a while to figure all that out but eventually you find something that works. Next thing you know you're doing ten minutes. Then you've really got something to cheer about.

I think we are our own best gage of what we can or can't do. Our bodies have wisdom and will tell us what works or what doesn't. If there is not a clear medical contraindication to trying something super-low then why not?

Kind of like when I asked my ortho if I could 'hobble' to the potty palace instead of use the crutches?

I use both a treadmill and a stationary bike on a regular basis. Both are controlled situation exercise, which is what I like best about them.

But the advice to start very slowly is wise. Everybody's threshold for exercise is different; especially for those of us with CRPS.

But some movement is better than none. Good luck to you and keep us posted!