Fit Game Forum (Formally Wii Fit Forum)

I don't know if this section of the site is supposed to be for therapists only, but I thought I'd make a quick post from a patient viewpoint. My apologies if I don't belong here!

I have some oestoarthritis (sp?) in my knees along with some other problems with my hips and occasionally my feet. I was in physical therapy for several months for severe pain. That just finsihed up a couple weeks ago and I'm feeling much better. I also recently had a series of rooster comb injections in both knees (those worked out GREAT! Almost immediate improvement.) As my PT was winding down we started talking about what I could do at home to keep working on strengthening the muscles that support my knees.

My biggest problem is I hate doing floor excerises and other "boring" exercises. I would do them for a little while but then stop, and then the problems would come back. When we started talking about the Wii both my physical therapist and my orthopedist were enthusastic. I got the Wii Fit Plus and we spent some time talking about the exercises that would help.

Currently I've set up "My Routine" with a series of exercises that focus on my legs. Specifically, I do ALL the exercises that involved balancing on one leg, plus a few others. I also try and do some of the yoga stretching poses. I have been warming up with Hula Hoop and some stretching, then doing the routine, and then some more of the stretches (I have very tight IT bands which make the problems worse). My plan is to gradually start introducing the use of hand and ankle weights with the routine to help build up the muscles. I used 2 pound hand weights for the first time today. It was tough! I'll need to build up slowly.

I've recently also gotten addicted to Island Cycling. I have no idea yet if that's a help or hinderance to my rehabilitation, but it sure is fun! And it motivates me to get on the Wii. Once there I have no problem also doing the other parts of my program too. I'll have to wait and see if it starts aggravating my knees.

Anyway, I don't know if this is the BEST program but the fact is, the best exercises in the world are useless if the pateint won't do them. The Wii isn't boring and I WILL do it, which makes it the best program for me.

Great post Pam - and you're spot on when you say . I think to some extent the type of exercise is immaterial. If you have found something you like and enjoy doing then its worth pursuing. Exercise is an important part of the management of osteoarthritis, so I would imagine that you won't be doing any harm following the exercises set out on the Wii.
Don't worry about it being the 'best' program - the 'best' program is one that you can do, and can do regularly!!!
it's great hearing about peoples experiences, so yes of course you are welcome on this forum!!!

Someone I have been recommending Wii Fit Plus to finally bought it. Her husband recently had knee surgery and is having a very difficult time recovering, even with physical therapy. Any suggestions from patient and therapist viewpoints as to what the best exercises are for him to start with. I've suggested this forum to her as well but not sure she's checked it out yet.

I've had the tendons in one of my knees ruptured and I dislocated the other knee. This all happened some years ago, but I, too, at first, found it difficult to recover.

The best exercise I found was to walk, walk, and keep walking. My doctors were not of much help, I must say, as, after I had knee surgery to fix the dislocated knee, they told me that my knee could go out at any time, but nevertheless, they recommended against using a walking stick, because 'I was young and only old people used them.' Instead they told me to hope that there was something around that I could grab onto if my knee went out. I ignored their stupid so-called advice and bought a walking stick and, indeed, it came in handy when my knee went out. As I say, I walked everywhere and rebuilt my leg muscles. It also kept my knee moving so that it would not 'stick'.

As for Wii exercises, the Warrior would be a good one, I think, if your friend's husband's knee is up to it. It gently helps to strengthen the muscles in the thigh. Cycling games also are good because one basically walks in place to do them.

Mind you, I have only been a patient. I'm not a qualified therapist or anything like that, but perhaps my experience will be of some help.

Thanks. My friend has been walking but don't know if he is using a walking stick. What stupid doctors to say no to a stick; I would think that might help PREVENT a fall if your knee went out. Lord knows a fall on top of a bad knee would be horrible.

Tell your friend to be patient. After I dislocated my knee, the muscles in my thigh just disappeared in a matter of weeks it seemed. It took me a good year of walking to get them back.

As for the doctors, well, I don't really know what their problem was with the stick because it certainly prevented me from falling many a time until I built up my strength again. It was if they really didn't want me to go out and walk and get over my injury. They just seemed to want to hand out painkillers. Part of the problem was that the initial doctor I saw told me to keep my knee in the brace for longer than was necessary. I've since seen research that says that a great deal of the problems that people have following dislocated joints or broken bones comes not from the actual injury but from the muscles becoming unworkable. They become stiff, they stick, they become almost impossible to move. And the more the patient avoids moving them, because it is painful, the more difficult it becomes to move them. The point is that people should start moving their joints, limbs, whatever as soon as the joint or bone has healed enough.

When my husband broke his hand last year doing sports, the doctors recommended that he stay in the cast for a long time. I said, let it knit enough and then move it around. I showed him the research and he took it out of the cast as soon as he could (it was a fibreglass job), first for short periods and then longer ones. It was hard for him to move his wrist at first, but it became easier within about a week. He told me that he wouldn't have wanted to try to move it if it had been stiffer.

The important thing is for your friend to keep his knee moving, and to keep building up his confidence in it. It will take time, it will be painful sometimes, but it will get better.

I can jump in a bit on this one. I shattered my knee joint 20 something years ago. I had a fantastic doctor who put me in a cast but only for 4 weeks and he made it a bent cast. After the cast came off I had totally lost muscle tone in my thigh and my knee was so stiff it barely moved. He put me on daily physio for at least an hour a day with exercises to do at home. I rode at least a million miles on my stationary bike and as I got stronger started walking. The bike really helped to loosen things up but the walking was were I got my strength back. Even now if you really look my left thigh is still smaller than my right. Some of the muscle just never came back but by strengthening all those muscles I was able to make my knee stable again.

In the beginning I was terrified to have to step onto an escalator. I never knew when my knee would just decide to not hold my weight. I'm sure that doing the cycling on the Wii Fit would be good if you can't get out and walk. As well, once it feels more stable doing lunges and squats with a chair to hang onto will help build muscle. My physio also had me doing wall sits which I hate but they really helped.

Thanks everyone for the helpful and logical information. My husband has always advocated working through the pain and I don't always agree with him but you give good information that his way may be better. He does have bad knees but it hasn't stopped him. He is avoiding the doctor like the plague even though ANOTHER freind had very good luck with knee surgery. Come to think of it that friend was up and walking and much more within days!!