scrffycat9 said:
Kathy
There's a company called "Ice trikes". that make 3 main modals of recumbent trikes. I just wondered if you were a customer? From your reaction, you're not.
Kathy G said:What do mean?? What type?
scrffycat9 said:
Scrffycat9’
No, I have a Sun recumbent trike. I have not heard of the Ice Brand. Go with what feels comfortable to you! I’ve attached a photo of me on my trike.
306-image.jpg (162 KB)
This may not sound like a lot to anyone else, but it helps me. I find that it helps me when I keep as busy as I can at home. I have a hard time with exercise, especially with any intensity because as I get tired my balance gets even worse. Unfortunately the effects don't just last for exercise, but will progress throughout the day. So instead of worrying so much about exercise (I will do the occasional light work out involving leg bicycles, planks, and stretches), but mostly I focus on housekeeping. Whether it is indoors or outdoors, I try to keep busy all day. I weed my flower beds, do dishes, vacuum, do laundry, and just whatever to stay on my feet. That way I am not just sitting around. If I feel up to it then I try to do extra like go for a walk or do light exercises. But, I have to be careful not to overdo it. I think the floor bikes are a great idea. Ones that you can do while sitting. I have been considering one myself.
@Coco - I’m not sure if you’ve seen this or not, but there is seated Tai Chi that was created for people living with balance issues; also, a lot of the yoga poses can be adapted to either the floor or a chair.
coco said:
Our bodies are all different . Nobody seems to be able to offer advise and it seems that it is trial and error.
I used to be active and now struggle. At the moment I am working on core strength exercises while laying down - no danger of falling and this seems to be helpful for me. The thing is to slowly build up an exercise programme that suits our bodies .
I am not medically trained but have found this out through paying to see physios. It is no use going to an exercise class because we all have different needs.
I was offered a course of t’ai chi at our local hospital but even that was too much.
@Michael - not sure if this is an option for you, but a recumbent trike is low to the ground and can be adapted to be a stationary bike.
Michael said:
Hi Martin and all,
Though it is believed that I have had some form of ataxia for most if not all my life, it was only about five years ago that things started to get bad for me with falls and such. Then in 2009, after a fall at work that resulted in a bad knee injury, I was given tests and eventually told that I have ataxia. (I also suffer with fibromyalgia but that’s another story!)
I had quite an active life / routine before my ataxia kicked in so to say. I would sometimes hike, swim or cycle in my free time and my work life was always active - early on I worked in a very physically demanding job in an industrial laundry, I moved to working in a shop and doing most delivery ‘shifts’ then I spent two years lifting large heavy timbers of up to four metres long by hand. in a warehouse job.
In short, I became very less active when the ataxia really took hold.
I have an exercise bike but can no longer use it safely - have fallen from it several times trying to get on or off. I used to go two or three times for hourly sessions to a local gym but there where staffing issues and timetable changes that have made it difficult at best for me to use the gym.
So what now?
I have recently bought one of those mini exercise bikes and use it while seated in a comfortable chair. I also use the bike (just a set of pedals with a fly wheel arrangement) on a table top so I can pedal with my arms. I also have an exercise step that I put in a doorway so I can hold the door frame as I do my steps. A lever spring piece of equipment is used for ‘arm pushes’ and I have spring grips to exercise my hands. I have sand filled wrist / leg weights that fasten around the wrist / leg to give resistance or weight as I do lifts / stretches. lastly, I do ‘physio’ exercises everyday with head tilting and neck rotation.
I too feel that sitting around doing nothing all day is probably a bad thing and have been told this is so by family, friends, my GP, neurologist and physiotherapist. They are all, of course, correct.
I cannot always do all of the twelve point exercise plan I made out for myself and told my GP about (she said it was a good plan) but I try to do at least some of it every day. On a bad day I do a minimal of the neck and head exercises and some stretching. On better days, I do up to an hour of the exercises on the plan. Also, though my walking continues to deteriorate, I try to go up and down our stairs a couple of times a day - even if it be slowly! We have a straight up through the floor lift in our house and I need to use it often but try the stairs when I feel up to it. I use a mobility scooter about town but always take my walking sticks and try to do a little walking with their aid.
Though there is nothing wrong with pushing ourselves now and then, I find the most important thing for me when exercising is not to over do it as this can have very real negative affects.
Keep well all.
Michael.