I have a couple questions that i hope someone can answer for me about my cp problems latley

hello everyone I am new to this forum and wondering if I can get some advice. I am a 26 year old male with mild CP spastic hemiplegia in my left side of my body. I am currently having some problems with my achilles tendions on my left and sometimes right foot. they get very stiff and when I walk the pain doesnt go away until I walk it off. When I was getting physically therapy when I was young my therapist told me that if I gained alot of weight I could be a problem. I am overweight but nothing really extreme I am 5 10 195 pounds and just have the normal problem where it all goes to my stomach and no where else. Do you think this will go away if I lose the weight? I ve had many surgies but the only ones I can remember is I had both my hamstrings lengthed and I had the bones in the back of my ankle moved to the from of my foot to fix my gate. I just get worried that it is getting worse and that eventually it may cause permanent damage to where I might not be able to walk.

Thanks

[eagle51]

I've got similar issues and been dealing with them the past 8 or 9 months. I got a job that requires a lot of walking and is on hard surfaces, which is when it all started. Over the past couple of months I've found ways to improve the problem. It's a long, painful, difficult process and I found that a lot of my habits are as much of an issue as the CP itself, but I have to admit that I'm in a whole lot of less pain then I was a couple of months ago. I do have mild spastic CP, only mine is right hemiplegia. I'm a 32 years old.

This is really lengthy and a bit in depth but I've learned a lot over the past several months, it should help you. Go get a pad of paper and pencil/pen and take some cliff notes or print and post this in a easy to find place because it'll help to review it later. It's a lot to take in in one read but it should help a lot if you're problem is anything like what I went through.

First off, What I've been doing is calf stretches through out the day whenever possible. It's most vital in the morning due to waking up with stiff calves in the morning and just before bed to help loosen them up before sleep. I do them at work, or where ever/whenever I can. I like to find spots away from the public eye, but if I can't I do them in front of others. Don't overstretch, just do it lightly until you feel a slight stretch in the calf and back of the ankle. The second you feel pain, let off, rest, and then slowly begin again. It will make it easier to get through the day and to get a better sleep at night.

Another thing I do is to stop walking or to slow down my pace whenever possible. I'll sit down or lean onto the unaffected leg for a few minutes to allow the pressure to release on the affected calf muscle and feet so they can relax and hopefully reset themselves. While sitting or leaning, take the time to partially remove the shoe (or better yet, fully remove it if possible) and stretch the arch, the ankle, the toes, and the lower leg + upper leg muscles. The more often you do this, the better you'll feel and the quicker you'll heal. I've found that all of the leg muscles are interconnected and as it worsened I felt it in my arch, ankle, outer shins/calves, all the way up to my hamstrings.

Never push yourself, don't walk too fast or for too long, walk slower in more precise movements, and rest whenever possible or whenever you feel any kind of tightness. Runner/Cyclist stretches tend to help a lot, research them and use them. Make sure your shoes are loose fitting and have plenty of room for your toes to wiggle or they'll cause more harm then good. Tight shoes are a huge enemy. Loose socks help, I've found if my socks are tight then my calves get tight. Keep your legs warm, when they get cold they'll tighten more creating a more likely chance that you'll keep injuring the ankle/tendon. I found deep-tissue massaging the calf, arch, ankle, toes, etc, also helps a lot to break up spastic muscles that don't want to loosen on their own. I don't know about you but I hate it when I get those painful muscle bulges that won't stretch out or release, the massaging will help that. I also like to take long hot showers (as hot as I can stand it) with the pulse hitting the calf while stretching the calf. Do this for 10-15 minutes in the morning and evening, it will help.

You should also look into foot exercises on the internet concerning plantar's fasciitis. I found they helped a lot as did new shoes and arch supports. New Balance cross trainer shoes are awesome, decent arch support, good cushioning and tend to be wider then most shoes on the market. As soon as your home from walking, work or wherever, remove both socks and shoes and lightly stretch the feet, calves, hamstrings and toes. Warm bath with epsom salt and more light stretching, then cool down and ice (but don't over ice). Use the R.I.C.E. method (rest, ice, compress, elevate) and ice for 20 on, 20 off, repeat several times. Then allow the area to warm up naturally, then use a heat pad and slow, light stretches again to get things back to normal. You'll have to do this for a couple of times a day for at least a month, then sporadically for up to several months afterwards. After a week or two, you'll start to notice the difference.

You're tendons are tight and are torn due to the spasms and constant pushing due to the walking and it takes a long time and slow re-stretching to fix the issue. You also need to take it easy and allow the tendons/ligaments to heal. Over doing it will tear the them more and will cause even more damage. Do not walk immediately after icing, let your feet warm up fully first, then restretch before walking or you'll cause more damage and will feel more pain. Avoid going bare foot at all times, especially on hard surfaces. For the house I got a pair of bearpaw slippers which were about 1 size too big that allowed for greater movement of the ankle, better circulation and protection of the feet against the floor. The warmth it created in the feet and calves was also beneficial. It helped a lot, get yourself a pair.

Advil/Motrin will help with the swelling and pain as well as Aleve can. Don't intermix them ofcourse and try not to use them as a method to push yourself into continuing walking/working while in pain. I did this at first for several months and it numbed the pain but I couldn't feel anything and I kept twisting the foot the wrong way which only made matters worse. It also ruined my good knee. Just use a little as needed to help get through the day, but try not to get dependant on it or you'll deal with the consequences later.

If all else fails, see a doctor. Good luck.

[eGGzact]

Yeah, exactly what eagle said. In fact his advice opened my eyes even further to some trends I had been noticing in my own walking habits. Also completely turned the light on as far as the type of shoes I should be wearing; I've been wearing exactly the same shoe model since 2003 and that I now see is the culprit as they do not have much extra room and I do lace them up very tightly.

Eagle has at least two if not three years more experience on me with his CP, and the advice/regimen he provided above is invaluable as the logic and methodology behind it is specially tailored to us hemiplegics, I'm a right side spastic(?) hemiplegic, like eagle and am looking forward to instituting a lot of his habits/advice.