Cerebral Palsy Support Group
Cerebral palsy or CP is the most common childhood physical disability. It is a permanent physical condition that affects movement. There is no cure for cerebral palsy, but various forms of therapy can help a person with the disorder to function more effectively. If you or a loved one has cerebral palsy, join the group to share your experience or get advice from others.
I have spastic CP which primarily affects my legs. I've always been able to walk (with a limp) but lately, I've been having severe pain and weakness in my right leg. My leg feels like it wants to give out and I've fallen a few times as a result. I've been doing adaptive CrossFit for 1.5 years now and I don't know if it is helping or hurting at the moment. Stretching and working out tends to help in the short-term (e.g., when I am at the gym), but I am having more pain and weakness throughout my day. Has anyone else experienced this? If so, do you have any thoughts/ideas/insights? I am 36 years old. Could the pain/weakness be due to the aging process? I have a doctor's appointment next week but I am not very hopeful. Doctors tend to be little or no help when it comes to these issues. I love doing CrossFit and I cannot even stomach the thought of quitting right now. I want to know if anyone on this forum might have some related experience to share that will help me figure things out.
Thanks!
I'm with you regarding doctors having given up on the medical profession long ago. My experience is they have no clue in how to really help with the left spastic hemiplegia I deal with. I'm 60 years old and have experienced leg weakness as I've gotten older but movement does help. My suggestion is not to give up crossfit but I'm wondering if there is someone experienced in this who could help you modify the exercises. Also, see my other response to you about a NUCCA chiropractor.
The lack of help from the medical profession other than band-aid approaches like Botox have been a major source of frustration in my life, and I know other's lives, when dealing with CP. I found some help in Rochester, Michigan north of Detroit with a program based on Pilates and neuro-movement but the cost is not covered by insurance.
I wish I had more concrete advice to offer you! I wish you well...don't give up!
Kathy
My CrossFit coach does help me to modify the exercises. I honestly don't think CrossFit is the problem. One of the things I have been doing lately that seems to help is wearing calf compression sleeves. There is a physical therapist at my gym who I am thinking about reaching out to at some point. Generally, I dislike physical therapy, but perhaps he would be willing to work with my coach to figure out some new and potentially helpful stretches.
I won't give up. I can't! I still have things to do in life. I really appreciate your response, Kathy. Thanks.
I am new to daily strength and as I read, most of the symptoms mentioned here seem familiar. My partner has very mild CP impacted his left side and he does office job dealing with a lot of deadlines and pressure. When he is overloaded, his neck and left arm tenses. Exercise helped him a lot but he tends to overdo it and push himself too much. He worked towards 10km running but after while, his calf muscle had massive pain during the night and he couldn't sleep. It really really helped when he reduced the run distance to 3km, wearing the compression wraps, changed his running shoes with better impact on his heels and toes. I still don't like when he runs and hoping he would love yoga some day!
Recently he started swimming and said his arms feel so much lose and way less pain and comfort compared to pre swimming. So during winter we are thinking of getting into swimming.
I would highly recommend looking into:
-assessing the shoes you wear (if it is comfortable, cushioned enough)
-amount of stress you are under (having enough rest)
-swimming
-food you are eating providing you the right nutrient (magnesium, potassium, calcium - for the muscles and bones; but this is just my silly opinion)