The less you move and use your legs the less strength you'll have in them and that will continue to decrease over time as you use them less and less. I realize it's hard to exercise when you have as many things going on as you do. I have a Degenerative Cartilage Disease, which is a Connective Tissue Disorder as well as Severe Osteoporosis, these are 2 of the 6 or 7 conditions that I have that affect my legs. I've had 16 bilateral knee surgeries and a complete rebuild with cadaver transplants on the left knee. I really get how you can lose strength/mobility/muscle tone when its hard to exercise due to pain and inability to move due to limitations.

But...the less you move the more rapid you will lose strength. Your muscles deteriorate faster than they strengthen. Keeping muscle tone and increasing strength can be done by simple exercises such as bending your legs back and forth while sitting at a desk working or while watching TV, taking small 15 minute walks a couple times a day, and the biggest and best exercise for people like us with limited leg use is Pool Exercise. It can work wonders being in that "no weight bearing" water and working your legs. Using a noodle to support your upper body, helps to completely displace your body weight. We say that we can't exercise, but small changes can make a difference and sometimes you have to work through the pain to keep things from getting worse, i.e. losing the ability to walk due to muscle death/degeneration, and loss of strength/mobility.

The other thing I noticed in your post was the meds you use as a preventative long term med and a Breakthru med. They're the same medication. Time and time again I see this and am not sure why people do this. If your using the same medication for your Breakthru med that you use as your LA Pain med....you no longer have a Breakthru med. All you've done is increased your Preventative LA med. dose. The brain/body does not recognize the small difference of a LA dose and Short Acting dose of the same medication. Right now you technically have no Breakthru med. This can effect your pain levels if you've maxed out your tolerance for your current dose of Oxymorphone and you have no different Pain Med to handle the flares...your at a point where the Narcotic Pain medication part of your Pain Management isn't effective.

It might be time to have a conversation with your Dr. about the effectiveness of your pain meds.

Take care,

Kat

Thanks for your input. I do try and exercise in the pool when weather permits. Kat I didn't realize that my breakthrough meds were not as effective as they could be. Thank you for that information. Actually I do know that if you don't use muscles they will atrophy. I guess I was hoping that other people with similar issues experienced what I was going through. I was kind of hoping it wasn't a progression of my arachnoiditis.
Thanks again for your input.
Laurie

Jasmine, I can relate to the muscle weakness. Mine is because I have been confined for 7 months, and I'm used to swimming for an hour, then working out in a strength and toning swim class, for another hour, five days a week. It's amazing how quickly our muscles lose mass and strength. Have you talked to your doctor about this? I try and do some leg exercises while I'm confined to the couch. Every little bit helps.

Sad you are going through this.

I also will say that the less you move muscles-the less strength you will have in them.
They do make these portable bike pedal things that you can sit on the floor to pedal with your feet or sit it on a table to pedal with your hands...

For about half of my knee surgeries I went home from the hospital with a machine that I had to strap my legs into and it moved them constantly at a set degree and set speed. I had to use if for like 12 hours a day so that my muscles wouldn't atrophy, and I wouldn't lose mobility. I can't remember the name of the thing, but it might also be something to ask your Ortho or Phys. Therapist about, if you have one. I just thought about it today for some weird reason.

Kat

Thanks Kat.