I am a 43 year old femal who had a near fatal car accident in July 07 causing right clavical fracture which is now plated; left rib fracture, lung contusion; left femur fracture(rod inserted), right knee fracture, right tibia fractures (pinned), right ankle and heel fractures (plated and pinned), left toes dislocated (wired in). No spine damage!! I was out of hopital in Sept 07 and started physio and hydro theraphy. I am now walking, driving, gardening etc., but sometimes need a cane when I get very tired. I am at a stage now where I do not know how much I can actually push myself in terms of exercise. I used to be very fit before the accident.

I have tried cardio exercising (treadmill) every alternate day but after a week found I set myself back and needed at least 2 weeks to recover! I tend to have a real ache in the lower legs causing me to slow down. The days I drive to work and back, the femur and ankle tend to feel very tired. I have been signed off by my consultant and physio in June 08 but now I feel I do'nt know how far I can actually keep pushing. I still take Paracitamol and Tremadol for the pain may be once a day.

When I start to exercise, the next day, my legs feel like led and I am unable to do much at all. Should I just stick with stretching and no cardio just yet or should I cut down the time I spend doing cardio from say 40 minutes to maybe 15 minutes? How should I go about this without setting myself back. What kind of an exercise schedule should I set myself?

Similar Threads: