Exercises

The objective of these rehabilitation exercises is to make the joints of the body as stable and  strong as possible. One of the most efficient ways to stabilize a region of the body is to use endurance exercises that are as functional as possible, meaning, exercises that resemble simple every day activities, e.g.:

    -Squatting to pick up an object from the ground

    -Lifting up an arm to open a kitchen cabinet

    -Getting in and out of a car 

    -Getting up from a bed

    -Maintaining the same posture for a prolonged period of time

    -etc.

Isometric exercises (without moving) are very effective when a person’s range of motion is painful. This is a good method to strengthen the back and abdominal muscles (rehabilitation of back and hips # 2,5 and 7).

-Begin with one series and if it is pain free, during and after, the person can add one or two series the next time they workout. 

-Each series should last between 15 and 60 seconds (pain free)

-The person must absolutely stop before feeling pain

-Always take at least one day off between workouts (of the same muscle group)

Eccentric exercises (contracting while the muscle stretches) are usually very efficient in stimulating the reparation of tendons that have degenerated (tendinosis). 

These types of exercises allow people with very little strength (because of injury) to use heavier weights without inducing more pain. Eccentric exercises are often used to work the shoulders (shoulders # 2,3 and 8) or the knees. Eccentric exercises can also be useful to increase maximum strength in athletes (however this is not the objective of rehabilitation exercises)

-Begin with one series and if it is pain free, during and after, the person can add one or two series the next time they workout. 

-Each series should last about 15 repetitions

-The person can then increase the weight or tension they are using if the series lasts easily over 15 repetitions.

-The person must absolutely stop before feeling pain

-If when using a very low weight, the person can not reach 15 pain free repetitions, the person must stop the exercise there  (no matter how many they have done). If they can only do 10, then, that is good enough. As long as they try to increase it over time.

- Always take at least one day off between workouts (of the same muscle group)