My 84 yr old mother has LBD and is in a wheelchair all the time, only has a little leg movement, can stand up with a 2 person assist and pivot slightly. Recently she is having leg and bottom of the foot pain (extreme pain). Any ideas on what to do for her? We now have her in her recliner numerous times a day to stretch out her leg muscles. He regular dr told us she needs to exercise more, not sure how that is suppose to happen.
Thanks
Sue

Dear Sue,
Welcome to the LBDA forums, if you don't mind I am going to move your post to the treatment area , that way more people will see it and offer some ideas.

Again Hello Sue,
One of the things we found very helpful was massage therapy, it really helped with the muscle that would become so tight!

Sue, I am sorry your mom is hurting. My husband has found deep therapeutic massage to really help him with foot discomfort. I hope it might help your mom as well. He can always walk better right after a massage, too.

My husband benefits from massage therapy, too. It is definitely worth considering.

Exercising might be very helpful, too. But you need some help to figure out how that could happen. Would her doctor order a few sessions with a physical therapist, to assess the situtation and demonstrate some useful exercises?

There are lots of chair-based exercise programs, such as "Sit and Be Fit" (sitandbefit.org). Would your mother be capable of doing those or is she immobile?

If she's immobile, then your only options are massage and "range of motion therapy" (often called "restorative care"). If she's immobile, have you considered hospice?

My dad got some relief when his CGs put him in a hot whirlpool bath. His legs and feet would be like iron they were so cramped and stiff, and then they could become like wet spaghetti. Strange disease. Towards the end they were very stiff most of the time, so the whirlpool bath was some relief for him. He couldn't stand anyone touching him by then, so massage was out of the question unfortunately.
Has anyone tried a heating pad for this, or a hot herb-wrap? I just bought a lavendar scented neck wrap at a craft fair and it seems to relax my neck muscles when it's nice and warm. Lynn

I get a lot of leg cramps…

Sometimes really hard in the calf….

Sometimes whole leg it seems…

Sometimes in the foot….

and then I get these little ones that just seem to go on forever…

and then some in between….

when I was dehydrated alot….I would drink alot of gatorade, and eat potato chips…

I have taken to eating bananas on a daily basis….
I have been using Tonic Water for the last few weeks at the suggestion of Dr. Boeve and some of the Habit participants….?

I have been using a heating pad for a little longer…..sometimes at night just before going to bed…..and then again in the morning before I get up out of bed….this seems to help immediately for the ache pain….

Aricept increased the muscle cramps in frequency and in more locations….so this is a daily battle….but, seems to have settled down with less intense on a daily basis….with just a few 'hard' ones occasionaly….

edit: to add…I like hot soaking baths for aches also….but, have to limit these…as I have hyperhydrosis….I sweat to the point of dehydration in a hot bath….

Unexplained leg pain….

I have had three episodes over the last 4 years of extreme, unexplained leg and foot pain that came and went without an explanation….

one episode lasted about 3 days….

one episode lasted a few weeks….

my pain was unexplainable….I could not explain it…

I could not call it bone, muscle, skin pain….

maybe all…all pain….

I couldn't turn it to stop hurting, I couldn't take weight off to stop it, or put weight on it….
I couldn't stand for my leg to be touched...

it was just frustrating….pain meds didn't help….

only after I wasn't in pain…..I was tested for nerve problems, sciatic nerve and nerve conduction by MS and Accident Neurologists….nothing found…..

so….all this to say…..I have had some extreme pain that just didn't respond to anything….and didn't come from anywhere….

what do you do for that?

I remember the only relief I got was when I was able to fall asleep.

Thanks for all of the advice,