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My father is 68.Diagnosed at 66. He had complications from open heart surgery in April. Had a 97 day stay in hospital. Was able to walk before all that, but of course when he go out of hospital,he had to start over. He has never come even close to half of his ability before surgery. He wore braces in the hospital. Not now, but has weights my mom puts on top of his knee/leg twice a day. I don't know what kind of stretching the PT does, but he always says he has so much difficulty trying to get that straight. He wanted to have my dad's doc. give him a muscle relaxer before pt. My mom and I don't want to make him more relaxed than what he is know. She takes care of him all by herself, and she has a hard enough time with his weak muscles.They have never been able to straighten the leg ,and heat does not help. He is not a candidate for anesthesia.They said they could go it with a local. :-( His mind is pretty clear. Depression plays a big part.His balance is terrible. Thank for all these wonderful questions. My parents live in another state. I am going to print these out, and have her ask the doctor some of these. Thanks again Kathy -----Original Message----- From: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]> Date: Wednesday, January 05, 2000 5:17 PM Subject: Re: Hamstring >How old is your father? > >How long has he been walking "on his toes"? > >Has any effort been made to try an AFO or other "leg brace" to help stretch >the hamstring? Sometimes patients have tried the braces at night.... > >What kind of stretching is the PT doing for the hamstring? > >Were they ever able to straighten the leg? > >Does heat do any good at all in trying to straighten the leg? > >Is your father a candidate for anesthesia? > >Would he do the rehab needed following the surgery? > >Is this Parkinsons related? lack of exercise/activity? Age? > >We had an MD suggest this surgery for my mother...........and my sister who >is a practicing PT vetoed the surgery immediately because mother would not be >able to do the rehab on a regular basis on her own (dementia).......(My >mother does not have PT but rather other neuro problems related to TIA's and >strokes). > >How much are you willing to put your father through re: treatment/discomfort. > Does he want/need the activity to soothe his own needs/desires........or are >they your needs/desires that he be more active. Does he have any dementia >problems? How much mobility will the surgery help him to regain? How do his >other problems relate to the walking/difficulty? How is his balance? What >about falls during recuperation? Would he increase the possibility of a hip >fracture during rehab??? > >Rita Weeks 55/10