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To: Loretta CG for John 65/6 From: Will Kuipers Subj.: Physical Therapy exercises Hi Loretta, How sweet of you to inquire. I was like your husband probably. I did not see any useful use for unproductive motions, in spite of the urging by my wife and daughters. I thought some walking and doing the maintenance chores were all the activi= ty I would need. I did not realize how much time of the day was spent just sitting. Muscle= stiffness gets progressively worse, until there are some movements that y= ou cannot make. As they say: "Use it or lose it!!" These exercises are great and they have helped me loosen up again. They are done mostly sitting in a chair, except for a number of exercises= in which one stands behind the chair. The chair is then really a prop to help balance. All the muscles get a turn in a good program. You feel wonderful after seriously taking part in an hours worth of these exercises. Some people i= n the group are already at the stage where they can hardly move anything. They just stare at the therapist and probably in their mind think that th= ey are doing that themselves too. Others have trouble telling right from left. Nobody is being forced. Everybody can do whatever they think they can manage. I feel lucky I can still do most anything. My neurologist is amazed, when he checks me out that I have apparently still no, or very little, ratcheting effects when moving neck muscles and= elbows and he finds that I can walk almost normal. After having been on a= 3 month visit schedule, he moved me to a 6 month schedule. He says: "Whatev= er you are doing, keep on doing it. It seems to work!" I still drive a car and remember that in the first year after diagnosis I= had trouble looking back because of stiff neck muscles. Now, five years later I can almost turn my head as I used to when young. It hurts a bit now, but I can move it! = If you have access to a program like that, by all means try to get your husband to join. He'll be glad he did! Best wishes, Will Kuipers = Dallas, Texas 76-dx'91 <<[log in to unmask]