theraphy treatments?

I wouldn’t use Botox on anything!!!! It can do more damage then good! AFOs for therapy/walking use, foot boots at night, and most of all-plenty of rest, and alot of time to recover. Getting Better Slowly-means not rushing the nerves before they are ready! Back down alittle, give the nerves a chance to heal. Someone telling your husband he will never walk again is too Negative!! Its not good to be negative sooo early in recovery. The muscles aren’t the problem-its the nerves not doing their job correctly that is the cause of the foot drop, the nerves have to heal and then they will be better able to do their job. In my opinion, giving gbs patients Botox is a dr looking for a guinea pig, it should not be done. Has your husband tried aqua therapy? It worked wonders for my drop foot and atrophying muscles, i’m not perfect, just not worse. Is he on neurontin for the pain? Lyrica, neurontin or antidepressants are used with good results for pain control. Pain control is very important. Take care.

I was reading a few years ago when I was slowly recovering, on what slowly really means. I read that the sheath of the nerve which was damages grows back a very tiny amount a day…it takes years to completely repair itself. The hands and the feet are at the ends of the longest nerves so they are the last to heal. To say that he will never walk is crazy. Never say never! They are not letting things take a natural course and could actually do more damage to his body. I also would say no to using anything like that at this early point in his healing process. If there is actually nerve damage it will take those nerves time to regenerate and reroute themselves to areas where the nerves were damaged. That also takes a very long time. I agree with the aqua therapy to get those little muscles strenghtened. 22 months after my onset and I find a position I can not get into without discomfort so I work on that tiny area to support those larger muscle groups. Remember you not only are working with muscles and nerves you are working with ligaments and tendons that have tightened durning the illness. Rest for the nerves and exercise for the muscles. Movement in the water and using the water as resistance is enough in most cases to give your body a work out without weight or pressure on those joints. Balance, range of motion and stamina all have to be taken into consideration also. Slow process! UNFORTUNATELY!

No Botox! His body has enough to handle, don’t put anything else in it! Time is the best thing for GBS. My thoughts are with you, keep us updated on his progress.

Hello everyone I read your message on the forum and I was wondering as a Physical therapist assistant student where is a good place to get info on GBS? I got the bare minimum from the page but im lookin for some good books on initial treatments, what to expect, things like that. I am trying to do a presentation for a group of PT/PTA colleagues and I want to show some good material to empower the physical therapy profession to better help GBS patients. I recently had a GBS patient with another physical therapist assistant and it is my belief that we did a disservice to this young woman. I would like to know what exercises work best, whats the worst thing we can do..etc. I tried contacting the local support group in my area and nobody wants to respond. Anyone help a future Physical therapist?

thanks in advance
Bxrgrl ~ maria t.
[QUOTE=LadyKITUSA]I was reading a few years ago when I was slowly recovering, on what slowly really means. I read that the sheath of the nerve which was damages grows back a very tiny amount a day…it takes years to completely repair itself. The hands and the feet are at the ends of the longest nerves so they are the last to heal. To say that he will never walk is crazy. Never say never! They are not letting things take a natural course and could actually do more damage to his body. I also would say no to using anything like that at this early point in his healing process. If there is actually nerve damage it will take those nerves time to regenerate and reroute themselves to areas where the nerves were damaged. That also takes a very long time. I agree with the aqua therapy to get those little muscles strenghtened. 22 months after my onset and I find a position I can not get into without discomfort so I work on that tiny area to support those larger muscle groups. Remember you not only are working with muscles and nerves you are working with ligaments and tendons that have tightened durning the illness. Rest for the nerves and exercise for the muscles. Movement in the water and using the water as resistance is enough in most cases to give your body a work out without weight or pressure on those joints. Balance, range of motion and stamina all have to be taken into consideration also. Slow process! UNFORTUNATELY![/QUOTE]

hi maria & welcome,

this forum knows more abt gbs than you will find anywhere. a 2nd choice is to sign up @ gbsfi [the source of this forum] [info@gbs-cidp.org] it is free & they send you good literature. specifically abt pt/ot, the most important you need to know is that ‘no pain-no gain’ does not apply to gbs. it may be good for muscles, but not good for nerves. as soon as the gbser fells tired you must stop. even then it may be too much, but how would you know except by experience w that particular gbser. full recovery from any exercise/stress must be done in 12 to 18 hours or it is too much & hinders recovery. sometimes even breathing is too much exercise, but it is hard to stop that – lol. a paralyzed gbser needs passive pt. i think it would be better if you started a new thread in the ‘gbs – adult section’. that’s where most folks go & you will get the most hits. thx for caring. take care. be well.

gene gbs 8-99
in numbers there is strength

Maria, there is a section about Rehab and therapy in a book called Guillain-Barre Syndrome by Gareth Parry and Joel Steinberg, MD. It is written for patients/families but has a lot of good information. It is available on Amazon if your library doesn’t have it.
It also includes references/other reading that might be helpful.

My daughter’s PT was very good. She had worked with GBS adult patients. She did not push; when we increased exercises one day early on, resulting in a set back, she knew right away to back off and forbade us from doing more. She gave my daugther 2 sets of exercises to do at home, one for days when she felt stronger and one for days when the fatigue/etc made exercise very hard.

Aquatic Therapy was also SO helpful. Good luck and I am glad you are trying to find out more!