Best exercises for coming back from leg injury

[Country Guy]

I was in a bad car wreck & sustained some bad injuries - died three times in the helicopter, in hospital several weeks, several surgeries, wheelchair for 2 months then crutches then cane. Drs. said I probably wouldn't walk right again but I am slowly getting rid of my limp  Running is out of the question as of now.

My question has to do with my legs. I have been using my home gym for upper body ever since I have been able & before that I used 20 lb dumbbells in my bed. I had a compound fracture in my right leg & had to have a rod put in running from my knee to my ankle & had to regrow 3 inches of bone to connect the halves together (narrowly avoided a bone graft with tons of milk & caltrate pills)

In therapy they had me ride a stationary bike slowly and put my foot on a disk with a ball on the bottom center. I would then rotate the disc in a circle at an angle so that the edge touched the floor as it went around to get range of motion back. As I improved a larger ball was put on to increase the distance my ankle had to flex. I have the range of motion back in my ankle & no more therapy is covered so it's up to me now.

I have lost a lot of size & strength in my legs & was wondering what exercises would be recommended as best for someone in my situation. I just started doing squats with no weight & my back against a wall. Do you think I would be better off going to a gym & doing light angled or horizontal leg presses or just stick with the wall squats? Would light leg curls or stiff leg deadlifts be better for hamstrings as of now? Would there be any benefit to doing lots of leg extensions with no weight (I can't take the pressure of any weight on the front of my leg yet) or should I wait till I can use some weight for them? For calves I just started doing raises on the bottom of my staircase & stabilizing myself with the rail.

This has been a long & frustrating journey so far & any input is greatly appreciated...

[Country Guy]

I figured I would have gotten some type of reply... Oh well... I've been sticking with the bodyweight wall squats for now & am gonna try to do some light stiff leg deadlifts starting this week. Hoping to keep making steady progress however slow it may be...

[jpm101]

Didn't say if you got a 100% green light from a doctor to try to resume normal activity, as well as attempting to exercise. I will assume you have. But would think you would have gotten a exercise workout plan from the rehab center when  released by them.

Might want to train each leg individually, rather than both at the same time. The bad leg has a lot of catching up to do with the normal leg. Balance of strength, ROM and flexibility is going to be the main issue. Might also hit the hams (one at a time) with serious intent..again to insure proper balance of the who;e leg.

Would suggest joining a gym  (do they allow you to still use the rehab centers gym...I wonder). Many options of leg equipment to use (one leg at a time). Far as squats go..against a wall will put more direct pressure on the quads, which you do not want now.

Good Luck.

[ritch]

anything that does not give you pain. Hard to say here man...
I'd tend to go for machines until much better.

[Country Guy]

Didn't say if you got a 100% green light from a doctor to try to resume normal activity, as well as attempting to exercise. I will assume you have. But would think you would have gotten a exercise workout plan from the rehab center when  released by them.

Might want to train each leg individually, rather than both at the same time. The bad leg has a lot of catching up to do with the normal leg. Balance of strength, ROM and flexibility is going to be the main issue. Might also hit the hams (one at a time) with serious intent..again to insure proper balance of the who;e leg.

Would suggest joining a gym  (do they allow you to still use the rehab centers gym...I wonder). Many options of leg equipment to use (one leg at a time). Far as squats go..against a wall will put more direct pressure on the quads, which you do not want now.

Good Luck.

Thanks - I am just getting time to get back on here. My pap got lung & brain cancer & I took turns with my dad taking care of him till he passed. Hospice came in towards the end & were a big help as far as helping us keep him comfortable & he was able to pass at home like he wanted.

Anyway, I figured I would explain why I vanished hence the above info...

I was given no exercise plan when I was out of time at therapy but towards the end of September I had to have another small surgery to remove one of the screws from the rod so that it was able to slide a bit. After that I was allowed more rehab & went to a different place which was MUCH better. They designed an exercise plan tailored to my needs & were very professional. They had me training each leg by itself as you suggested. When I ran out of time there they said I could call/stop in any time with questions or to update my exercises if needed. Very nice people...

Long story short I made a much better recovery than I was expected to. I got rid of my cane a long time ago, got rid of my limp & can actually run again     I have been cleared of all restrictions & am back to the same workout volume I was at before my accident. It was a long, difficult process but well worth it & I thank you for your advice regarding my injuries!

[Country Guy]

anything that does not give you pain. Hard to say here man...
I'd tend to go for machines until much better.

Good advice - that's what they had me using at the second rehab center I went to & it worked very well. Thanks!