Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

> What about in stall rest? What's the preferrence
> between boots and pillows and wraps?
A pillow (I personally prefer roll cotton) breathes better and is cooler
than a boot--and less heavy.

> So, how do you support legs while they heal? What's my
> best bet to protect her tendons while they strengthen?
Not being supported is an integral part of the healing process.  In order
to heal, they have to be weight-bearing.  I'd only choose to "support" the
leg if it is in such a state that it simply CAN'T progress on stall rest
without the wrap--and not many are THAT bad, at least not after the
initial stages.  If there is too much tension on a tendon, I'd rather see
corrective shoeing used to take some of the stress off than to keep it
wrapped--a wedge pad would be a good example.

Too much support can really do ugly things to a leg.  You should see one
that comes out of a plaster cast sometime--everything is lax and weak and
AWFUL.  You are promoting that kind of atrophy and deterioration with too
much support, and you never get the right stresses on the fibers to orient
the new fibroblasts in the direction that they need to grow.

Heidi



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