Hello Jingabee16:
Exercise:I think knowing basic yoga is a must. I am not familiar with Pilates but it's also probably good. Swimming is another excellent low impact physical activity. There are many threads about how exercise is important (it's a no brainer!) The stretching is essential but some resistance training is important too because it reduces inflammation, promotes growth hormone which is essential to healing, and many other positive benefits. There seems to be some benefit from high impact too for AS people but perhaps AS people should limit it -- at least find their own limits. I often ran and still can. The impact seems to do the spine good for me and improve rest.
Get your son to learn to listen to what his body tells him it needs; i.e experiment and push but learn his personal boundaries. Mind you, our instincts can be counter-intuitive. Pain usually tells us to stop moving but sometimes the pain is usually from not moving enough. So experiment an learn.
If your son has learned all that he could from PT then perhaps it is time to move on. It could be a hard decision for both of you. As they say "people can remember all the wonderful things that you do but fart just once!..."
As to stretching. There is debate and research about what kind is best -- slow steady holds or fast jerking movements. Old wisdom, based on I don't know what, said that the method of jerking stretches caused injury, and I would agree it is true when the muscles are cold. But modern studies are proving that rapid stretching is best. You will see sprinters doing such warm ups just before a run. They will be swinging their legs at maximum range and doing it fast while standing; they are seldom seen sitting on the ground and holding their toes in a stretch. I suggest that you dig up articles and decide for yourself what is best or even talk to the PT about the pros and cons of the different stretching methods. Since AS people's bodies don't respond to injury normally then perhaps slow and gentle stretching is best since we probably are not looking to become sports stars.
New and Old Injuries:Old soft tissue injuries or recently strained soft tissue are strongly attacked by my immune system now creating symptoms of burning in enthesis and tendons, spasm in associated muscle, and these symptoms do not go away. They worsen with muscle overuse resulting in micro-injury, fatigue, lack of sleep, being dehydrated, consuming too much coffee, and starch. I am not on any medicines and avoid pain killers like the plague since they damage the gut and make me more sensitive to foods.
Gut Healing:John, the webmaster, I think has good advice on using fats/oils in gut healing. It is a step in a sound protocol that I have been negligent on. I have been overly focused on rotating the use of natural antibiotics and then using probiotics along with nutraceuticals, hence I may have a decent microbiome (containing a few nasties) but the integrity of of my gut is still poor. John has a number of articles which include gut healing that I need to revisit. They include using dietary supplements (borage seed oil, etc) and fasting.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/mh3lrsm8208glge/ASonlineGUIDE1112.pdfand he briefly discusses the use of borage seed oil and many other nutrients at the following URL
:
https://www.kickas.org/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=516907#Post516907Also, every month some people do a three day apple fast on the weekend to eliminate parasites, allow some microbes to die off and give the gut a rest. The theory is that it will heal if it isn't busy. I do have a concern about fasting and how it creates ketones. Ketones can be a food to promote some parasites and also encourage them to morph into an aggressive state. But believe that John states that those parasites (Candida Albicans in particular) should have been eliminated before doing the fast. Someone please correct me if I am wrong.
I hope this helps. It helps me revise and fix the many things that I am doing wrong to myself. HAHA!
