Can you replace a treatment with jogging?

[EliDiegosmom]

My son is 8 and currently in the hospital for an exacerbation. His lung function has fallen. We use the vest at home and do an am and pm treatment. I feel like it's not enough but we just don't have time for anything more. I wonder what the difference would be if we we started a jogging routine instead of our am treatment. Has anyone swapped out a treatment for exercise?

thanks!

 

[4hats]

Running is an excellent form of therapy. I have not replaced a treatment with running, but I have complemented my treatments with it. For instance, before I go to run I will do my hypertonic saline. While driving to the park or gym to run I will do my acapella for 15 minutes. I then run (usually 5-6 miles) and on the drive back home I will do my acapella for another 15 minutes. When I get home I will do my Pulmozyme. For me, this combination is the most effective form of airway clearance I can perform. It gives me the greatest results and gets so much stuff out of my lungs that would not otherwise come out with doing my vest or acapella alone. Like I said, I am still compliant with my traditional therapies, but running is just a fantastic form of therapy as well. One does not have to do as much running as I've described to have similar effects. I think it is worthwhile for you to explore including running in your son's therapy in a way that is suitable and enjoyable for a young boy. I really hope he feels better soon and can get home quickly!

 

[Aboveallislove]

I'd suggest adding jogging instead of replacing morning treatment. Does he have a plan with school for accommodations? What about having a later start time to give him a chance to get the morning treatment in and the. Some sport after school and then evening treatments? I know it's summer but I'd think school would be the huge time crunch....hang in there mom.

 

[Oboe]

I would say jogging could replace physiotherapy (vest, cpt, acapella, whatever) but the treatment still is medicine to open the airways and thin mucus so it's easier to clear. Skipping that morning one means he's going without said meds until after school, so I would think that's not the best course of action. Just my opinions, of course.

 

[EliDiegosmom]

Thanks very much for your replies. Yes, he is in school. I have thought about a later start time as I already have to get him up early just for his nebs and vest. The nice thing about the vest is that he can do his nebs at the same time so if I were to do nebs first then do our jogging I would have to wake him up even earlier or have a late start to school. Our other complicating factor is that he has autism so he is not able to participate in any after school mainstream sports. He's not only not coordinated but he doesn't understand the rules or frankly care to. I'm still trying to figure out how to make this work. I like the morning because he and I both have more energy then but there is probably more of a time crunch then. Having said that, the rest of the day after school is a time crunch too with homework, lots of eating, another treatment and he really needs to go to bed at 7:30ish. CFers need more hours in their day!!

 

[EliDiegosmom]

also. 4hats. Way to go!! 5-6 miles is amazing!!

 

[Ratatosk]

When DS was active in a different sport, that conflicted with his after school treatment once or twice a week, we did allow for skipping. We do 3 vest treatments a day on a regular basis, more if ds is ill. I prefer adding exercise to complement CPT/vesting -- promoting an active lifestyle and still doing vesting and cpt. So ds vests before school, after work/school and before bed. And if he's sick, we'll strap the vest to him while he sleeps at night or do CPT or on weekend throw in an extra vest treatments after lunch

 

[AH11201]

As the last poster said, I'll sometimes skip a treatment in favor of working out if I'm strapped for time. I know the way things affect me well enough to know that for me, that one workout will be better for my health (and definitely my mindset and mental health) that day than sitting and doing the vest for the same amount of time. But the same also goes for sleep, which some might not agree with—if I have to be somewhere in the morning and get to bed later than I'd like, I will usually sleep in and skip my treatment because I know how sensitive I am to sleep and that not sleeping well even one day will have a significant effect on my health. Not exactly what you were asking, but my point is just that you have to figure out what factors will make the biggest difference for your son on both a day-to-day and a long-term basis.

 

[tattertott]

When I am healthiest, I do replace my PEP mask therapy for actual exercise. Personally, I cough more and cough more mucus out than I do just sitting on my ass and doing chest therapy. When I am not feeling well, I do my therapy and exercise. Obviously, I still do my other nebulized treatments. I also feel like running or jogging is better for sanity sakes. haha You can go somewhere nice and walk, jog, run, bike, etc and enjoy yourself rather than sit at home for a few hours everyday.
I find it somewhat interesting that you said you feel like the vest isn't doing much for your son. I live in Canada and they've done a couple studies showing that the vest is not as efficient as other forms of therapy such as the PEP mask, etc. and there were 10 times more exacerbations with people using the vest. Maybe ask your doctor is there are other forms of chest physio that he could do to see if it works better for him!

 

[Gammaw]

I bet your pulmonologist or respiratory therapist would be happy to help you figure out something workable for you and best for your son. Like the other posters, I've found that if our DS is involved in a vigorous sport for at least an hour on a given day, we can potentially skip a vest treatment once. If we get back from a baseball game at 10 on a school night, I'm not likely to put him on his vest. I checked with his doc who said it was ok to skip under those circumstances but only once a week. I'm sure it can be different for everyone but don't fret - it's a common problem and one that I would expect your CF team to be more than willing to help work something out. Having said that, I will tell you that my attitude is also similar to other posters ..... if my DS has been sweating it out on a baseball field or gym, I'm more likely to think that it's a GREAT time to do the vest ..... all that stuff nice and loose and ready to cough out! Perfect timing for a treatment. Not a reason to skip one! Shucks!

I was a bit perplexed by your suggestion that your kiddo can't engage in sports. I realize he's autistic, and perhaps it's too severe for exercise. But I wonder if you have contacted your local YMCA or your city or county park and recreation division to see what they have for disabled children. Swimming lessons in the kiddie pool? Gymnastics or tumbling? Or let him take music lessons on a wind instrument ..... his lungs will love the horn and he may enjoy the noise. Just brainstorm with your RT or special ed teachers. Nobody says he has to be good at it or follow all the rules! He just has to keep moving and have fun.

Yes, there are not enuf hours in the day for a CFer. Don't you love it when your pulmonologist frowns because you forgot to renew a med for two days or skipped a treatment?! We all need running shoes to keep up. Just keep plugging.....Hugs.

 

[JustaCFmom]

Hi!
My son is 10 and I have been searching for more ideas, also.

Here in Israel, the therapists don't like the vest approach because it is so passive. I think the main thing is to find something that is active and FUN.

We have turned to the trampoline and jumping rope as a couple of options. We have also invested in those big bouncing balls with handles that kids play with. [I just found these links - very interesting! http://www.bloomingrosefoundation.org/hello-world/ , http://www.bloomingrosefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Swedish-Integration-BRF1.pdf]

I showed my son some videos of jumping rope [check out the "Firecrackers"!] & olympic trampoline events to inspire him a bit...

We try to get him to huff and puff out his mucus while he is jumping.

Good luck!

 

[Ratatosk]

DS didn't get his vest until he was 3, so we did manual CPT 3-4 times a day. We STILL do mini-cpt treatments to focus on certain problem areas, or just do it from time to time when he's sitting next to us watching tv or movies. We had a local doctor who frowned on any type of physical activity -- swimming was bad due to mold or potential for pseudomonas. My response was "you know what else is dangerous...? drowning!" Any outdoor sports he felt there was potential for pseudo because of dirt. Indoor sports such as wrestling, hockey or gymnastics, too. We're still trying to find a niche for ds -- he does gymnastics. Tried baseball and ice skating, but didn't like it. He did great at tennis, but the closest court and lessons are quite far from our house. I think it's important to get at least two treatments in a day -- one when they wake up to clear the gunk from overnight and start the day and one before bed or after school to get those lungs clear. As mentioned previously, we do 3 because it's a routine and we're used to it. Some people do 4 on a regular basis, we do so when DS is sick -- getting up in the middle of the night and he usually sleeps thru it.