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My father is 65 and has run in the Senior Olympics. About a year ago, it was discovered that he had spinal cancer. It was a type which affects only about one in a million people, and it does not spread beyond the spinal chord. It began to result in weakness and difficulty walking. He recieved an operation to determine what it was (A few weeks before, doctors had assumed it was a slipped disk). He remained in the hospital for a couple weeks, during which time he lost partial feeling in, and ability to move his legs...particularly his right leg. (He could wiggle his toes if he focused).
After leaving the hospital, he recieved five weeks of radiation therapy, after which the cancer was gone. He used a wheelchair, but we'd move his feet forwards while he clung to a walker for practice walking. A couple months after the radiation ended, he moved from the walker to crutches, and eventally left the wheelchair entirely, and moved from crutches to a cane. He has been slowly gaining more feeling back in his legs...his right still has a numbness in his calf and right gluteous maximus. His right leg is also weaker than his left. He does physical therapy a twice per week and goes to the YMCA about three or four times per week. He can walk at about 3.5 mph on the tread milll...for ten minutes or longer. He can ride a bicycle as well as any average person (though he requires assistance getting on...and stopping if he's overly tired.) Using both legs, on a certain weight machine, he can lift 300 lbs. He can drive...but prefers not to at the moment due to what is still not as much feeling or strength in his feet as there once was.
He doesn't remember the mechanics behind running though. When he attempts to practice running, he walks (no cane, of course) for ten minutes or so. He can walk fairly rapidly. Anyone know excercises that might specifically enhance muscles used in running?...that are not actually running? What are the procedural differences between walking and running?
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