Well I've had enough of playing second fiddle, and have come up with some new exercises to add to the collection - here are some of my favourites:
1. Row exercise. Jude does the basic exercise while lying on the bed or fitball with her arm hanging down the side. My new version is that I place my head between her arm and the bed/fit ball and lift her arm away from her body quickly. I know this is having an impact because Jude yells (with joy I'm sure) when I help with this one.
2. The shrug. Jude holds her arm out at 20 degrees from her side holding a weight in her hand, then shrugs the shoulder in a pattern specified by her human physio. My adaptation is to add challenge - I do this by grabbing the weight in my mouth to increase resistance. Jude's not keen on this exercise yet - I'll keep trying to convince her of the benefits.
3, Abdominal strength. This is a complementary exercise - might as well get as many muscles working at once as possible don't you think? While Jude is lying on the floor raising her arms and shoulders over her head, I sit on her stomach - to build up her abdominal strength! If it seems like she's handling that easily I wriggle around and dig in my boney feet.
4. Moral support. Another thing I like to do while Jude is lying on the floor is to lie down right beside her, lean against her (to keep her warm - it is winter you know) and lick her ear or whatever part of her face I can reach.
I think you will see from readng this that I am well suited to a career as a physio - in fact I'll probably get early entrance into the course via La Trobe's 'Aspire' program, and recognition for prior learning / credit for all the practical experience I have, don't you think?
