My son just "graduated" from two months of physical therapy after he switched from a hard plastic scoliosis brace that was supposed to be worn during all weight bearing activities to a nighttime only brace. After more than a year in a brace that did not allow normal movement, his core muscles got very weak and he complained of back pain along with the leg pain and lack of endurance that he has always had. It was so bad that he couldn't go with me to Walmart without needing to stop and rest because of the pain. The only reason he was able to continue with musical theater was because he was allowed to do the dance a few times and then sit down or lie down on the floor while the others continued rehearsing. It was really hard for him when he tried to lift a dance partner, the smallest girl in the group, and he hurt his back. He got less practice than the others because of his pain yet he managed to learn the dances even though he supposedly has motor dyspraxia so I have continued to look for answers. He didn't have trouble learning dances, he isn't clumsy, he just had no endurance and he had to work through not only leg and back pain but migraine headaches.
The OT he saw for six weeks when he was seven years old said he had vestibular and proprioceptive issues, so he had this along with his low muscle tone and endurance issues. He got tired just sitting in a chair and he always needed a lot of breaks. As long as he can take breaks when he is tired or in pain he learns really well.
The physical therapist had him doing exercises specifically designed for his weak core muscles and muscles that support the spine. I asked him about hypermobile joints and he said it wouldn't have anything to do with the fatigue. The physical therapist has some hypermobile joints and they don't cause him any problems. I also found out that my dad has a hypermobile finger joint on his left hand and didn't even know it until I asked him to try bending back his fingers. None of his other joints are hypermobile.
The physical therapist thought my son's endurance issues were because of the low muscle tone but that his strength could improve and also the endurance if he kept working at it. At home my son has been doing exercises several times a day even though his muscles are often sore. He does not stop exercising when it hurts and he sometimes exercises in our hot tub if it hurts too much. When I told his sister about his weak core muscles and slouching problem when he worked at his desk, she told me that she and her co-workers have been using exercise balls instead of chairs and they all thought it helped increase their core muscle strength. My son is using his exercise ball as a chair for at least two hours a day. He has been using the treadmill every other day trying to increase his endurance but his endurance does not increase as fast as mine and in fact it seems like a very slow process for him but he keeps working on it. He uses the weight machine every other day.
