PT! It's good for you! It's good for me!
I've been to two physical therapy sessions now. What fun. The goals are: to get my extension back (I'm about 8 degrees shy of straight), to get my bending back (I started at about 65 degrees, going for something like 145), and to re-strengthen the muscles in my leg (mainly thigh). Lots of great exercises for that.
I went in on Tuesday, they propped my heel up, letting my knee go (to help extension) while they put some hot mats on my leg to help loosen up the muscles. That was good. Then, to warm-up the muscles, I got on an exercise bike and did what they call "stirrups." Since I can't bend the leg enough to get it all the way around, I rotate as far as I can, hold it for 5 seconds, then rotate the other way as far as I can, 5 seconds. Lather, rinse, repeat for, oh, 10 minutes. Then they stretch me. I lay on my stomach, and the tech slowly bends my leg back/up as far as she can get it. That can get a mite uncomfortable, but as of yesterday, I got to 93 degrees.
Next comes calisthenics, essentially. I do toe raises and heel raises while maintaining balance with those bars they use to help people learn to walk again. Then some squats. That's some, uh, more discomfort. I don't like squats when I have 2 good legs, but I'm only going down til my legs are at a 45 degree angle to the floor. After that, it's back to "Big Blue," the table I sit/lay on. I do scissors on my back, roll over to the side and lift my leg off the table, roll to my stomach and lift my leg some more. Then to my back again and do heel drags. Those are where I drag the heel of my injured leg toward me, so the knee bends. Go as far as I can, then back down. After doing those, I do them again, except this time I'm lying on my back with my legs going up the wall so gravity can help me drag in and punish me when I push out.
After that, the electro-shock! Hee hee. They pass electricity through my front thigh muscle to help it contract, while I tense the muscle and do leg lifts. The power cycles on and off; when it's on, I tense and lift; off, I relax. Then, we ice up and I go home.
Wow. I am still maintaining my (mostly) positive outlook: that this is the temporary pain I must endure to be whole again. Hopefully that will last for a while. At least until I can do pool work. Then I'm in the water and I'm good.
--Beav (You're going to feel a little pressure.)
I went in on Tuesday, they propped my heel up, letting my knee go (to help extension) while they put some hot mats on my leg to help loosen up the muscles. That was good. Then, to warm-up the muscles, I got on an exercise bike and did what they call "stirrups." Since I can't bend the leg enough to get it all the way around, I rotate as far as I can, hold it for 5 seconds, then rotate the other way as far as I can, 5 seconds. Lather, rinse, repeat for, oh, 10 minutes. Then they stretch me. I lay on my stomach, and the tech slowly bends my leg back/up as far as she can get it. That can get a mite uncomfortable, but as of yesterday, I got to 93 degrees.
Next comes calisthenics, essentially. I do toe raises and heel raises while maintaining balance with those bars they use to help people learn to walk again. Then some squats. That's some, uh, more discomfort. I don't like squats when I have 2 good legs, but I'm only going down til my legs are at a 45 degree angle to the floor. After that, it's back to "Big Blue," the table I sit/lay on. I do scissors on my back, roll over to the side and lift my leg off the table, roll to my stomach and lift my leg some more. Then to my back again and do heel drags. Those are where I drag the heel of my injured leg toward me, so the knee bends. Go as far as I can, then back down. After doing those, I do them again, except this time I'm lying on my back with my legs going up the wall so gravity can help me drag in and punish me when I push out.
After that, the electro-shock! Hee hee. They pass electricity through my front thigh muscle to help it contract, while I tense the muscle and do leg lifts. The power cycles on and off; when it's on, I tense and lift; off, I relax. Then, we ice up and I go home.
Wow. I am still maintaining my (mostly) positive outlook: that this is the temporary pain I must endure to be whole again. Hopefully that will last for a while. At least until I can do pool work. Then I'm in the water and I'm good.
--Beav (You're going to feel a little pressure.)
Labels: Medical
posted by Beav @ 5:54 PM
3 Comments:
At 12:43 PM,
Bk30 said…
hmm take a damaged part and throw it around..that works uh? Jk. I know it can be painful. When my friend Kaisey broke her hip, I went with her to physical therapy a few times. But she was walking off crutchesin 3 months instead of 6 like they orignally told her. Keep at it, and beat that knee into shape.
At 9:58 PM,
Soo Mi said…
What a bite in the gluteus meniscus!
On a more serious note, click here. Hope you get better soon! Karaoke's calling....
At 10:05 PM,
Elitist City-Dweller said…
Yeah, I guess with an injured knee your ability to kick ass is severely diminished. Kind of reminds me of the joke about the one-legged man at the ass-kicking contest.
See ya soon.
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