PT is killing me!

[snapdragen]

Yup, I'm back in PT, this time it's a strained/inflamed rotator cuff. The therapist pushes on a spot "does it hurt here?" After I peel myself off the ceiling, I tell her yes.

Ultrasound and massage is wonderful, then the sadist...err, therapist, pulls out her bag of torture devices. These are cleverly disguised as exercise tubes, light weights, and a towel. Don't let the towel fool you, it's not as benign as it looks.



Her parting words until next week "Try to do these exercises three times a day, 15 reps each" I may ask to have my arm removed.

Tonight my icepack is my friend.

[DebW]

I can concur with the PT. I believe that the most traumatized I've been in my life while conscious was when the PT worked on my frozen shoulder beyond the limit I could bear. I barely managed to avoid passing out and breaking down in tears (didn't quite avoid that) for the next hour after I left her office. People must have wondered why I was hanging out in the parking lot for so long, but I was afraid to drive. On the bright side, though, my shoulder now works pretty well.

[maillotpois]

Oh snap - so sorry you have to go through yet MORE cr@p!!!

[Trekhawk]

I think you need to buy a lottery ticket Snap because it must be your turn for some good stuff after all this.

Hope it gets better soon.

[OakLeaf]

Owie Snap, shoulders are so painful! Hope you feel better soon.

[beccaB]

Stretchy bands are no slouch workout! I've had PT twice for shoulder issues. The thing that looks like a ski that you shake in different directions-hurts! The therapist didn't make me do it again. I don't rake or vacuum. That's what teenage kids are for.

[Smilie]

Sorry about your PsychoTherapist. They certainly know how to jab the spots that cause the most horrendous pain. Good luck surviving it all. Maybe you might want to not hurt yourself again, and avoid them all together.

[withm]

You have my sympathy. I'm also doing PT, but for achilles tendonitis. All the others who are being treated at the same time seem to have shoulder problems. I'm the only foot/ankle/leg in my time slot. Having done the rotator cuff round several years ago, I could only grimace when I saw your photo of the dreaded "towel" stretch. How I remember the pain when I did that.

The good part is when I did PT for my shoulder I could not raise my arm much above 90o from my body. NOW I have full range of motion, pain free.

I'm hoping for the same result on my achilles. I've been doing my homework and icing it religiously and it is getting better - s l o w l y. At least now I've graduated to being able to ride my bike again.

There was a good article about the whole PT experience in the NY Times a couple weeks ago - this link still seems to work:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/17/he...er=rss&emc=rss

Physical Therapy and the Camaraderie of Healing

I first had physical therapy at 27, after I slipped on an icy Montreal sidewalk and tore the ligaments in my left ankle. I had it again at 42 and 43, after surgery on my right and left knees, and most recently I've had it on both shoulders.

My orthopedist likes to say surgery is half the battle. If so, it's the easy half.

The slow and repetitive work of physical therapy often starts the next day, and for an injury like a tear in an anterior cruciate ligament, it can take up to six months. Before you've done it, it's hard to imagine anything is going to take so long and hurt so much

(go to the link for the rest of the article.)

[bmccasland]

Snap,
You have my deepest sympathies. I did PT for a frozen shoulder last year for 2 months, and got 90-95% of my range of motion back. And now a year later, it still hurts, and I've lost range of motion. My shoulder hates me. Right shoulder is getting left shoulder in on it too.

I once asked my PT if he was channelling his medieval ancestors who used to work in torture chambers? He said he was glad he didn't have to wear the leather hood any more.

All I can tell you is take pain killers before you go to therapy. And it will get better.