Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Physical Therapy, Day 1.

Alternately Titled: I'm a Rock Star. My PT Says So. That's Right. Bow To Me. *Guitar Solo*

So. My fears that I had going into physical therapy and how they were qualmed. Qualmed? What the fuck am I talking about. Calmed. Yeah. No, I really am on LESS vicodin then before. Sigh.

Ok.

Fear #1: my knee would have a permanent small bend in it from a too tight ACL graft or that I've somehow been sitting wrong for the past seven days.

Calmed By: Therapist (Amy. Her name is Amy. And it's easier to type) Amy measuring my knee with this clear circle measurey thing that tells you how many degrees your leg straightens or bends, which I shall call the Wheel of Measurements, Betterment, And Telling Stuff..or WOMBATS...where was I? Oh yes. The WOMBATS.

Amy said that the WOMBATS indicated that the injured leg was at a +1. And the other was at a like, +2.5 or something. In non-PT speak, that means my legs still have their super flexible hyper-extension thing goin' on. So. No worries there.

Fear #2: I would be a pathetic little weakling who couldn't do any of the exercises.

Calmed By: Amy going through said exercises (ok. I'm not going to lie. Bending it still REALLY FUCKING SUCKS OUCH OWW STOP PLEASE MkTHANKS.) (Actually what I think I *actually* said was "Hmm. Yeah. That's intense." [very calmly with a little smile on my face.]) and she got to the one where you put a little towel roll under your knee, press into it, flex your foot, and lift your leg keeping it straight and said "now, this one will probably be the hardest." My leg lifted right up. No problem. This is when she called me a "rockstar" and told the assistant who was shadowing her that "this is not the typical ACL case you will work on." That's right. I'm Not Typical. Hear that?! Take that...um...people who ever said I was...um...typical. ?

Fear #3: Getting the full (strong) bend back.

Calmed by: Learning an exercise that is specifically for bending it, WITHOUT using my leg muscles (using a strap and my upper body) which is a lot easier, right now. The WOMBATS said I was at about 62 degrees on my own, and at the end of these exercises I was at about 78. So that's great for the first day! (My left leg is at 145. Just to give you an idea of where I need to go. *hangs head*.) She said that we have "2-3 weeks before we get worried" about the full bend coming back. She said the more I do the (hated) bending exercises at home, the better it'll be. Despite the hatings (ok ok. Not hatings. They're just the ones that hurt.) I shall get right on it.

Fear #4: Rehabbing back to "normal" will take a lot longer than I want and will never get back to 100%.

Calmed By: This was slightly less calmed today, because she said that my personal biggest problem would probably be taking my time with actually getting better as opposed to feeling better. But the "calmed" part is that she is a former gymnast and understands where I need to get to. She even said that in a few weeks (like 4 or 5) we can go to my gym (aka, where I train circus stuff) and she can do some stuff with me there. I thought that was like, the coolest offer ever. This *is* going to take time. But thankfully it's time that I have. I'm not going anywhere.

Oh, and the other cool part about PT was that I learned how to use a new setting on my Boyfriend. There's a "pressure" setting where it sort of acts like a blood pressure cuff that squeezes and releases and feels UH-MAZING. And at the end of the session she put my leg into a Boyfriend machine (they had one just like mine! He's a clone!!) and then up on this little leggie-ski-slope thing that elevated it. Again. Awesome. I made a make-shift elevation device when I got home out of pillows and a book, but it didn't work as well.

Oh well. Good thing I get to go there 3 times a week for a little while.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

clear circle measurey thing = goniometer. go·ni·om·e·ter
Function: noun
: an instrument for measuring angles (as of a joint or the skull)
...now you can definitely be a PT.

Josh Hawkins said...

Good to hear it's coming along reasonably well. PTs can be amazing people, and it's pretty cool yours is a former gymnast.

Ya Looblue said...

gnomeometer?!?! WHAT?!?! a gnome measuring device?!?