Last week, I “graduated” from
physical therapy I was having for a pinched nerve in my neck. I didn’t receive a diploma, but I received a cool T-shirt
that says “Physical Therapy Brings Motion to Life” and a sheaf of papers
showing me the different exercises I need to continue to do on my own.
More important than any diploma is
the strength that I found in physical therapy.
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| Darius, Katie, and Kyle made up my PT team. |
Different people in my family and
in Larry’s family have, over the years, given physical therapy a bad name. In
my opinion, they haven’t seemed to take it seriously and have seemed to view it
as something to get through—to go through the motions—before what was really
desired could happen: surgery.
I was determined that I was not
going to have that attitude.
Surgery is sometimes needed. It’s
sometimes the best option. But if other, less invasive, options are possibly in
the end just as effective, why not try them and give them our best shot?
My orthopedic doctor was very
clear with me about my options and even wrote out a list: medication, physical
therapy, epidurals, surgery. He circled medication and physical therapy and
said we would start with those.
I pointed to the word surgery on
the paper and told him I had no plans for that.
“Work hard in therapy, OK?” he
said.
And I did. I have done the
stretching exercises at home and the movement exercises at PT, lifting weights,
pulling on resistance bands, lying on my stomach while I lifted my affected arm
over and over.
And I received so much
encouragement from the staff at the rehab center. They had such positive
attitudes. They challenged me physically and celebrated with me as I became
stronger.
And I saw how they treated other
patients. Sometimes I could see pain in the faces of people as they struggled
to get better. The therapists and assistants were partners in that journey.
At the end of each PT session, I
used the cervical traction machine. It was in a room off the main area where
most of the therapy was done.
As I lay on the table and had my
head pulled away from my neck (sounds painful, but it actually felt good), I
could hear sounds from the main room. I heard therapists and assistants asking
other patients how they were, expressing sympathy, setting out plans, counting
out exercises, encouraging them.
What a positive place to be, I
thought.
I still have pain. It got worse
after I stopped taking prescription NSAIDS. But it’s not as bad as it was. And my
muscles in and around my shoulders and neck are getting stronger. I know more
about how my posture affects how I feel.
I had a talk with the main
physical therapist on my last day, and we discussed future options. He assured
me that I could get better.
That helped strengthen my belief that I have a lot of control in my
recovery. There is a lot I can do to get better. And isn’t that true with
anything in life, physical, mental, and emotional? We don’t have control over
everything, but we can do our best with what we do have control over.
Now I’m going to work on my
strength at the Altavista YMCA, where Larry and I are members. My plan is to go
over today after I finish at the newspaper office and sort out which machines
will work the right muscles. I also have elastic bands to work with at home.
And I am going to get even
stronger.
In what ways are you trying to
get stronger?
