First real outpatient PT

[Neild5]

I am 15 days post op and had my first workout with the PT.  She kicked my butt!  My leg is tired with sore muscles, ice is my friend today!  Yesterday I walked one mile with no cane, this morning I used the stairs to get to PT rather than the elevator but I have aways to go yet.

Neil

[hernanu]

Sounds excellent! Outpatient PT is challenging, but it's a great way IMO to make progress. Ice and rest, then get up and move around.

[Neild5]

Tried going for a walk today, leg got stiff and swollen from mid thigh to my knee.  This is the first I have noticed any swelling.


Neil

[hipnhop]

My first OP PT is tomorrow.  Have to drive 30minutes to get there - not cool. Hope this works.

[maxi]

swelling is normal neil, especially after exercise in the early stages of recovery ...   throw some ice on, have a good lie down and all good ...  i was done with all swelling 10 days out ...

Paul

[hipnhop]

I had my first op pt today. it was a joke.  it took me 40 min to drive there (they have nothing closer to my home), a $30 co-pay, and all they did was what I already do.  I could tell they are not used to dealing with more active patients.  I will speak to my doc and just use the PT once every month to check that I am doing things right.

I rather pay $20 to the trainer at the gym down the street, have them take me through the approved exercises and save gas and time.  Plus walking is the best PT. I am doing 10 minutes each day could do more but doc said keep it simple.

[Neild5]

At PT today she tried to kill me!  The surgeon had given her a timeline of progress goals and 5 weeks post op she has me doing exercises that are at the 10 week point.

[hernanu]

I had my first op pt today. it was a joke.  it took me 40 min to drive there (they have nothing closer to my home), a $30 co-pay, and all they did was what I already do.  I could tell they are not used to dealing with more active patients.  I will speak to my doc and just use the PT once every month to check that I am doing things right.

I rather pay $20 to the trainer at the gym down the street, have them take me through the approved exercises and save gas and time.  Plus walking is the best PT. I am doing 10 minutes each day could do more but doc said keep it simple.

What did they do? Mine were very good.

[phillwad]

My Dr has not refered me to PT so I would be grateful if you could share what the PT is "doing" to you.

Cheers - Phill

[FlbrkMike]

My PT is only a 5 minute drive from my office, so I'm lucky to be able to schedule 3:30 p.m. appointments on Tuesdays and Thursdays (Monday and Wednesday this week) on my way home from work.  This is my third week and the routine though pretty consistent has changed gradually adding some things and subtracting others.  On Monday it was something like this:

15 minutes walking on the treadmill to warm up.  I'm up to a 3 mph pace, I've been trying to hit .75 miles at the 15 minute mark.  As an dumb engineer nerd I keep watching the numbers and have to have some kind of goal.  Today I'll try for .8 or .85.

After the treadmill I go to the table and get stretched.  This is the really painful, but probably the most important, part for me.  My hammies, quads and hip flexors are extremely tight.  The PT stretches all of those for about 10 or 15 minutes total in a number of different ways and it's definitely painful, but it feels very good when finished.  She also keeps telling me that I need to stretch more at home.

While still lying on the table, 30 “clams” on each side, 30 side leg raises with each leg, 30 leg raises on my back with 2 lb weights, 30 bridges.

30 leg presses and 30 ankle presses on the universal gym, a sliding table that's at about a 45 degree angle.

3 laps back and forth across the room doing the “monster walk”, where you walk sideways with an elastic band around your ankles

30 “step ups” and 30 “step downs” with each leg

30 standing toe raises on each foot

30 “water skier” squats – holding onto a bar

30 “wall squats” where you put a big ball between your back and the wall.  Last time the new twist was to hold every 10th squat for 15 seconds (they time it - felt like 15 minutes).  That was really hard.

30 leg presses on a weight machine – another new one

30 hamstring curls on a weight machine

Ice on both sides for 10 minutes

On Monday I went home and walked 1.5 miles with my wife afterwards.

[phillwad]

Thanks - I am not sure I would be looking forward to this but I do need to do more

Cheers - Phill

[FlbrkMike]

It seems like a lot when you read it but the whole session takes about 1 hour and 15 minutes, and that includes the 15 minute walk on the treadmill and 10 minutes lying down with ice packs.  I actually feel a lot better when I leave my session than I do walking in.  Plus, it's hard for me to set aside an hour when at home or anywhere else to get a good workout in.  If you're in a place where that is the only activity it's a lot easier to get it done.

[phillwad]

Great - I will be talking to my Dr on Tuesday and ask about OP PT for a while as a way to speed up recovery before my second hip gets "updated"

Cheers - Phill

[Neild5]

I see the same therapist every week and instead of doing the same routine she watches me walk and adapts the program to try and get rid of the limp I have left.  She was excited today when she realized a lot of the limp was due to my 4 herniated discs in the lumbar spine.  I can not wait till they send the survey at the end because she has been awesome!

Neil