I wasn't injured...but did several months of PT after I developed impingement tendonitis in my shoulder.

Knowing my mom had had the same thing - and had ended up having surgery on both shoulders - I took the therapy very seriously. Even without an injury, there were times of pretty serious discomfort. You just have to put mind over matter and work through them.

I was very lucky to have a wonderful therapist who enjoyed some of the same things I did - including golf and weight training. That gave him an insight - not only into what may have caused the tendonitis in the first place - but what I was going to want to be able to do once my shoulder mobility returned.

Bottom line for successful therapy: Keep your appointments and do everything your therapist prescribes. Yes, it'll hurt. But it'll be worth it.

Best of luck to you.

I didn't realise, and all this over Christmas.

I've got no experience of this or advice, just hugs for you.

bobpurple said:

thank you.

figure skating is wonderful! are you familiar with midori ito?

applekisses said:

thank you very much.

oh i wish my physical therapy consisted of massage. that would be much nicer!

thank you again for the encouragement, pretty lady, and for caring. ill indeed let you know how things progress.

Genesia said:

thank you for sharing your experience, and for the words of advice and encouragement. i very much appreciate it. this entire experience is much more of a challenge than id anticipated and hearing similar stories is very helpful to me in terms of keeping up my morale. i have made some progress today -- my arm is very nearly uncrooked and hanging straight when i do my dangling exercise. small victories, small victories.

i hope your shoulder motility has returned completely. thank you again for your kind wishes.

sj1600 said:

thank you very, very much, my friend. hugs are powerful medicine, and just as appreciated as any advice.

WillyWonka said:

emm said:

thank you!

emm said:

pre- and post-pins (red arrow points to where the break is):

and they just wiggled those suckers out of you?

Lets see, I have had to do PT a couple times in my life so far.

First time was after a bad car accident... not terrible but bad enough to mess up my neck and back. PT and the chiropractor for that.
Then I tore my rotator cuff, though I did not know it at first. I started with the chiropractor but then the pain got worse. When they did an MRI they found the "almost partial complete tear" So then I went for PT but I did
not go to the right place because I never fully healed. Exactly a year to the day that I got the pain from the first rotator cuff tear I got it again. This time I went to a better PT center and she got me back to being able to use my shoulder properly again. Though I still have pain in it once in a while if I do something wrong. Then June 2006 I broke my leg. Did not know it at the time, thought that I tore a ligament or sprained something. I ended up finally going to the dr about it about 3-4 days later and they did an MRI and it was broken right where the ball of your knee rests. That dr just told me to put a soft bendable brace on it and try to stay off of it as much as possible. Then a few days later at work my foot and ankle turned black & blue and my dr referred me to a specialist. He yelled at me for being up and working on my broken leg. It as too late to cast it so he took me out of work for a few weeks and made me rest so it would heal.
As it was healing I did some PT on my leg just to keep from losing muscle around the knee.
I hope I do not have to do PT again.

emm said:

with pliers! :::YANK:::

WillyWonka said:

shanti0608 said:

thank you for relating your experiences, shanti; im sorry youve had to endure so much. i, too, shall hope for you that you will never again have reason to do physical therapy.

do you notice any lasting effects of your leg break, specifically in regards to movement or knee motion? did the fracture itself ultimately heal alright despite having not been set? i ask because, though i understand a leg break such as yours and a humeral break like mine to be quite different, i was told that if my fracture moves out of alignment to enough of a degree, that it could directly effect how much range of motion in my shoulder i can expect to ultimately regain. perhaps legs and knees, just by their very mechanics, arent comparable at to humerus/shoulder injuries though, i dont know.

WillyWonka said:

Well I did notice that it took a long time for it to heal properly, I do think it is healed alright now though..I hope
I did notice that for a time after it was pretty much healed that I cannot get the same range out of it as I did before. I only really notice it if I am trying to get into a very bendy yoga pose. Other than that it is not too bad. There have been days here and there depending on the weather it seems that I feel a little achy in that knee.
To be honest my shoulder bother me more still to this day. The first time I injured it was Oct 2003 then Oct 2004. One thing I did learn is that you need to keep your strength up in your upper body to help support your shoulder. I have always been weak in my upper body. They think that is how I tore the rotator cuff, it was just normal everyday lifting an repetitive motion that did it. So you gotta stay strong! I notice that when my posture is better that my shoulder does not bother me as much. Gotta get back into my yoga. That helped a lot.

willy call the damn post office and ask them to please stop returning your mail




we're even now

I just started PT for the first time because of an injury to my hips (I knew I shouldn't have laughed at the Prince hip surgery stories) anyhoo, I've been going 3 times a week for the last 2 weeks and I have 4 weeks to go, so if you need a PT buddy to share with during this daunting endeavor, feel free to Orgnote me.

As for what I've been through the last couple of weeks, it's not so bad. I have to do lots of stretching and strengthening exercises, which I don't mind. It's the icepacks and electro-therapy that takes some getting use to! Yes! They wrap my hips in ice...brrrrr!!
[Edited 1/14/08 18:46pm]

Mr. Wonka I am so sorry.

I just completed 6 months of physical therapy for my knee..

My advice is do what the therapist says...

It was painful, it was boring but in the long run you will be happy.

If you don't like the the therapist request someone else, because their attitude makes all the difference in the world.

Good luck good person.

shanti0608 said:

thank you, shanti.

emm said:

i called and asked that they stop doing that, and they said 'Make us.'

my p.o is staffed by a very surly bunch.

WillyWonka said:

holy cow! ouch..

SexyBeautifulOne said:

im sorry for your injury. i hope the physical therapy continues to restore your movement and bring relief.

thank you for relating your experiece, and for the wonderful offer to help one another along over the coming weeks. i will orgnote you.

of what does electro-therapy consist, and what does it do exactly?

sag10 said:

thank you, gentle lady, for the advice and the kind words and well-wishes.

i hope your knee is now better. 6 months of pt is a long haul.

sag10 said:

it was a tad uncomfortable.

WillyWonka said:

they don't know who they are dealing with then.
did you tell them you have a cane made of candy?
and that you will thwack them over their surly heads with it?

WillyWonka said:

they don't know who they are dealing with then.
did you tell them you have a cane made of candy?
and that you will thwack them over their surly heads with it?

WillyWonka said:

I can't say I am...

My best wishes to you
I am glad things are improving

WillyWonka said:

They put these pads on that are connected to this machine that sends little electrical currents through the injured area. It improves circulation and massages tissue.

Although I haven't had to go through physical therapy as such, I broke my arm at a difficult period in my life. My parents were going through a separation and I was starting the beginning of puberty so to go through this experience wasn't pleasant.

All I can say is that you will get through it eventually even if present circumstances aren't so great.