Today was my first physical therapy appointment, and I have to say, I had mixed feelings going in. First of all, so many people have made little comments over the last few days that were enough to scare me just a bit, and it seems that everyone has a physical therapy story to tell-- "Oh man, that's when the fun begins! <insert evil laugh>"..."It's going to hurt. So-and-so told me he/she dreaded going because of the pain."..."Take an extra pain pill before you go!" Yikes! So yes, I was a little scared about what today would bring, but I was also excited. For me, physical therapy equals recovery, and today was the first step in what will be a long process.
After arriving and checking in, the physical therapist (I need to remember her name next time) tested the strength of my knee. I failed the initial test. She pointed out how my muscles had begun to atrophy and that I had no knee strength. Awesome! Kicking it off with some good news. She then hooked my knee up to a machine that would measure the strength as I flexed the knee and forced it straight. It didn't take long until I figured out exactly what she'd been asking me to do all along, and she changed her diagnosis. My knee is actually fairly strong this early post-op. The first set of exercises involved me lying flat and using my knee muscles to press my knee down into the table. I didn't realize this, but it is the MOST important part of recovery from ACL surgery. Bending the knee comes later. Anyway, so I would press my knee down and hold for five seconds ten times. The machine had a little meter, not unlike the strong-man hammer throw thing at a carnival. The more I pressed, the more it lit up. Talk about good incentive! Between each set of ten, I did ten heel slides, where I had to bend my knee up as far as I could, sliding my heel up toward my butt. Holy Mary, Mother of God...my knee was so stiff. This part was quite painful, but I worked really hard and saw some progress by the end of the three sets.
Physical therapist girl had me do a few more stretches, and then the best part...I got to lie on my stomach while she massaged my calf...ahhhhh!!! I had felt it getting sore over the last few days, but I didn't realize it was so sore. It was one of those "hurts so good" moments. I hope I get a calf massage every time! hahaha
One of the best things about today's physical therapy session is that I learned to walk again. I know, that sounds overly-dramatic, but she told me I've been babying my knee and basically I need to suck it up and start walking on it. Until now I've just been relying on crutches, but all afternoon I've actually been putting pressure on it and walking with my brace on (still supported by crutches, though, as I still feel like my knee could give out at any moment).
To finish off physical therapy, they hooked me up to the TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) unit and put a big ice pack on top of my knee. She gave me control of the intensity of the TENS unit, which probably wasn't a good idea. I may have some masochistic tendencies as I turned it up to see how far I could go before my leg started twitching and it felt like I was being stung by a million bees. Oh what fun! All in all, PT went very well!
After PT, I went to my favorite bakery/cafe, Layers, where everybody knows your name (okay, I'm totally singing the Cheers theme in my head and probably will be tomorrow morning, too. Better than the depressing Adele song that's been in my head all day, I suppose). Anyway, I bought my kids some Valentine cookies and ate breakfast. On another side note, they have the best everything and it is all organic. They were glad to see me. Everyone who works there has become like a friend to me, and I just love that place. I've missed them.
This evening I took 4/5ths of the kids to Chili's (their choice...gag. Teddy was out with Ashley). I got by with some chicken fajitas. I only ate one and brought the rest home, so I don't feel too guilty. I came home to a beautiful flower arrangement from my daddy. It was sweet, special, and it made me cry as it was totally unexpected! And that was a wrap to my Valentine's Day.
I'm glad to be off my pain medication, driving again, and on the road to recovery. I look forward to my next PT session. I hope it is as beneficial as today's was!
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