PT Update

[missdiane]

I felt cranky during a lot of it but I think most of that was still fear that my back is going to go all wonky. However at the moment I am feeling more "worked the muscles" achy rather than "oh shit the back's going to go at any moment" achy so it's a start. I bought a little notebook so that while things are still fresh in my mind, I can document what I did there and try to document my "homework" Today I did this

5 forward bends - I have no problem touching my toes with my fingers, fortunately
5 back bends - those made the lower back pissy right away so we corrected that with
10 more forward bends
10 minutes on the recumbent bike with 3.5 resistance. My back didn't like this so when done, I got up and bent a few more times
30 straight-arm pulls with the rubber band
30 bent-arm pulls with a tougher rubber band
10 sit-stands with a small medicine ball
10 stand-touches with a small medicine ball (tough!)
10 stand-hover with a small medicine ball (really tough!)
3 sets of 10 bridges on the bed with a ball held between my knees. 

Lying down exercises suck. I mentioned that. My back doesn't like lying down though it's less bad with my knees bent. Since I was wincing midway through the bridges because the mid-back started aching again, he had me do 10 minutes with a big heating pad on my back which helped some.

Rather than doing the homework which is mostly all stuff lying on my back or stomach, this weekend I'd like to get to Planet Fitness so I can do more of what I did today instead. On Monday morning I have the woman that assigned the exercises so I'm going to ask if I can have more standing things (and maybe some sitting) rather than lying exercises.  

I don't see myself doing this for a long time even though insurance pays for it. I'm hoping to stick it out long enough to build enough of a habit to it more on my own regularly. It's kind of annoying that the PT people are doing three or so of us at the same time because I don't feel like they pay enough attention to form. I also seriously need to work on eating better (read: less) so that extra weight isn't affecting my back so much either. 

Comments

[plant-lady60.livejournal.com]

As I said, I am so with you on the laying down exercises. Boo-Hiss.

Also, I'm also with you on having to do this stuff in a group. WTF? Whenever I've had PT through my insurance, I am always one-on-one with someone.

I need to get back to the pool and do my aqua aerobics. Nothing works or feels better, for me, anyhow. Land stuff just hurts too much and I get very little benefit from it other than pain.

[missdiane.livejournal.com]

Clearly they're getting every dollar they can by having their people rotate from person to person. Hmph.

Water exercises are easier and they asked me if I wanted to do stuff in the pool but since I'm scheduling these during the work day and want to take as little sick time as possible, I don't want to have to fuss with struggling into the suit and then having to struggle out of it and smell like chlorine.

[plant-lady60.livejournal.com]

Well, if the achiness doesn't subside, if I were you, I'd change my mind. Seriously. Take it from someone with horrid arthritis, the Degenerative Joint type. Be nice and easy on your body. It will pay you back by feeling better.

[veganhothead.livejournal.com]

I'm not fond of back bends either. Or bridge pose.

And it\s a good idea to ask about more standing ex/ Not enough people speak up in these matters.

[spikesgirl58.livejournal.com]

PT can be a pain, but I've found you usually feel better with than without it. However, if it hurts you, you need to stop.

[vysila.livejournal.com]

If you can stand it, I would recommend sticking with the prescribed number of visits. It really can help in the long run. I had over six months of PT 3x a week for two consecutive injuries and a surgery. I credit the PT with my still having shoulder flexibility. It hurt like hell for 3 months, I cried every session. But they pushed me through and I have been grateful ever since.

[missdiane.livejournal.com]

The weird thing is there isn't a prescribed number of visits which makes me kind of suspicious.

I'll keep going for as long as I think it's useful but when they put you on a machine and then disappear to tend to other people, it doesn't seem like this place is being run all that well. I definitely want to get healthier but when I express my concerns, I get kind of a blank look. I have the regular PT woman tomorrow morning so I'll see what she says when I ask for more standing-based exercises

[ladyblue56.livejournal.com]

That is disappoint to hear you're not getting one on one w. the PT. I'm not impressed w. that as they do miss things like form and not straining, etc. Any thing w. the back, yes - my back gets pissy right away too - good description! Good luck talking to them Monday, and asking for different exercises that aren't making the back feel worse than it already does. Even if insurance is paying for it, if they're not doing what you need to do then it's not worth your time - and it can cause more problems if you're straining areas. That is what I had in PT, being overworked bc they did not understand Fibromyalgia and the fatigue part of it where I'm not building up my 'endurance' as they expected.

[missdiane.livejournal.com]

I felt better after doing exercises at Planet Fitness this morning than the stuff I was assigned so yeah, I'm going to have a chat with the woman tomorrow morning.

That stinks that your PT didn't listen to your concerns. Fibro is getting common enough that they should recognize that you have to do PT differently