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TKR Carole’s recovery thread

Worst PT session ever. I told them they were increasing the difficulty too fast for me to be able to do it and they refused to back off. They called the head person over and we had words. I am livid. I had to be taken out of there in a wheelchair.

I see my OS in a week.
 
That's just terrible! As soon as you told them to stop, they had to stop! Refusing to stop, or continuing to try and coerce you into their way or protocol, is, IMHO, abuse. No one has the right to touch you in any way you don't want and no one has the right to continue doing so, pressure you into allowing it, and so on. Since their boss apparently sided with the therapist, my advice is not to go back to that place, ever. If you want to continue PT, find a new place that will listen to you-you're the boss as it's your knee and your recovery. Only you can make the decision as to how your recovery will proceed; not your OS, not your SO, not your PT, and so on. Just as you were the only one who could sign the papers pre-surgery to allow your doctor to operate, you're the only one who can "sign-off" on any PT afterwards, and any other therapy or medical equipment suggested. Having operated on you does not mean the OS now owns your knee; and just because you go to a certain PT office does not mean the therapist(s) own(s) your knee.

Hopefully your knee will forgive the assault and settle down soon. In the meantime, do bring it up with your doctor, but you really don't have to go to PT any longer, unless you choose to do so. If so, FIND A NEW PLACE!
 
Find another facility, they don’t deserve your business, whether you are paying them directly or through your insurance.

I’m so sorry this happened, you were so happy there. :hairpulling:
 
Carole,
It is your right to refuse therapy any time you feel they are asking too much or harming you by not listening.
Here is a link to an article in the library about consent.
Saying no to therapy - am I allowed to?

I agree with what the others have said, stop PT, if you continue find a new facility.
 
Oh no! You have been doing so good. I'd never set my foot back in that place again. If you want to continue PT, interview places and choose one that has your best interest in mind, not theirs! I pray with extra TLC your knee will bounce back. It hurts my heart to think you had to go through this.

You told them to stop and they didn't. That is abuse. Report them!
 
Thanks, all. I have been sitting here so upset and talking with my sweetie about it. He was there, and he's even madder than I was. He said that they should have known better than to work me that hard, and then to refuse to back off..... I'm furious.
 
So what happened? We’re they controlling a machine you were using? How did things get so out of hand?
 
You were right to be livid. I’m not sure I would even go back unless I had a discussion about what type of exercises I will be doing and making sure that you can say NO when you’ve had enough.
 
I agree with the others about this terrible treatment. :censored:
 
Jockette said:
So what happened? We’re they controlling a machine you were using? How did things get so out of hand?
Click to expand...
(TL;DR It was a horrible day.)

Well, it was partly my fault. When the session began I was already feeling pretty sore and tired from the previous session last Friday, so I told the PT that before we started, and said it would really help if we could back off a little today. I told her about how I love the gym and tend to get overly enthusiastic and do more than I should, not less, and that because of that we needed to be especially careful today.

Instead, she had me doing more of each exercise than before. I kept questioning her, "Didn't we just do 10 of these last time, instead of 30?" and so on. She would flip through her papers but didn't seem to know. 30 of each was enough that as I approached the last exercise, I was running out of stamina and feeling like I might collapse or faint. These were the tough exercises obviously.

At the end, she put me on "the extensionator" and walked away but it was apparently broken. I couldn't get the bulb to pump it up, and I could get the release valve to work and let out the excess pressure either. And while she was taking her sweet time to figure out how the machine works and what might need to be done and how to go about fixing it, etc, my leg was horizontal with my knee supported only by my heel on one end, and by my behind on the other and a huge amount of pressure pushing down in between. Since my knee extension is only 17 degrees, that got to be extremely painful extremely fast and I was yelling "ow, ow!!" and rolling over on the mat with the extensionator and all, trying to get the pressure off of my knee. Then she unhooked me and said she had better have me talk to the head PT lady (I forget her title).

The head PT lady said that the only way they would back off on the workouts is if I did PT exercises at home and then I wouldn't have to do them at the facility. I haven't been doing any of that because I go every other day, and the days in between I am too sore to exercise. But she insisted. So did I. We had words. She asked if I wanted to quit PT and I said no.

But I still might.

My sweetie is saying that I could tough it out through Wednesday's and Friday's PT sessions, and on Monday I would see my OS and I could ask him what his opinion is. I do want my OS to do my second TKR. He is a magician of a surgeon and it's hard to find a good knee guy around here. The PT facility is located just above his office and I think is associated with his orthopedic group; I should check. After he does my second TKR I could have home PT (they were very good and gentle), and then tell this outpatient PT group to take a hike and just do without any more PT.
 
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They sound incompetent and sadistic to boot.
I'd just cancel those two appointments and spend a few days recovering. You can ask your surgeon but at this point you might be better off doing exercises at home instead of PT.
To bully you into doing more than you can handle is unacceptable.
"30" may be a goal on their sheet of paper but I doubt most people could do it.

My PT might encourage me to try more, but when I said "when" that was it.
 
Well, you know where I stand on PT.

In the early weeks I was afraid to stop going to PT, I didn’t want to rock the boat with my surgeon, but I’ve come a long way since then. I will not deal with PTs next time around once I leave the hospital, and I won’t do anything in the hospital that I feel is not in my best interest, which means I will only take walks.

I wouldn’t go tough out the next 2 sessions, this group is not looking out for you. It doesn’t matter if they are connected with your surgeon.

At this point in time you know what kind of rehab works for you and you will recover just fine doing the rehab you like on your own at home.
 
Carole, I'm so sorry you've had this awful experience. Please know that nothing bad will happen if you just cancel your Wednesday and Friday appointment until you have a chance to talk with your surgeon next week. He absolutely needs feedback on what they've been doing to you and trying to get you to do....especially since the therapy clinic is located in his building. His input to their manager would do more than anything you could do.

Hopefully your surgeon will support you in your concerns about what has happened. However, on the off chance that he takes the clinic's side, I would suggest giving your knee a bit of a rest and then search for a new therapist. Your surgeon won't refuse your surgery if you don't use his therapy clinic.

You know your body and your knee. Don't ever be worried about taking a stand when something is happening that's causing you more than just mild discomfort. Enduring pain when your body is trying to heal causes more problems than it can ever solve.
 
I am so thankful for all of you, and for the insights and replies on this thread! I must admit that I have felt utterly crushed because I was so sure I could handle things, and then blew it. :boohoo:I still don't know quite what happened or why the PT people who had been so reasonable, suddenly seemed to gang up on me like that. I feel confused, desolate, and angry.

Anyway, your support is especially appreciated.:thankyou:
 
Good grief!!

This really does make me angry (for you).
Compare it to my own PT session yesterday, he never ever touched me, apart from tying my shoelace for me.
He just asked me to show what I could do, then advised me how I could improve it.

Why on earth would you tough it out for another two sessions then hope the OS would be sympathetic,? He's in charge, he instructs the PT, he caused it in the first place.

I would go ballistic, ring up or write to your OS.

I'd never ever ever ever ever ever go again, unless you get assurances from him that won't happen again. Even then, I wouldn't go.

The head PT lady even said you could do your exercises at home instead of coming in for what is plainly wrong.

They may , or may not, be right in that you need to work harder, I don't know. But bullying you and assaulting you just isn't acceptable.

Look after yourself, Carole. You deserve better, stay in control.
 
Aw, thank you Tykey! I wish I had a PT like yours.

I actually like PT itself. I am just not physically able to start at the high intensity that they require, due to all those years when I lacked much mobility prior to surgery. Up until today I was enthusiastic about getting my strength back and working hard to get back in shape, but after today I don't know.

Oh well, tomorrow is another day and I'll probably be more cheerful.
:good-bad:
 
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