outpatient PT

[dw6928]

I just had my first outpatient PT. Why didn't anybody warn me? The pain this
PhD in PT inflicted on me (for my own good I am sure) was off the scale. I could actually see his fingerprints in my knee for a good 10 minutes. In order to get the tightness behind the knee to loosen, he pushed down on my kneecap while fully extended so that I saw stars and was actually nauseated. He said if this is not resolved, back problems will ensue. The machines were great and really targeted my weakened quads and hamstring. Most of what was done could not have been done by my at-home therapist. But the pain...and now the soreness.
This promises to be a sleepless night. My knee just laughed at the Percocet I threw at it.

 

[Doug]

Oh dw, surely you haven't been reading the posts for the past month. We have all talked about the pt.
In particular ROM, and the torture bike.
As we all have learned, you have to walk the walk with therapy. Just when you wonder what good it is doing, you will find yourself crossing your legs without thinking about it. Take your meds, and keep the ice on. Also, make sure you are getting plenty of rest in between sessions.
A friend asked my how this whole operation and recovery ordeal was. I told him that after seeing my wife give birth, I would take my physical therapy any day of the week!!!! All a matter of perspective

 

[NuNeez519]

Yeah it is going to be rough for a while. Like Doug had said, do take your pain meds before PT double if your not driving becase it IS going to be a painfull process. I personally have not had my TKR yet as I am scheduled for this thursday but have had reconstructive surgery and been through the whole PT process and even had fainted while he was pushing down on my knee to straighten it out. o do not be scared to take those meds about an hour before tis way it will not be as bad.

NuNeez

 

[dw6928]

Thank you both. My only issue with pre-PT Percocet is that it tends to make me dizzy during the more grueling parts of the session. I, too, almost fainted when he really went all out pressing down today. I guess the flip-side might have been worse, the pain w/o the meds might have been totally intolerable. Tonight, my knee is 3x the size it was before therapy. He warned me that this would happen.
Next session is Thursday....he also said that every other session will get a bit easier; not every one, every other one!

 

[kath]

dw,
you heard it from us all, just read back over the past month of whining, you won't believe it, sounds like we were all in a torture chamber. I know that the most painful thing I had in PT was the pressing hard on my knee cap and now it is the bending my leg to your butt while on your belly thing...not fond of that, but sure glad I can bend my new knee that's for sure. Also, if it is too bad, don't be afraid to speak up. I did and it changed my whole PT experience. We all have different levels of pain and tolerance, sometimes you do need to ask them to back off a bit and then proceed. Worked wonders for me, not to mention I traded in for a new PT in the office that had a different approach, a lot more massage stretching first then works into the rough stuff. He is aggressive but in a different way, made all the difference to me. I was only sorry that for 2 weeks I just gritted my teeth and didn't speak up. Everyone says no pain no gain which is true, but I still believe to a certain extent. I wanted to look forward to PT, not cry on the way there. Good luck, it does get easier.

 

[dw6928]

I just read that PT (especially the pressing down of the kneecap w/your foot elevated) should never exceed a 7 on the pain scale. I was way past 7. Perhaps I should mention a minor adjustment in my PT's zeal to get me to 130 in the next 2 weeks.

 

[beachcomber]

130 in two weeks???? YOW! That seems very overzealous! I am at 120 after 8 weeks and my PT is very pleased!

 

[dw6928]

I may have phrased it poorly. He wants to hit 130 in the next 2 weeks. I will be at 7 weeks post-op at that point. I think he is a bit optimistic. I had a full hamstring tear on that leg several years ago, and since then, the hamstring tendon was very tight. Throw in the TKR and that tendon is really, really tight, enough to keep me up every night, so I am looking at 130 as a real maybe. Sorry if I didn't communicate all that well. Percocet prose!