Physio session #4

post op: 3 weeks and 3 days

I had another successful physio visit today. He says I should be used in his advertising, but he says it in the same tone of voice that he says his encouraging, "hold just here" that makes me think he tells that to all this patients. Whatever works, right?

Today it was another relaxing session with him doing some soft and relaxing leg massaging and a few of the same old exercises that are all basically just very light muscle work for each of the muscles in my leg. The hardest thing for me that he asks me to do is he puts a rolled up weight under my knee and then has me tighten my quad and lift my foot up off the table, holding it slightly elevated for a few seconds. The rest of the exercises are easy as pie and not at all painful or anything as I've heard many people describe their physio sessions.

So either I'm a superstar or my physiotherapist is doing it wrong.

In any case, I've officially graduated from his little shoe-box office at this clinic and I now have to see him at his other office at the Atrium on Bay (a further walk from my house, but still walkable). I think he has more real equipment there. He wants me to alternate between seeing him one week and seeing his colleague another as they apparently have differing techniques that will compliment each other well.

In other news, I reached and just surpassed this week's goal for flexion with a whopping 122 degree bend. Yahoo! I'm only 18 degrees away from normal! The physio said that the biggest hurdle is getting to 90 degrees and after that it's just a matter of time and not so much working at it before it gets back to normal. I'm not sure if I agree.

I asked him why he thinks one person might heal faster than another, besides age as a factor. He said that I have very supple joints, or lots of flexibility, which helps a lot. Other people get very stiff and have a more difficult time healing.

After physio I used my motivation to go to the gym where I biked for 20 solid minutes on the "cardio" setting and actually worked up a sweat. It no longer feels like a stretch when I pedal around the bendiest part of the rotation so I'm good to go on that. I can finally get some cardio in. I also did a bunch of ab work and some calf raises, leg lifts, and ham work with the ball. I didn't bother with any upper body stuff... because I'm lazy.

Didn't make it to the pool after all but I did get the seal of approval from my PT to sit in a hot tub which I plan to do all weekend while surrounded by the beauty that is autumn. Yay!