physical therapy helping

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone.

I thought I'd update you all on my progress. I started physical

therapy last week for the sacral torsion. After the 2nd session I

was in some pain for a day, but then I just started to notice I felt

no pain for periods of time and was much less stiff. After the 3rd

session I was sore again, but again had periods free from pain. I

asked about this at my 4th session yesterday. She explained that

after manipulating everything it is usually sore, but as that wears

off, the body loves to be in better alignment and the pain

decreases. She said they had gotten me aligned. She said that was

the easy part. Keeping it there would require me to work on

strengthening all of those muscles in the pelvic girdle and in the

legs. OUCH! But at least all of those exercises bring a good ache

instead of the kind of pain I was having before.

[An aside: one interesting thing the P.T. shared with me was that

perhaps having 5 kids back to back and nursing them all for long

stints between pregnancies (and 18 months the last one) may have

contributed to the loose joints, etc., that may have caused the

alignment issues. It is speculation, but interesting. (She did

acknowledge how great the nursing was for the baby, though.) So, who

knows? I know it seemed like my incidents of pain increased after

the last baby was born.]

I was encouraged that the P.T.s were so happy with my progress. They

said they would be reporting to the Dr. today on how much stronger my

hamstrings are and how hard I've been working. I told her that I had

had no idea how far my fusion went until recently, so I had figured

nothing really worked back there. I told her how I had never been

told to exercise to strengthen that area before. Had I been told

this when I was discharged from my surgeon's follow-up, I certainly

would have done it.

The P.T.s are so understanding compared to the doctor that

recommended them. I mentioned my knee had started bothering me after

one of the sessions, and they tailored the exercises to take that

into account.

The P.T.s are also encouraging me to still go to the surgeon for a

visit to see what he thinks and what perhaps I can expect and need to

watch for in the coming years. My appointment with Dr. Kasten is

scheduled for Jan. 13 at 8:45. My dad will drive me since it is an 1

1/2 hour drive on Michigan winter roads. Hopefully he will be

supportive as well.

I have also been taking the advice of friends on this site and am

slowing down a bit. There may be dishes in the sink, but I'm now

getting closer to 8 hours of sleep a night instead of 5 or 6. I am

hoping this will help my muscles recover quicker.

I want to once again thank you all for the support. I don't often

have anything to add to the conversations because I haven't had

revision surgery, but I am feeling such a bond with you all as I read

the posts and check out the pictures. We've all had to tough out a

lot of things...many of you much more than I have, so it encourages

me to persevere and be strong.

Blessings,

Diane VDW

Michigan