intro to physical therapy

My first session of physical therapy! I was late, my 1 1/2year old son had to go with me, I forgot to change from my gardening slippers and I was hungry. All and all a good start - especially because I was having a really bad back day (I considered calling the doc for another set of steroids).

The rehab center I am going to is very exciting. It looks like a gym, with all kinds of mirrors, sports machines and people in shorts with little towels, sweating, pushing and pulling things while being observed by other people (not in shorts) taking notes. My son immediately spotted a box full of very large brightly colored balls.

My son and I went into a small, bright room with wide vertical blinds (it was drizzling outside). We hang out on the special blue vinyl covered PT bed ( you know, the ones with the hole for the nose so you can face down) while my son carefully shredded the paper that covered the pillow. We waited for Laura.

And there she was ! What a happy cheerful person….Laura, who was very very pregnant, examined me thoroughly. I walked on my tippi toes, on my heels, then she moved my legs in all kinds on directions. Satisfied with what she learned, Laura decided to create a training program. Twice a day I will have to do these exercises (more details later). They are all easy really, more importantly can I do it consistently…

To finish up I was hooked to the fabulous machine. On my back, a transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulator was attached to relieve stiffness, improve mobility, and relieve pain. I am very intrigued about the mechanism which it uses but more so about how good it felt (so probably more about this later too). Ding ding ding, 15 minutes were up, the alarm rang, someone new came into the room to detach me and my little darling toddler darted off in to the gym.

Anyone doing PT for anything? Do you know this machine? Do you keep up to date on your schedule?