Monday Musings…

So, do you remember me talking about hurting my knee back in October before we went on vacation?  I wish it was a cool sports injury, but I really didn’t do anything in particular, just running up and down the stairs and doing laundry, shopping, etc. before we left.  (Perhaps a little too much running and tennis in my younger days.)  And by the time we got off the four-hour flight to California, where I sat in the cramped middle seat on a full flight, my knee was killing me.

Well, after all this time it was still not much better and has been really slowing me down with the holiday preparations.  So my doctor suggested sending me for therapy.  I had three sessions last week with Howie, Evil sadistic torturer Physical Therapist.  He seemed like he’d be such a nice young man when I first met him.  Wrong!

Good news is he’s hopeful it’s a muscle issue rather than a tear or a joint problem.  I’ve always had back alignment problems and have seen a osteopath in the past, but apparently it’s back 😉 so EPT is also doing some back adjustments.

Bad news is I have to see EPT Howie three times a week for three more weeks at least and — who knew — the more you can do in therapy, the more they make you do?!  Leg lifts on your back, leg lifts on your side, stretches and resistance bands and big rubber balls and bridges and pedaling on a recumbent bike.  And more repetitions, always more!

So Friday EPT was like do 20 of each, then 20 more.  And I was like, what if I did ten on one leg and ten on the other and repeated?  Uh, no, Howie says, do it all with one leg first.  You can rest a few seconds in between.  Oh, right, cause that will make all the difference.  I wasn’t sure I’d be able to walk to my car let alone drive myself home afterwards.

So far, the best part is the ice pack they drape across you for several minutes at the end.  Friday I had one on my knee and one on my back.  But at my age, they can pick a joint, any joint, and ice away!