Back to the beginning

Started outpatient physical therapy yesterday and we’re wiping the slate clean. I had been doing a couple dozen exercises every day - no more! Now only two, focusing on range of motion. No walking with cane, no clomping around on my own, must continue to use the walker for now. I can relax and elevate my leg most of the time, just getting up to move around for five minutes every hour to prevent blood clots, and doing three sets of these two exercises three times a day. More vigorous exercise will be done at therapy. We have to get my leg straightened out without causing inflammation and scarring. As swelling recedes this will improve, but right now all the walking with a slight bend in my knee is causing a nagging lower back pain. I’m relieved to finally be working with this therapist. He lays out a clear plan, makes sure I am doing the work properly, and isn’t a “no pain no gain” nazi. My biggest complaint with this whole process has been the inconsistent recovery plan. I left the hospital with a sheet of exercises and instructions from a physical therapist there. Then the home care therapist showed up and had me doing something different, then a different home care therapist showed up with her own ideas. I finally let the home care go for a week until I could start outpatient. So it means I must stop my wanderings around the yard for a while, but all I was doing was setting back my progress anyway. Must. Have. Patience.