Physical Therapy is an Adventure, and Nobody Knows the Rules
So, I’ve started physical therapy and it’s thoroughly entertaining, considerably fun, and it hurts a lot in a lot of different ways.
My first PT session focused on my hips and lower back. We didn’t get to my shoulder until the next session.
As anticipated, in addition to the pain I’m already feeling, I was extremely sore from working all of those little muscles. It has been a week since that session (I go back tomorrow) and the soreness has let up.
I can now do the first set of back/hip exercises without strain, and can really feel the little muscles engaging. I can’t say that this has reduced the problems with the lower back yet, but it’s still quite early, and I’m incredibly optimistic.
Monday, I went to my second session, and we started to address my shoulder. They did lots of little diagnostic tests to see if my symptoms are nerve related or vascular. Many tests check your range of motion, and this was clearly new ground for my physical therapist.
Each range of motion test was met with surprise- which later turned to nods of confirmation. I have “global joint laxity” and judging from their reactions, it’s quite substantial.
We started focusing on the little muscles inside my shoulder joint, which according to my physical therapist is the weakest joint in the body.
We did several exercises to target these, and worked very careful to reach resistance without it being “too much.” I’m strong- like really strong. Heavy loads are no big deal to my large muscles- but these aren’t supported with the small muscles.
As an afterthought we added several other exercises, because I wanted to keep going, and my therapists next appointment didn’t show up.
These included push-up plus and two others I can’t remember the name of. Push up plus is performed in the same position as a push up (I was standing- the level of incline is adjustable) and the motion is within the shoulder joint itself, from front to back and the reverse.
Somewhere along the way we did something wrong.
Ever feel like you’re always the scapegoat? You probably are.
I felt fine when I left physical therapy. My shoulder felt like it had been used, but nothing concerning.
As I was driving home, a weird sickening ache set in, and I was not ok. The pain became nauseating and I passed out for a 4-hour nap when I got home.
My shoulder has been popping and clicking since that drive home. My shoulder is hurting at a constant 4 now with spikes to 7-8 when it pops. Sometimes the sting from the pop hangs out for quite a while.
There is now a strong sense of pulling inside of the joint as well.
I have no idea what I did wrong, and I was working carefully under professional supervision.
Simple instructions to “push within the joint to really feel resistance” are apparently much more dangerous in joints that don’t naturally bottom-out on their own.
How am I supposed to know that? How are they? My physical therapist sees one other zebra at a different clinic, and they just started too.
Thankfully, I have an appointment with Dr. Handjob, already on the schedule for tomorrow and I will not be at all surprised if I end up in an X-ray machine before my 11am physical therapy appointment tomorrow.
None of this is surprising, but that doesn’t mean it’s not frustrating.
I had to call in to work, because there was no way I was using my arm on Monday. Yesterday I made it about an hour. Today I worked three before I was ready to tap out. Today is the first day that I felt my arm was up to typing in my off hours.
Y’all I couldn’t even blog.
I’m still clearly struggling to find the balance in all of this, one appointment at a time, one exercise at a time, one injury at a time, one work day at a time, one bite at a time.
Survivor Literacy 
What do you think?