Anybody ever do physical therapy?

[MrsDM]

A few years ago, I got whiplash real bad from a car accident I was in, I was the passenger. The whiplash caused serve muscle spasms and back pain. It has always been on and off for about the last 5 years.

Recently, however, it has gotten almost worse than the days after the accident. I went to the doctor, gave me a bunch of drugs and told me I should try physical therapy in case its something more than just a flare up. This pain has been lasting 10 days now. I went to the doctor on day 6. It hurts to sit, hurts to stand, walk, etc. I just want it to go away!

So, I think I'm going to try the physical therapy. Anybody ever gone through it? Care to share your experiences/thoughts? Did it help??

Thanks!!

[ikkin510]

I was in physical theropy last year actually for the same reason. Whiplash from a car accident. I got a lot of relief from it. From time to time i still have some problems, but I was told that would be expected.
I dont' remember what exactly it was called that they did for me. I know there was a massage, then and electro theropy thing (they send little shocks in through the muscles in your neck.) I also was but on this bed for about 10 minutes each session that stretched out my neck. That worked great!

[RozMitchell]

I've not had PT for whiplash, but I have had it for my hands and arms, because I have pretty horrid radial tunnel syndrome.

PT isn't bad. A good Physical Therapist will not only work you through relieving your current pain, but teach you to manage it, usually with a series of exercises that you can do at home, and in the future when it flares up.

Roz

[vicky_vicky]

Last winter I had an injury at my ankle. I twisted it and it cracked. Also I had it misplaced(it got in place right away but the conjuction fluid broke) thing that caused a very big swelling and pain. At first I thought it was just a minor accident so I walked around half a kilometer to get to my car and then I drove for 3 kilometers.

Then I went to hospital I had x rays and my foot put in plaster for 2 weeks. I was told not to step on it at all but I did step on it, as a result my foot was not healing.

The crack in my ankle was healed after a period of 4 weeks but the twisting injury was still there.

I left a while of two months where I couldnt walk normally. That said was that someone could tell it was something wrong with my foot, not to mention I was in pain while walking.

I started physical therapy after this for about 3 weeks and it was no good.

It became a little milder but it still hurt. So after some months I went to another docter to go on physical therapy again. It took me about 4-5 weeks this time.

I had water massage(with whirlpool),
electroshocks(be careful as it has to be a little weird for your skin but not hurting),
warming up (with light or hot towels),
hand massage,
ice bandages.

I am so glad it is over finally because it took me 8 months to get over it just for a silly twisting while walking:bbeek:

I am sorry for the long story.

[dylansmom011908]

I had to go to PT for my extreamly bad carpal tunnel last year when i was pregnant.

The pregnancy gave me the worst carpal tunnel and nothing would work, so since they can't give you any asprin to take down the swelling.. they referred me to PT.

It was nice and did wonders..my therapist was very nice and helpful! But since i would have to go to work after and it would undo what the PT did for my condition... they eventually just took me out of work and that was that..

[amisteratwisterandme]

PT works well if you are willing to put in the time and effort. My sciatic nerve gets the best of me every once in a while, to the point that if I am alone, I have to crawl to the bathroom, pull myself up by the counters, and then getting up after that. I grab the counter, fall to my knees and crawl back to bed. No Joke! Absolute worst pain I have ever had in my life. If someone else is home, i have to practically hang on their back to walk.

I have found that if I walk daily, and do my exercises often, my back doesn't go out as often as before, and when it does, it is only for a day or two instead of a few weeks. The key is to do your exercises religously!!!!!!!!!

[Tadswife]

Life is funny sometimes.. my dh happens to be a pt...:D I know they will have you do some stretching excersises to get strenght in the area you are having pain in as well as massages and the electro thingy that was mentioned before. You will be sent home with home excersises as well:D As long as you keep up with everything i'm sure the pain will subside. Did the dr do an xray to make sure nothing was broken or sprained.

[Nekochanpurr]

I did that once... Well, two times. Couldn't afford to go after that.. ^^*** I did the electro shock thing where they hook it up to your foot and it just short of does little jolts of energy.. Mine was an ankle injury as well, so... They also gave me a latex thing to do foot stretches and stuff to build up more strength.. But i had to throw it away.. Dani having the allergy and all... We were living together at the time. I would go back if i could! It does make you feel better after..

[SerendipityCrafts]

I went for PT years and years and years ago after I had broken my leg in two places. They made me lift weights (ouch), they made me pull my heel up to my butt (ouch ouch, ouch!) and they used ultra sound therapy.

I hated going o PT ... all I wanted to do was get out and run around with my friends.

[Dani]

I went to about 7 sessions of PT for my foot. They had no idea what I had done to it, all we knew it hurt when I walked. They would massage it and put electrodes through it, and it seemed ok once I left, but I would be limping again until the next session. I finally gave up and they ended up doing exploratory surgery and drilled holes in my cartlidge to bring back blood flow (?!?) I still have problems and I know it will never be the same. Darn, all those marathons I will be missing out on. Shoot. :winktongue:

[RosieAngel]

I had physical therapy twice, once for a rotator-cuff strain in my arm and the other for a muscle spasm in my back.

Usually, the sessions start out with a massage, which is nice. I also had some ultrasound therapy. Mmm... so warm. :D

Then, they have you do resistance training and exercises for the area and muscle groups that help support it, which is considerably less fun, but it helps!

They will then give you homework to practice! Make sure you do it, because they will know if you don't!

[Century Guy]

I'm going through PT right now after my ACL was reconstructed. It's definitely helped me get my flexibility/range of motion back, and my strength in that leg is returning as well. I'm having one slight issue that's probably just a post-op issue that keeps tweaking me, but it's less severe than it had been.

Give it a shot, it can't hurt ya. So to speak...

[MrsDM]

Ok, so I have an appointment this afternoon on my lunch break. I'm anxious to see what they all have to say, but nervous as well because I've never done it before! Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences, it definately gives me a good idea though of what to expect. Maybe I'll get one of those great massages - definitely not a bad way to spend lunch ;)!

[MrsDM]

Well, apparenly I have minor skoleosis (sp?) that she thinks flared up after the accident. I have to go twice a week for the next 3-4 weeks for strengthening. No massage today, but she feels three discs with no mobility...I feel the massage coming! :) She also said that my chair at work is no good and I need a new one. I want to pay for this because I want to be able to take it with me if I leave.

At least there is hope for this, thanks everyone!

[caligal85]

Just reading through the thread. 3-4 weeks is not very long! That's great. I did a couple of weeks after a car accident. Never did get a massage. Instead got an insanely huge rubberband that liked to snap me.

[MrsDM]

Just reading through the thread. 3-4 weeks is not very long! That's great. I did a couple of weeks after a car accident. Never did get a massage. Instead got an insanely huge rubberband that liked to snap me.

OUCH!!! I hope thats not what is in store for me!! Oh man...now I'm scared!!!!

[caligal85]

Oh don't be scared! When I was in my accident, I did severe damage to my knees so I had to look one end of the rubberband around my foot and pull back. Not smart to put lotion on beforehand. Since yours is a back issue, you're clear of the dreaded rubberband.

[MrsDM]

Oh don't be scared! When I was in my accident, I did severe damage to my knees so I had to look one end of the rubberband around my foot and pull back. Not smart to put lotion on beforehand. Since yours is a back issue, you're clear of the dreaded rubberband.

OH THANK GOD!!!! :D

[garnet]

I work in a physical therapy/rehabilitation dept at a hospital. i think you should do it. it can't hurt and it will definetely help. probably you experience some small trauma that snowballed and affected all your old injury. i have seen near miracles in physical therapy. i met a 28 yr old woman who has a stroke and couldn't care for herself at all, WALK out of the hospital with a cane.

[MrsDM]

I got one of those massages today! And I got the pulsing thingy and an ultrasound too. An hour later, I wanted to lay there and not go back to work. While she was massaging it out, I couldn't believe how many tender areas there were besides for the injured part. I hope to get some good results out of this! (besides being completely and totally relaxed on my lunch! :grinhappy:)

[Century Guy]

I'm jealous. I went to PT today, and had to do squats, lunges, treadmill, leg lifts, balancing exercises, stepping exercises, and more.

No massages for me! :P ;)

[MrsDM]

I'm jealous. I went to PT today, and had to do squats, lunges, treadmill, leg lifts, balancing exercises, stepping exercises, and more.

No massages for me! :P ;)

Thats no fun! Maybe you should say all the lifting is making your back hurt! :D

[garnet]

You should ask about a TENS unit or electrical stimulation to help your muscles. It sends painless electrical waves into the muscle to help loosen them and control pain. The TENS unit is about the size of a pager, with thin wires called leads that are hooked up to small plastic patches the size of bandaids on your skin. The E stim comes in different forms, hard to say what your PT has.

[MrsDM]

You should ask about a TENS unit or electrical stimulation to help your muscles. It sends painless electrical waves into the muscle to help loosen them and control pain. The TENS unit is about the size of a pager, with thin wires called leads that are hooked up to small plastic patches the size of bandaids on your skin. The E stim comes in different forms, hard to say what your PT has.

Yup, thats what they did yesterday!

[garnet]

isn't it amazing how fast it works?