It has been just over 72 hours since my last PT appointment, and I’m over the psychological moment and can now type about it.
Well, no. It isn’t that bad. I’m headed into my fourth appointment tomorrow, and I am getting the hang of what I have to do: check in, do my “warm up” exercises (which are something of a cross between pilates, ballroom dancing, and the modified shopping cart), “massage” my IT bands (twang!), and then have someone mess with them and then some iontophoresis (that electrode thingy). Easy-peasy, yes?
Look, all of that is just ducky– the pilates-cum-ballroom dancing is fun –but that IT band messing that someone else does? That is sheer hell.
Ladies and Gentlemen, please meet Joe. Joe was the purveyor of hell on Monday.
Joe is likely my age, because he totally caught my Top Gun reference (he called me Maverick, I told him “negative Ghostrider the pattern is full”). Joe looks like that tennis pro at the club that will totally teach you tennis and take it easy on you and you totally know he’s taking it easy on you.
Joe has sharp elbows. I know this, because part of physical therapy for twangy IT bands? Is to rub them out. With an elbow. Laterally.
This feels something akin to someone giving you a very deep bruise, very slowly, along the outside of your thighbone. After about 2-3 minutes on each side, you are very certain of two things: 1, you don’t ever want to do that again, and 2, that you will be black and blue in seconds.
Joe knows how to not leave marks, which is why we are hoping Joe never breaks out a bar of soap and a sock.
The other negative side of PT (as of late) is because I’m allergic to the leukotape, I have to wait until my skin heals to work out in any way that challenges my knees. So, no Cyntergy, no pilates, no spin class, no running. I am left, essentially, with swimming. Swimming is good — aside from the semi-permanent eau de chlorine that lingers after a session — but it’s gear (and time) intensive. I mean, to get a good 500 calories burned, you go to one (1) 45 minute spin class and you’re done. You can run some errands in your gym gear, and then shower at home. To get a good 500 calories burned swimming, you need to swim for about an hour, and you must shower before getting into the pool, and then you need to uber-shower when getting out of the pool. Unless you want to soak your car in that same eau de chlorine (there was a time that I did that, to my old ’81 Volvo), you shower at the gym, which necessitates waiting on others who shower at the gym, including small children. Total time at gym, 2 hours.
All of this, and the Run/Walk/Limp is now officially 8 weeks away, and the STP is about 15. Nervous, me?
No. 🙂
Bobbie Conti 
I’ve endured several sessions with the Elbow of Death on my spine. Ever see a 6’7″ Hulk of a guy whimper? Yeah, that was me. I swear that the therapist really loved torturing people. I’ve maintained my back well enough so that I have never had to go back yet… *wince*