No matter our age or physical condition, sometimes there is an event that physically brings you down and nearly incapacitates you from normality. The event could be from a fall, an auto accident, or other maladies such as arthritis.
Eventually, your medical caregiver will explain to you the severity of your problem and subsequently outline the options you have which many times is – physical therapy.
It’s becoming the most positive option to an eventual healing in due time. Many times, the patient will shy away due to the knowledge of a high level of pain that is inevitable. However, physical therapy is effective in helping to improve mobility, manage pain and, of course, enhance the quality of life.
Certainly, there is a litany of effective conditions to be considered such as sports injuries, arthritis, post-surgery rehabilitation, neurological disorders, and more.
You may ask yourself, what are the dividends of this option that can put me back on the road to a normal life?
Simply put, physical therapy helps improve strength, flexibility, and mobility all while allowing patients to regain the functions of a normal daily life.
Many patients, even me, once upon a time – asked for the success rates of the procedures. The numbers are impressive, ranging from 68% to 72%.
However, what does physical therapy involve?
To keep it simple, expect exercises, stretches, manual therapy techniques tailored to the patient’s needs.
The value of it all is the promoting of healing and recovery without the risks associated with surgical procedures.
In November of 2016, I personally found out the value and how the elements of physical therapy can and will work for you. I have never forgotten that day and never will.
The “Gales of November” took a break that sunny day with the temperature reaching 70 degrees. My first thought was this is a great opportunity to install my outdoor Christmas decorations for sure. In my front yard there is a small maple tree that sits atop a 6-foot-high wall next to my driveway. My plan was to string lights around it which required my walking near the edge of the wall.
As I was moving around the lower level of the tree, my foot slid on the mulch and I began to fall off the wall. I reached for a limb but missed it and I instantly knew the impact on the concrete driveway was just seconds away. The instinct to break my fall was automatic. I extended my left hand to minimize the impact. Bad idea.
My weight was behind my body when the collision took place, fracturing my elbow as my hand skidded across the concrete. A second later, my head bounced off the driveway. The impact rendered me stunned, but still conscious.
I felt blood on my hand and thought it might be coming from the impact on my head. I was going into shock and having trouble breathing.
Somehow, I crawled to the base of the wall and yelled for my wife Jo for help. She never heard me. Several minutes went by as my cries for help were futile.
After several minutes she finally heard me and ran to my rescue. The incredible pain was coming from my shattered elbow, and the blood from a gash in my left hand. I could feel the pain from my head as she opened the car door for me and off to St. Luke’s hospital, less than a mile away.
At the ER, the doctors put me to sleep and reassembled my dangling elbow. Then the tests began which later revealed I had sustained a spinal injury. The results of the injury were in two places. One of which was pain and numbness down my right arm to my fingers, and the other, was the same only down my left leg. It turned out that two spinal discs were touching a nerve creating pain and numbness.
It was inevitable – and time for physical therapy.
The X Rays told the story, as my tenure with PT began, I would be working with two wonderful therapists who soon found the problem and the focus was on the location of the pain. Their skill and experience certainly impacted on my treatment and the outcome.
A myriad of exercise, stretches and other techniques were administered 3 days a week coupled with several home exercises as well. The weeks passed by into months as my rehabilitation was well on success.
Today, overall – I am fine. Occasionally, I feel stiffness in my neck or shoulders; when that occurs, I employ the stretches and other techniques and eventually the mild pain subsides.
Without a doubt, PT can effectively reduce both acute and chronic pain. You will come to understand that it enhances range of motion, strength, and overall function.
It should be noted that my wife Jo, has had two knee replacements that have brought severe pain and discomfort. Of course, she went through the PT regimen and even as a follow up. She completed her “at home” program with a visiting therapist – Jerry.
A side note, check the photo of Jerry and Jo working together at home. My first thought, Jerry is a dead ringer for actor Donnie Wahlberg who played Detective Danny Reagan of the TV show – “Blue Bloods.”
What do you think?
There is reality. Some sessions may require significant time, and results can take weeks or months to notice the desired results.
There used to be a TV commercial showing an elderly lady on the floor of her home and screaming – “I have fallen and I can’t get up!”
After falling onto my driveway 10 years ago, I know full well that can and will happen to anyone – anytime.
Hopefully, you and family will be safe from injuries and pain. If you should find that PT is looming ahead for you, I wish you well, and the very best.
Trust me, you are in GOOD HANDS.
Mike Tussey has “retired” from a 60-plus-year career as a legendary play-by-play announcer for over 2000 football, baseball, and basketball games, including most recently for ESPN+. His career also includes a stint in law enforcement, teaching and coaching, and writing books, including the “Touchdown Saints.” He grew up in Eastern Kentucky and now lives in Florence with his wife, Jo. He has opened another “Door of Opportunity” and is now a regular columnist for the NKyTribune.