My arm was immobilized for only about a month after
my wrist encountered the sidewalk in a most unfortunate manner. The Colles
fracture required surgery and then physiotherapy. I had no idea my fingers
could become contracted so quickly! I told my digits to stand up straight, darn
it! but they were having none of it. My arm was so weak I couldn’t hold a plate
or use a knife to cut my food. And this was only four weeks after the break. I
was amazed.
Even
though I had had professional discussions with physical therapists regarding my
patients over the years, actually receiving therapy myself was scary. I had a
mental image of enduring excruciating exercises while a therapist shouts brutal
encouragement. I didn’t know what to expect on my first visit but I was pretty
sure it would involve pain, and lots of it.
September 8th was National Physical
Therapy Day and I’m writing this blog as a huge thank you to my physical therapist.
There was no pain, but a lot of gain. I dutifully did my daily exercises at
home and during my sessions was amazed at the weekly, sometimes even daily,
improvement. My therapist never shouted; he gently pushed the envelope and
voila! I’ m almost as good as new.
Although
everyone on the health care team contributes to returning a person to wellness,
it’s the physical therapist, often the last in the treatment line, who provides
the crucial final steps that help people resume their lives.
So here's to physical therapists everywhere. It would literally be a broken world without them.
