Ten Things About Physical Therapy

I'm currently in the middle of a physical therapy stint for my achey shoulder. Here are ten things about that.

1. I rather like the arm bike. It looks quite innocuous, but it really warms a person up.

2. On the other hand, I do not like the stretchy bands.

3. Weights are okay. I use two-pound weights for some exercises, three-pound weights for another exercise, and five-pound weights for a third exercise.

4. My least favorite exercise involves a towel knotted at both ends. It's amazing that a simple towel can be such an instrument of torture.

5. I find it amusing that in this really large physical therapy area there is only one corner, and one side of that corner is a door to an office.

6. However, the stretch that I do in this corner (called, oddly enough, the "Corner Stretch") is not amusing in the least.

7. I am not real rigorous about the home exercises, although I know that I should be. I'm getting better at it, especially in corners.

8. I did a new exercise today that involved rolling a three-pound ball against a wall, clockwise and counterclockwise, in several different places. I kinda wanted to grab two more and juggle them, but I probably would have dropped them on my feet, and that would required more physical therapy.

9. The best part of each session is the ice and electrical stimulation. The therapist attaches these pads to my shoulder, then plops a big ol' bag of ice on top, then turns on the juice. It's very tingly!

10. Even though the physical therapy is helping, Naprosyn is still my new best friend.