19 August 2005
I had a physio session at the Epworth this morning. The painter is still in the house so I couldn’t get out of the house fast enough. I really hate the smell of the paint. I like going to my physio sessions a bit earlier because it means I have a bit more time to finish my usual exercises even before my session starts.
When I got to the physio treatment room, I was surprised to find it so crowded. I guess it’s probably because I was half an hour early. I was going to do some walking practice but couldn’t find a spare mirror so Gavin told me to lie on my back (or what the physio would call supine) on a physio bed and he’d get me to do some arm exercises. He went away to get me some dumbells and showed me what I had to do. It’s something that will work on my triceps. He knows I had problem with the pushups he asked me to do last time so he said I can work on my triceps today. He showed me a few exercises for triceps and left me there to do them on my own. Today he wanted me to do four sets of tens. After a few sets, my tricep on my left arm was so sore that I had to support my arm with my right hand. Gavin said I could give my tricep a bit of rest while I do some other exercises so he showed me another one to do with the dumbbell. This is the one I lie in ‘supine’, hold the dumbbell in the left hand, start with lifting the left arm up straight and bring it to the side. He has given me this to do before and I looked up on the internet about this – I found a website for body builders and it tells you all the exercises you can do for different muscle groups, I know this exercise is aimed at the pecs. I have learnt a lot about the human bodies these days. Tim thought it was really funny that I told him over dinner that I thought it’s strange that my peroneal muscles hurt after doing the dorsiflexion exercises because I thought it’s the tib ante that does the dorsiflexion and inversion and peroneal does the inversion. Tim looked at me and was laughing. I asked him why he was laughing and he said two years ago I didn’t know what tib ante or peroneal were and I certainly wouldn’t know what dorsiflexion is. I guess it has been interesting to learn new things. I’m of the opinion now that you can’t just rely on the experts and you should always find out for yourself. The only way I can do this is to take interests in my rehab and learn as much as I can.
It’s actually a good feeling when I know what I’m doing and what muscles I’m working on. Gavin also got me to do some shoulder flexion and abduction exercises. He didn’t actually use the technical terms but I know what they are anyway. While I was doing my exercises,Gavin and another physio were helping Gary to walk. Gary appeared to be a little bit tired because he was struggling to get out of his wheelchair. I wonder if his right side is affected because I noticed that the control of his electric wheelchair is on the left side and also Gavin was instructing the other physio to hold his right knee straight when he puts weight on it. At first, I thought he had the same problem I had before – hyperextension in the knee. This was around July/August last year, after a few weeks at MECRS, althought I couldn’t walk back then, I found that whenever I stood up and put weight on my left leg, the knee tend to hyperextend. Of course, back then I didn’t know it’s the first sign of atrophy in the quads. I remember complaining to Jane, the phsio at MECRS, but she didn’t think it’s serious. When I looked at Gary again, I realised that when he put his weight on his right, his knee didn’t hyperextend, it actually buckled and the physio was holding it so it doesn’t flex too much. I must say I find it interesting to watch Gavin treating other patients because it gives me a chance to see other people’s problems and their treatment. I didn’t know that spinal injury can affect one side of the body before but it obviously can.
After I finished with all the arm/shoulder exercises, Gavin said I could continue with my usual dorsiflexion exercises against the wall. While I was doing that, he came over and put his hand on my leg to feel if I'm activating the muscles. He said my dorsiflexion is getting stronger now. He then taped my ankle. I told him that I think my inversion seemed to have gotten worse since I came back. He couldn't tell but I told him about when I went swimming in my hydro session I couldn't control to stop the inversion this time but two weeks ago I could. He told me there's no point in wondering what causes that because he thinks my arm is getting stronger and I'm walking a lot faster and I'm making progress. Maybe he is right. I noticed he taped my ankle differently today and I asked him about it. He said he didn't tape my foot in dorsiflexion and he just wants to try it and see if it affects my walking. He asked to walk around. It didn't seem to feel too different. He seemed pretty happy with the result. He pointed out to me that I should check it in the mirror because he noticed that althought he didn't tape my foot in dorsiflexion, he could see the sole of my shoe when I walk and this means I'm starting to be able to dorsiflex when I walk and instead of using my toes, I'm starting to use my heel. He seemed pretty excited by the progress but of course, being an accountant, I didn't show as much excitement. When I first came to Epworth, I was hoping for a full recovery but now I'm starting to get a feeling that I'm probably going to get 120% recovery.
When I got to the physio treatment room, I was surprised to find it so crowded. I guess it’s probably because I was half an hour early. I was going to do some walking practice but couldn’t find a spare mirror so Gavin told me to lie on my back (or what the physio would call supine) on a physio bed and he’d get me to do some arm exercises. He went away to get me some dumbells and showed me what I had to do. It’s something that will work on my triceps. He knows I had problem with the pushups he asked me to do last time so he said I can work on my triceps today. He showed me a few exercises for triceps and left me there to do them on my own. Today he wanted me to do four sets of tens. After a few sets, my tricep on my left arm was so sore that I had to support my arm with my right hand. Gavin said I could give my tricep a bit of rest while I do some other exercises so he showed me another one to do with the dumbbell. This is the one I lie in ‘supine’, hold the dumbbell in the left hand, start with lifting the left arm up straight and bring it to the side. He has given me this to do before and I looked up on the internet about this – I found a website for body builders and it tells you all the exercises you can do for different muscle groups, I know this exercise is aimed at the pecs. I have learnt a lot about the human bodies these days. Tim thought it was really funny that I told him over dinner that I thought it’s strange that my peroneal muscles hurt after doing the dorsiflexion exercises because I thought it’s the tib ante that does the dorsiflexion and inversion and peroneal does the inversion. Tim looked at me and was laughing. I asked him why he was laughing and he said two years ago I didn’t know what tib ante or peroneal were and I certainly wouldn’t know what dorsiflexion is. I guess it has been interesting to learn new things. I’m of the opinion now that you can’t just rely on the experts and you should always find out for yourself. The only way I can do this is to take interests in my rehab and learn as much as I can.
It’s actually a good feeling when I know what I’m doing and what muscles I’m working on. Gavin also got me to do some shoulder flexion and abduction exercises. He didn’t actually use the technical terms but I know what they are anyway. While I was doing my exercises,Gavin and another physio were helping Gary to walk. Gary appeared to be a little bit tired because he was struggling to get out of his wheelchair. I wonder if his right side is affected because I noticed that the control of his electric wheelchair is on the left side and also Gavin was instructing the other physio to hold his right knee straight when he puts weight on it. At first, I thought he had the same problem I had before – hyperextension in the knee. This was around July/August last year, after a few weeks at MECRS, althought I couldn’t walk back then, I found that whenever I stood up and put weight on my left leg, the knee tend to hyperextend. Of course, back then I didn’t know it’s the first sign of atrophy in the quads. I remember complaining to Jane, the phsio at MECRS, but she didn’t think it’s serious. When I looked at Gary again, I realised that when he put his weight on his right, his knee didn’t hyperextend, it actually buckled and the physio was holding it so it doesn’t flex too much. I must say I find it interesting to watch Gavin treating other patients because it gives me a chance to see other people’s problems and their treatment. I didn’t know that spinal injury can affect one side of the body before but it obviously can.
After I finished with all the arm/shoulder exercises, Gavin said I could continue with my usual dorsiflexion exercises against the wall. While I was doing that, he came over and put his hand on my leg to feel if I'm activating the muscles. He said my dorsiflexion is getting stronger now. He then taped my ankle. I told him that I think my inversion seemed to have gotten worse since I came back. He couldn't tell but I told him about when I went swimming in my hydro session I couldn't control to stop the inversion this time but two weeks ago I could. He told me there's no point in wondering what causes that because he thinks my arm is getting stronger and I'm walking a lot faster and I'm making progress. Maybe he is right. I noticed he taped my ankle differently today and I asked him about it. He said he didn't tape my foot in dorsiflexion and he just wants to try it and see if it affects my walking. He asked to walk around. It didn't seem to feel too different. He seemed pretty happy with the result. He pointed out to me that I should check it in the mirror because he noticed that althought he didn't tape my foot in dorsiflexion, he could see the sole of my shoe when I walk and this means I'm starting to be able to dorsiflex when I walk and instead of using my toes, I'm starting to use my heel. He seemed pretty excited by the progress but of course, being an accountant, I didn't show as much excitement. When I first came to Epworth, I was hoping for a full recovery but now I'm starting to get a feeling that I'm probably going to get 120% recovery.
posted by Teresa Liu at 6:40 AM
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