...a P.T. farewell

Pine Street Physical Therapy in Mudville...



about 2 miles from my house...
my afternoon destination on Monday, Weds & Friday...
for about 90 minutes a day for weeks...
[24 sessions = 8 weeks...]

Monday was my last PT session...
and I took along my camera...
so I could memorialize the journey...

when I first arrived each day...
I signed-in, then came back to the "hand room"...
to wash my hands and get prepped for the hot parafin...



first, the assistant wrapped my left hand in coban...
holding down my injured finger...
after I made a fist...
[or as close as I could come to one...]



then I dipped the wrapped hand into the parafin...
5 times....



after the 5th time, my now parafin encased hand...
was wrapped first in plastic wrap...



then swaddled in a towel to sit & wait 10 minutes...
while the warmth loosened all my tendons & muscles...



after 10 minutes of lovely warmth...
off came the cocoon of wax & wrappings...

and then came the "high tech" time...



you can see the ultra sound machine waiting...
but first, in the black case, the ASTYM technique...



the ASTYM [augmented soft tissue mobilization]...
is a method developed for use on scar tissue...
resulting from injury or surgery...
the heavy plastic tools are scraped across the affected areas...
[which have been liberally slathered with cocoa butter...]
causing the breakdown of the scar tissue...
and the regeneration of new soft tissue...
that will aid healing by allowing the body...
to drain away swelling and injured cells...



the hard plastic tools,applied with some pressure...
cause pain for some...
I was lucky...it worked perfectly...
and never hurt at all...

after the first treatment...
the persistent, rigid swelling in my injured finger...
went away... and subsequent treatments helped even more...



after the ASTYM...came my favorite part...



the massage...

although, at first, when my finger was still very stiff...
all the bending & manipulation wasn't fun...
[it really hurt...]
but, eventually, the pain lessened...
and I began to have healing sensations...
[nerve burning & pain in muscles that had been numb]

that's when I knew "it",[the PT...], was working !

after the ASTYM/massage/manipulation, came the ultrasound...



first the assistant would squeeze a glob of goo into my hand...



and then using her "magic wand"...
proceed to massage my finger for 3 minutes on one side...
and then have me turn my hand over...
transferring as much goo as possible...
and spend 3 minutes on the other side...

then it was "playtime"...

[in no particular order since we all had to share our "toys"...]



there was "putty" is several densities...
[different colors were different densities...]



I started with a light violet...
but soon moved to an orangy tan...
which after squeezing and rolling into a snake...
I was to pinch, using my thumb with each finger on my hand...
fortunately, it didn't hurt me as it did some...



then there was the "velcro" checkerboard...



using my thumb with each finger in succession...
I had to pull off all the squares...
and then replace them...
a total of 3 times...

[this could hurt until I got "warmed-up"]

I amused myself by creating geometric designs...



these dowels were my least favorite thing...



I only used the 4 biggest ones...



and while bending my fingers around them...
had to do 15 reps of finger tip curls...

OUCH !!!!



the graduated cylinders could be painful too...
I had to grasp the biggest one...
lift it up & put it on the next spindle...
then stretch my hand out...

then to the next, repeat...

the smaller they got, the more it hurt...

about 9 reps...



the most annoying task was "moving rice"...



I was to grab a handful of rice...
turn my hand over [so as not to spill...]
move it over the empty box...
turn my hand back over...and drop the rice...



at first, I couldn't close my hand very much...
so it took FOREVER to empty the box...
but as I got better...it took no time at all...

that is, unless I didn't get all the ultrasound goo...
or ASTYM cocoa butter wiped-off/rubbed-in...
then it was rice everywhere...
as it stuck to all parts of my hand & fell off at will..

all in all...

P.T. was a very positive experience for me...
I'd like to thank S, the "hand specialist" & her able assistant,V...
who did more to help me heal...
than anyone, including my doctor...
had ever expected...



so today, I "wave" a fond farewell to Pine Street...
thanking all those who helped me...

I also wish the very best & speediest recovery...
to all those who are still seeking relief from pain...
and restored use of their hands & arms...

vaya con Dios...