Physical Therapy has changed quite a bit in the past 25 years since the other time that I had sciatica.
First of all, this time the first encounter was longer. The whole visit took an hour and a half, with poor Dick sitting in the waiting room the whole time. The therapist spent about an hour doing an "evaluation", which means that I spent an hour walking up and down the hall 14,000 times for her, balancing on one leg after the other, pivoting, lying down on back, belly, right side, and left side while alternately raising my legs, bending, stretching, twisting in every position (Does this hurt? How about this?), standing on my head, waving my arms, and quacking like a duck.
The second part was a half hour of pelvic traction. The object of this is to "decompress" my spine. I also had cane practice. I'm not allowed to limp because limping negates the benefits of the traction. I have to use the cane just right so that my pelvis stays level. I use the cane at all times, even around the house.
The cane I use at home is the cane my Dad got when he graduated from the U of M. It has a block M on it, and under the M it says 3ED0, because he graduated with a degree in Education in 1930. The letters and numbers are in some kind of metal, but I don't know what it could be. Mother says I can't help but improve quickly using that cane!
I'll be going to PT three times a week for the next month. I think there will be pelvic traction each time. I hope we eventually get around to leg strengthening. I'm also trying some bed and chair exercises to counteract having been immobilized for the past month.
Today Dick did a lot of picking up and putting things away outside. He finished just before the rain started. Then we went to recycling, UPS, and Oleson's.
