Wednesday, September 26, 2012

What I learned in Physical Therapy

My neurologist sent me to physical therapy to try to help with my migraines.  I have found some relief (knock on wood).  I also learned a lot about myself while going through exercise routines and have the vertebrae in my neck manipulated.  These are a few of the things I've learned:

1.     I am tense even then I think I am relaxed. 

2.    I may have never been fully relaxed in my life. (People with PTSD have a hard time knowing how to relax and/or when they are not relaxed) 

3.    I suck at angles. (a request for a 45 degree angle position of my arm away from my body made me look like an idiot) 

4.   I want to please people and often get myself into trouble because of it.  (I hurt myself doing stuff I shouldn’t because I want to please someone by “getting the job done”) 

5.    For some reason I go through my exercises like I’m running a marathon (how many times did I hear, “you’re not running a race here, slow down”)

6.   I resist exercise sometimes out of fear of pain and/or exhaustion.

7.    I have a serious problem dealing with anger issues. (I get mad then I can’t seem to calm down – it’s like waiting for a storm to blow over)
 
8.   I still have a lot of issues and internal wounds to work through. 

9.   I need to set aside time daily not only to exercise (both physical therapy exercises and yoga/stretching) but to let myself relax/breathe/meditate. 

10.  I can be a happier, healthier, more productive person if I take those first steps towards taking care of myself.  More important, I don’t stop after the first steps. (A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step and then another and another)  The alternative is that stress is going to continue to break down my health and eventually lead to my death.  I am not ready to die.

My therapist agreed that I should also add that my posture is problematic at best.  I'm working on it.

5 comments:

  1. Physical therapy is a good avenue for relaxation. In my situation, PT really helped me to relax physically and psychologically. Every time I have a PT session, I am able to think clearly which helped me a lot in making good decisions. =)

    - Jaye Fiecke

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    1. Thanks for commenting! I found that I could relax better after the PT sessions as well. It really helped to motivate me to step up for my health. My only regret is that it didn't help as much as I had hoped with the migraines.

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  2. For me, physical therapy is not simply a “physical” treatment. For one, the technique of manipulating the body is excellent for treating some cardiopulmonary and neurological conditions.

    Gwen Knight

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    1. Thanks for commenting! I agree. PT is much better when you add meditation and deep breathing techniques in the mix. I wish that the PT I went through had help with the migraines more which is thought to be a neurological issue. However, I did learn quite a bit about myself and my health during PT so it was still very useful.

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  3. I guess physical therapy won’t be that successful if your mind doesn’t go along with your body. When you’re treated, your body receives the treatment and your mind stimulates your body to respond to the therapy given. PT was working great for me and I guess the things you’ve listed here were things that I’ve already experienced too. :)

    < Sienna Christie >

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