I had another physical therapy session on Friday. I was actually looking forward to it, because I felt I was doing well with the first set of exercises I was given. They took some effort to do but they weren't so difficult that I got frustrated, and I was beginning to see some improvement.
Well, the lovefest ground to a halt during my latest session. The physical therapist was pulling my arm all over the place to assess range of motion, and it hurt. Over and over I kept on saying "Ouch!," and she kept on holding my arm in the painful position and not letting go. Excuse me, but what exactly does she think "ouch" means, anyway? Next time she does that I'm tempted to scream really loud. Then maybe she'll let go of me.
And my new exercises and stretches are difficult, painful and frustrating to do. Not only is my shoulder pain acting up from doing them, but my lower back pain is as well -- and I had my lower back pain under control years ago. My lower back used to hurt so bad I couldn't move my legs to get out of bed in the morning, it was that bad. It felt like a knife was cutting into the small of my back and slicing up my nerves, bones and muscles. But for the past few years the pain hasn't bothered me at all, unless due to unusual circumstances (such as having to stand still for a long time). So I'm unhappy that it's flaring up again, especially because of these exercises that are supposed to be helping manage my pain, not make it worse.
IMHO, there's something wrong with physical therapy when it makes your pain worse and it's too frustrating and makes you feel like you're failing instead of improving. Oh yeah, and when the physical therapist doesn't respect your limits when you say "Ouch" 6 times in a row. This is why I hate physical therapy.
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