The picture above is of a rack used in Medieval times for torture. Or is it?? Could it really be a picture of the contraption currently being used on unsuspecting people in the physical therapy world?? Something about it reminds me of the physical therapy session I just went through and I'll tell you why. They put me on the rack folks! They put me on the rack! And I hadn't even mouthed off or anything..I swear.Actually my therapist is very nice and she certainly isn't out to hurt me. Between her and the owner, Peg, they are doing everything possible to fix my back and give me some relief from this pain. Unfortunately it's not working. When I first started they had me doing balance and strength exercises..thinking my main problem was that I have weak back muscles (otherwise known as being Gumby instead of Poky. Poky has a strong back. Gumby is a mess). When the exercises were mild ones the pain was better. Once we started to increase the difficulty of the exercises (barely) the pain came back in force. On average it takes me two days to recover from my therapy sessions. (Crap!)
Realizing this approach wasn't helping (Gumby don't want to play like that no more) they tried another approach. They hooked me up to the lovely electro-stim machine (I pleaded for it) and an ice pack on my back (not my idea of fun but I'll accept it if I have to). This was followed by manipulation and resistance exercises done by no less than three people. (proof that whining gets you more attention). Once again, at first it felt good. I thought we had a winner...until about 2 hours after I got home. Two hours after going home Gumby is fast becoming Grumpy.
So today's session started with Gumby refusing to try the bicycle..even with no resistance. Instead I was put on the table again but this time with lovely lovely heat packs. My back loves heat. I was left in this wonderland for about a half hour I think. It put me into a dreamlike state so you have to forgive me for not knowing the actual length of time I was there.
The good part about laying there is you get to watch the side shows going on all around you. There is very little that is private in physical therapy. I watched other people doing many different versions of torture that I had never seen before. And I had the immense pleasure of listening to the barrage of muttered complaints; mild pleading and fruitless bargaining being done by the other "contestants" in this game of fitness or die.
After the fun was over...it was time to try something else. This is where the rack came in. They refer to it as "traction"...probably so as not to scare people away. But the method is exactly the same as the rack...it stretches you out. The modern version is a deception to the eye. It looks like an ordinary padded massage table. They have some strange looking girdle like harness that goes around the hips and gets buckled or snapped on tightly. (made of brown canvas and leather. If it comes in black I could wear it out for a night on the town!) I loved it. It felt so good to have something tight encasing the lower back and hip area! Then there is another piece that isn't as much fun. It also holds you tightly and gets buckled or snapped on but it's placed on the upper ribcage...and it does not make any accommodations for breasts..you have to make whatever adjustments you can yourself. The only issue I had with this piece is that it's not possible to take a deep breath while wearing it. That gives Gumby a feeling of being claustrophobic...Gumby no like!
Once I'm all strapped in Kiersten asked me my weight. She said this is important so I had to tell her the truth (like I wouldn't tell her the truth! ha ha) because the machine is going to stretch me and it has to be set according to my weight. I weighed myself this morning and I was 126 lbs. She took that info and did some magic behind me with the settings (even Gumby can't see behind in this contraption) and the motor is turned on. Slowly I could feel the middle of the table moving and hear the girdle making stretching noises. And as terrible as it sounds it actually felt good. I felt no pain at all. But I did have to do a little internal talking to myself because of the restricted breathing issue. (I can breath...they won't leave me in this...I can breath...where did they go?...I can breath...are they getting ready to go home?...I can breath...someone will miss me if I don't go home...get me out of this!)
Eventually time was up, the traction was turned off, the straps were loosened....and I could finally breathe. I was told I had to just lay there for 5 mins more to let the muscles and bone adjust to the effects of the traction. No problem...I can breath now....but I would like some ice cream as a reward...anybody got any ice cream?
When I was ready to leave I felt good. But I always feel good when I'm leaving...ha ha. Peg, stopped me on the way out to ask how I feel and to show me on an "example spine" exactly what I just had done and what they hope it will do for me. Very informative and it's obvious that she cares about my treatment...but I don't think she had ice cream either so I wanted to go home. She did tell me to try to keep my back as straight as possible tonight...no bending in any direction...so as not to irritate anything in there. (you know, no Gumby stuff).
As usual I felt good for about two hours after getting home. Then the pain started in my lower back and started to spread to the upper back. I laid down on the couch and just let it rip...I swear if it's possible for pain to echo, that's what it did. It echoed from the lower back up to the shoulders for about 20 - 30 mins while I laid on the couch. Eventually it subsided to an ache in the entire lower back..deep in the hip area. And that's where I am at now.
I just took some Kava (this Gumby is well versed in herbs) and some fish oil capsules. Aside from the known benefits of fish oil I read today that it helps a lot with inflammation...so fish oil it is. I'm trying not to do chemicals these days if I can avoid them. They are taxing to the adrenal glands and that's another issue Gumby is dealing with.
So on Monday I will call them and tell them the bad news....I wonder when their bag of tricks will be empty? They have mentioned a few times that I may need an MRI to determine if there is some unknown issue at work here. If it comes to that so be it....because the goal is to be Poky not Gumby! But I do still want some ice cream......
