All my adult life I've been the one that over does something (usually something fun) and pays dearly for it later. Maybe it's the child in me that isn't ready to pack up the game and go home yet. Maybe I'm in denial about my aging self. Maybe I just immerse myself so deeply into things I enjoy, that I just can't grasp the concept of less is more and more may be too much. Maybe I have a touch of the moron gene, who knows?
Whatever quirks in my personality led me to this, I find myself once more in line for the 'Bet You Wish You Didn't Do That Now' award or the even more prestigious 'You're Back Again?' trophy! These awards and trophies are handed out of course...in physical therapy. For those of you that know me well, I'm sure you recognize my pattern of having fun; injure self- not fun anymore; therapy; having fun again. I'm currently in the 'therapy' section of the behavior pattern although I have to admit it's kind of fun this time too! And it's my knees that need attention this time. They both decided to have tendonitis...at the exact same time no less. Clever knees, eh? They've always been in competition with each other.
I am currently taking my physical therapy in a new place located in Glastonbury which just happens (can I be so lucky?) to be right down the road from where I now work. I am beginning to realize also that when you have physical therapy in a 'rich' town, you get a facility that offers better treatment options. This place has a therapy pool! It feels like I am being somehow rewarded for injuring myself because I did not moderate my physical activity. And this time I've even met a fellow crazy (in the pool of course) that is also a nominee in the same categories as myself. I was amazed that we had so much in common (injury wise) and enjoyed swapping stories back and forth of how we injured ourselves while engaging in activities that 'normal humans' try to avoid. We also share that special idiot gene that makes us want to do it more if it hurts a little bit...thinking that we just need to work the kinks out...when in fact that little pain is the body telling us to stop it....stop it now! His sense of humor was delightfully quick, slightly twisted, and completely in tune with mine. He held nothing back....telling me not to touch that grate on the side of the pool (as I reached my hand out to touch it) because it would release the shark and I'm not at level 5 yet, which is when I will be using the 'therapy shark'. He threw out one line after another and kept us laughing so hard it was difficult to pay attention to the exercise I was supposed to be doing.
There would be a lull occasionally when Michelle (our therapist) would give us instructions to change exercises but he always clicked back into his stand up routine (ironic because he was doing squats at the time) whenever he sensed an opportunity was coming his way. He calmly proclaimed that I should take care to follow Michelle's instructions carefully because the underwater camera would catch everything I did wrong....and of course all the therapist's would have a great time watching my mistakes later in slow motion and fast motion...probably adding their own voice overs as well and laughing their heads off, but not to worry...I would get a chance to see it once it was posted on You Tube!
When I asked Michelle what a particularly odd looking contraption was on the side of the pool he immediately said don't turn that on!....it's the fire-arch and it's only used for level 10 air squats over the pool! I pictured ribbons of fire arching over the pool and people trying to do squats over the pool while avoiding burning their hair! We were in stitches during the entire session.
That apparatus turned out to be something used to wash out the eyes of anyone that complained about the chlorine burning their eyes. The idea of spraying water into someone eyes with those nozzles sounded worse to me than the fire arch did.
Ah but all good things must come to an end and my new therapy buddy (who's name I didn't get) had to go. I finished my exercises while he got dressed. He did return to throw out a few more one liners and left us chuckling with ridiculous images in our heads.
Then it was my turn to get out of that warm pool and into the cold room air...at least it felt cold once I had been in that lovely pool. That's when I discovered his earlier warning that I would have difficulty getting out of the pool was not a joke after all, as I had thought it was. My legs had become jelly. Jelly does not lend itself to climbing pool stairs and getting up that ladder turned out to be the hardest thing I'd done all day. I had realized when I first started my exercises in the pool that my knees felt it right away and I thought they felt 'tired'. But when I tried to get these tired knees to climb they suddenly became uncooperative and I had to engage my arms to convince them I wasn't kidding....I'm getting out! I felt a tiny wave of panic at the thought that just getting up that 4 step ladder was something I had to work at and then I forced myself to do it. But standing next to the pool turned out to be even harder. I was standing and my knees were screaming 'sit down dummy, I'm not holding you up'!! I had another panicky few seconds (briefly thinking this must be what it's like to be old) and then forced myself to walk (trying to look casual instead of robotic) to the shower room. My skin was very unhappy with the chlorine from the pool and even after the shower, continued to itch and smell extremely 'pool-ish' for the rest of the evening.
As time rolled on and I finished the errands I needed to do around town before going home for the night, I began to really feel the effects of my pool work out. Ibuprofen wasn't going to cut it this time...this was real pain. And I'm not talking just knee pain...my entire body joined in the chorus of silent screaming. Everything hurt and I began to move in disjointed motions with a grimace on my face, trying to get everything done so I wouldn't have to move much. Eventually I ended up with two wine coolers in me and a slightly dazed smile on my face (I'm a light weight when it comes to drinking) while I watched a movie. Ahhhhhh that's better....much better.
The next morning, to my surprise, I wasn't in a lot of pain. I felt like I'd had a work out of course and there was some grumbling in the knee joints but overall not bad at all and no pain reliever was needed. This is good! I even feel like my knees are stronger. I don't know how I can tell that but I can. I almost feel like I could go running....but I've been warned by Michelle that if I do anything that stupid while she's my therapist, I will most definitely be the next winner of the 'Bet You Wish You Didn't Do That Now' award and she WILL post my sessions on You Tube! I can hear the laughter in my head now as my therapy buddy runs my clip backwards in slow motion and asks the therapist next to him to pass the popcorn.
*the photos here are not my actual therapy place but they are very very close to what my place looks like.*
