Wellness

[ROMARY]

Sometimes they 'over-do it' with seniors, too. Be careful, and don't do anything that you feel is making your situation worse. 'Just say no', in other words.

[Abrowneyegirl]

Yes. A dear friend of mine had her hip surgery compromised when a PTA confused her type of surgery for a another type and had her move her leg in the direction she was to avoid!

The surgeon was furious. Unfortunately with the reimbursement the way it is most places have one PT to 5-6 PTA's. Since then I learned to have loves SPECIFICALLY ask if the 'therapist' if they are a licensed PT or OT or an assistant PT or OT because they all call themselves therapists!

Live and learn

[ptagirl]

BigBro6...I'm very sorry this happened to you.

As you may know from my name I am a physical therapist assistant. I have worked with many different types/ages of patients and with many different diagnoses. I always tell my patients ,if it hurts, to stop all exercises to prevent further injury.

I know most people think assistants don't have training, but we go to school and are licensed through the state we are working. We also have to continue education yearly to keep up to date on various treatment techniques.

In my state of MI, one PT can legally supervise up to 3 PTAs.. We carry out the treatment plan developed by the PT during the initial evaluation and can reassess periodically for any progression/regression of our patients.

I do consider myself a "therapist", but know my limits set by my profession. I always consult with the PT for anything I feel I may not be able to handle or if in question, this in cludes the treatment plan itself.. unfortunately there are some PTAs out there who do not...

As you know, healthcare has changed dramatically in the last few years. Most people rarely see their physician anymore, they usually see a physicians assistant.. they, too have to work under the supervision of the physician..and continue their education along with licensure as per state requirements..

In your situation, I would stop all exercise and consult your physician as to your next step.

Good luck and hope all goes well....

[violann]

When you are receiving PT you are part of a 3 way team consisting of you, your physician, and your therapist. Years ago I had 6 sessions with a physical therapist for a partially torn rotator cuff. Never in my life did anything hurt as much as that therapy. It totally relieved the condition however, and after about 15 years, it's never come back. In order to benefit from your therapy you must communicate with your therapist when and how much particular movement hurts, and if something changes, especially for the worse, your doctor needs to know. I notice that a lot of people seem to think that "silence is golden" - not so! Become part of "the team" !

[Shelbelle]

I once had PT on my neck, heat was one of the treatments. I was badly burned, had to see my derm doc. Took a long time to heal.

[willdob3]

An actual injury from PT? No. But I have had my pain get worse during PT. Insurance did not cover what my doctor prescribed so it was decided by them to do something that was covered instead. I kept telling them it was not helping & that I felt worse. They kept saying it would improve but it did not.

After the covered sessions were over & I said again it did not help but, in fact, made it worse, they admitted it was probably not the correct PT for my problem. Ya think???

[Tadaki]

Be very careful. I know someone who had a knee replacement and she is sure it was caused by the PT pushing her to do things she knew felt very bad. She was having PT for her knee, but it was not at a point where it needed to be replaced. Believe me, she is kicking herself because she didn't trust her instinct. And she's had nothing but problems with the knee replacement.

That being said, I don't know why she kept going back to the same doctor. He is the one who recommended the place she went for therapy. She told him she thought the PT made it worse. But he disputed that. Of course, I'm not sure he would say anything else since he sent her there. And she used him for the knee replacement. As I said, she's had nothing but pain with the replacement. We need to trust our instincts more and be willing to at least get a second opinion.

[IMW]

I had a very bad experience with one therapist. After only one session my old injuries in discs were killing me, my neck, etc. Was told by several mds to stop and that pt should not hurt that much. Aches and pains, yes, terrible pain and swelling, no. Speak to md, and discontinue immediately. It took me months to return to normal.

[Vivian]

I'd been doing high impact activities all my life and when I hit 65 my knees started giving me trouble. I went to a sports medicine physician and he ordered PT. The exercises made me worse, so I dealt with the osteoarthrits my own way. I went to water aerobics until the pain lessened. Then I got some good knee braces that I can wear to my low impact aerobics classes. I also added two stretching classes to my schedule. There's no cure for these knees but they feel much better than they did after that painful PT.

[BigBro6]

Wow, thank you everyone !! I got evaluated by the PT and then the PT Director stepped in and added side and forward lunges, ball squeeze and leg presses 80lbs. I stopped side lunges and leg press 80lbs, but continued forward lunges and leg press 40lbs each. I stopped going to PT after 3 weeks. Severe pain and sleepless nights ! My doc ordered a CT arthrogram, Blue Cross has sent it to physican review ??!!! What is unbelievable is I have a pacemaker and cannot go for a MRI ! It is a big big pain !! I am going to Appeal if they do not approve. I would love to slide into a MRI its easy.

My doc thinks it might be a medial tear. Not all PT's are bad, my PT for my meniscus tear was wonderful, he was gentle but effective !!!