Physical Therapy Begins

I feel like a million bucks. After two weeks of solid worrying about how my knee pain may be accompanying and/or limiting me on my trip around the world, I feel as though I've got a plan to tackle it. Actually, my physical therapist has the plan. I'm just going to try and give the therapy 110% over the next 4 weeks.

After filling out some paperwork, the therapist evaluated my knees and gait (how I walk). He pointed out how flat-footed I am, and that new orthotics are definitely in order to correct my biomechanics. Later, when I asked him what was the most effective thing I could do to get better in the next 8 weeks, he immediately mentioned the orthotics again. I'm set to get that process started during tomorrow's visit.

I did 10 minutes of warm-up on a stationary bike, followed by 15 repetitions of 10 new stretching/strengthening exercises. My homework is to do the exercises every day. Then it was on to electrical stimulation of the knees, which is meant to increase blood flow and promote healing. Once the tingly stimulation began, giant bags of ice were dropped on each knee (on top of the 4 electrodes) for about 10 minutes. During this time, I went through a long list of questions from whether to buy new sneakers to the effectiveness of glucosamine/chondroitin supplements.

After seeing two doctors this year, and not really walking away feeling confident, I was glad my new therapist took the time to answer ALL of my questions in a confident and clear manner. By the end of our hour, I told him I felt really optimistic about getting better, and he was upbeat about my potential for improvement as well.  Early on, I had made sure to share with him my goal to get better in time for my RTW trip.

Earlier in the day, I had seen my ophthalmologist who said my eyes look great, and I continue to have stable vision 8 years to the month after having LASIK surgery. Looks like I'm still at 20/20! I asked her about whether I could experience any problems at high altitudes, to which she confidently responded “no.” I saw my dentist for a final routine cleaning, and was reminded one last time to floss every day.

I feel like a million bucks!

Dave Lee

Dave is the Founder and Editor in Chief of Go Backpacking and Feastio. He's been to 66 countries and lived in Colombia and Peru. Read the full story of how he became a travel blogger.