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Physical Therapy Begins

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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!

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Dave is the Founder and Editor in Chief of Go Backpacking. For more of his adventures, follow him on Instagram or Twitter.

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Comments

  1. Stu says

    October 4, 2007 at 2:55 pm

    I did the glucosomine/chrondroitin/fishoil stuff in england for a while, at the start there was immediate improvement then it levelled off and I gave up buying the tablets, they were not very cheap. They did help in the short term tho.

    just dont throw a knee picking up a backpack from an awkward angle or jumping from a speeding train or dancing while drunk ;) hehhehehe

    • Dave says

      October 5, 2007 at 11:17 pm

      My therapist said there’s no clinical evidence that the glucosomine/chrondroitin grows back cartilage and that improvement can be based on the placebo effect. I believe it – and it can help explain why a person might feel some relief early on, only to have the pain of the underlying condition rear itself again in the long term.

      I had been considering taking the supplement on the road, however I don’t think it’ll be worth it or necessary, once I finish my therapy and start wearing some new orthotics and proper running sneakers.

  2. Stu says

    October 4, 2007 at 9:55 am

    I did the glucosomine/chrondroitin/fishoil stuff in england for a while, at the start there was immediate improvement then it levelled off and I gave up buying the tablets, they were not very cheap. They did help in the short term tho.

    just dont throw a knee picking up a backpack from an awkward angle or jumping from a speeding train or dancing while drunk ;) hehhehehe

    • Dave says

      October 5, 2007 at 6:17 pm

      My therapist said there’s no clinical evidence that the glucosomine/chrondroitin grows back cartilage and that improvement can be based on the placebo effect. I believe it – and it can help explain why a person might feel some relief early on, only to have the pain of the underlying condition rear itself again in the long term.

      I had been considering taking the supplement on the road, however I don’t think it’ll be worth it or necessary, once I finish my therapy and start wearing some new orthotics and proper running sneakers.