November 3, 2017
I’m waiting in Oakland Kaiser for my first individual appointment with a physical therapist. I’m definitely in pain and seeking relief.
Soon a young woman appeared at the door of the clinic and called my name. I would later learn that her name is Carole. She was definitely a Millennial! But she was courteous and professional and ushered me into her exam room.
After checking my medical record and noting my history, she had me sit on the exam table and turn my head in 6 different directions while she measured my range of motion on each one, using a clear plastic compass-like measuring tool.
She assigned neck exercises to me, first demonstrating the exercise then having me do it to make sure I got it. Then she had me lie down on the exam table, with my face down into a hole at the top of the table. She then used her hands in some sort of manual manipulation on my cervical spine, asking me as she moved down if the pressure made it feel better or worse. I did not feel pain, only pressure, and it was a kind of pressure that gave me a sense of pain relief. The relief from pain lasted several hours after I left my appointment.
Before I left her room, she excused herself for a moment and brought back a computer printout of the exercises she had assigned me. In additional to pictures illustrating the exercise, there was a URL where I could log on and see a video clip of the exercise in motion. She said she would see me in a week. I’m wondering how many weeks this “treatment” will be.
This appointment lasted one hour. I’m wondering if all the sessions will be one hour (as they were in Texas when I went through physical therapy for migraines. Actually, those sessions were more like a couple of hours, with a full exercise workout with equipment and then ended with a full-body massage. Ah!) But, somehow, I feel hopeful.
