Question for the physical therapists (long - I ramble)

[dss62467]

I went to see my knee surgeon today because my knee doesn't always track right and it bugs me. He says that this is normal and eventually I'll "grow out of it". The surgery was only 8 months ago and my quad isn't really strong yet.

He said that although it will eventually get better, I could be proactive and help it along and suggested going back to my physical therapist. But the thing is, that's a $20 copay each shot, and I'm paying for my tae kwon do classes. It's just too much money.

He also suggested riding a stationary bike to build the quad on the inside of the knee. Get my heart rate up to around 150 and ride for a half hour (I think he said), and that will help build the muscle. But...I don't have a stationary bike. I have a real bike, but the weather dictates whether I use it. Plus that means leaving my daughter at home for an hour. I don't like doing that because I don't see her enough already.

Can you give suggestions on what exercises are good to build this muscle and help my knee get back on track? I've been doing Butts & Guts and Muscle Max since I got back into Cathe (end of February). For cardio, I do Low Max, Turbo Jam and the Nordic Track. I'm trying to avoid too much jumping on it, since I do that in TKD.

 

[Miss Lee]

Donna, I'm not a PT but I've had lots pf PT -- lol! I'll bet you only need to have 2 or 3 appointments, especially since you've already had PT and you just need some fine tuning. You could probably just go in and have an evaluation, they can recommend some exercises for you to do at home, and then go back in a couple of weeks so they can evaluate your progress. It might be worth looking into. Good luck with this.

 

[cab0899]

I'm an occupational therapist not a physical therapist but work in partnership with physiotherapists. I'm in Canada and occupational therapy and physical therapy in my province are completely covered by our universal healthcare although there are some private physios as well.

I just want to say that I would think that as a therapist I would feel very uncomfortable giving exercises to someone over the internet that I have never assessed in person. I think that actually would be in conflict with our code of ethics and if you injured yourself on a exercise I recommended in that situation I think I would worry about malpractice/license issues. Anyways just my two cents maybe others will feel different. I think one appt just to have a consult with an assessment/home program recommendations is worth the money. Kim

 

[lala1]

Not a PT or any kind of therapist, so hopefully I won't have litigation issues Anyway, just want to tell you that one exercise that my PT gave me was the "firewalkers" that Cathe uses in Drill Max and I think B&G. Also, the inner thigh raises. HTH

 

[woopig]

RE: Question for the physical therapists (long - I ramb...

I agree with the other responses you have received. I did this many times when I worked in an outpatient clinic. If you can, go for one appointment to get exercises prescribed specifically for what you need. After a few weeks, you can go back and your PT can progress your exercise program (or change it if a cetain exercise isn't working for you). I wish you the best of luck with your healing

 

[dss62467]

RE: Question for the physical therapists (long - I ramb...

Thanks - maybe I'll do that. It would be cool to say "hi" to them anyway.