Physical Therapy - Conclusion

The end of an era finally arrived. After three months of continuous physical therapy, Angie's sessions were coming to an end. The last three sessions confirmed that there was no more pain for Angie but still enormous stiffness and tightness.

Last week’s sessions were overseen by Shayna who was taking over for Lily while she was on vacation. Shayna gave Angie some new stretches and exercises to do – many of which included the use of a foam roller. Angie had to use the foam roller to assist in stretching out her rib muscles and her shoulder muscles. Although it was painful to use the foam roller at first, the benefit was immediate. As Shayna worked on Angie’s back, it became apparent that her back was still overcompensating for the tightness in her mid back. Although she was no longer in pain, her shoulder on one side and her lower back on the opposite end were very tight. Shayna warned Angie that she had to be very cautious because this type of tightness could re-activate the pain she felt when she originally came into physical therapy.

Angie knew this was the case as Lily had told her the same thing. Angie wasn’t really sure what to do as she was still doing all her exercises and stretches at home. She couldn’t really pinpoint what was creating all this tension in her back. If only there were some kind of magical mailing that would arrive to tell Angie the exact thing that exacerbated her back trouble. But alas, there was none yet.

Lily showed Angie some new stretches as well. She gave her some new variations to exercises she was already doing. These variations would be more challenging and would aid in strengthening the specific spots that still needed improvement.

At the end of the session, Lily provided Angie with some additional exercises and stretches to what she was already doing. She also gave Angie a sheet on ankle exercises because Angie often complained of wobbliness in her ankles. They hugged and said goodbye.

As much as they said they will keep in touch, Angie hoped it was more as friendship than as a physical therapist to patient. The future remains to be seen but this concludes the saga of Angie’s back pain and treatment. Thank you all for your devotion to the soap opera.