I've been going to phyiscal therapy for some problems with my knee that weren't terrible but were bad enough that I wanted to be proactive about it and make sure everything was OK. I probably presented with some mild tendonitis, partly due to not working on the entirety of my leg muscles in my workouts.

anyway, I've had three sessions so far, including the initial, and I had the same therapist for the first two sessions. I do my exercises as instructed, but I've had increasing pain in my knees the past two weeks, despite not doing any weight lifting with my legs.

I went in for my third session yesterday and had a different therapist, who upon hearing that my pain was getting worse, essentially did the initial assessment all over again, finding that I had more tendonitis, only in areas that weren't initially affected.

He then asked me to do a couple of the exercises I was supposed to be doing, mainly leg raises, and told me that there was absolutely no reason that I should be locking my knee when doing them. OK, that's all fine and dandy, and I imagine he's right. he also said that me doing so is probably what has made things get worse. Moreover, he saw this immediately and told me to stop right away.

so, my question is, is this the kind of thing that the first therapist should have told me, given how apparently crucial it is? Moreover, shouldn't she have caught me doing it at the previous session and corrected it right then? I kind of want to "complain," because it certainly seems like the kind of mistake by a therapist that should be corrected, but I'm not mad or anything, nor do I want to get the person in trouble. Is this really a crucial thing that every therapist should know and is it worth saying something about, or is it just an honest mistake?

1/11/2012 1:10:36 PM

I know there are differently levels to every profession, but keep in mind that many community colleges have programs where you can learn to become a physical therapist.

I'm not at all saying that everyone who goes to community college is a completely idiot (I worked with a few of them teaching a course at NC State and they were as good as anyone else), but it does mean you may want to be very aware of what your therapist is doing or ask others who they have had good experiences with. The idea that someone I go to physical therapy with may have sat in the same classroom as the dumbshits that did "beauty school" at some point in time scares the shit out of me.

Could it be that there are just different philosophies on physical therapy? Just like with medicine, different professionals have different approaches. Maybe the second therapist just had a very different approach? If they both work for the same practice, that may not be the case, but its something to think about.

(FWIW, one of the guys in my Masonic lodge just went through physical therapy for his wrist and he said it got MUCH worse before it got better.)

1/11/2012 1:24:35 PM

You can't become a physical therapist at a community college.

About a decade a ago you could get your license with a Bachelors, then it moved to Masters, Now it is a Doctors program.

Just like any profession and service there is going to be shitty practitioners and great ones. You need to do research and see who will best meet your needs.

1/11/2012 3:02:03 PM

is it the kind of thing to where I should say something about it to someone there?

1/11/2012 3:02:48 PM

I would think that you would get to see the first therapist at some point again... I would casually mention it to her.

If not, then just explain it to the others... and hope word gets back to her.

Overall, does not sound like a big deal. (coming from someone with tendinitis in both knees since high school, surgery on one, and a dislocation of the other with PT sprinkled throughout)


Also, not surprised it was a girl that doesn't know shit /chitchat

1/11/2012 3:17:23 PM

Quote :

"You can't become a physical therapist at a community college."

You can get your 'Nurse's Aide' certification from almost any community college which will allow you to work in physical therapy. A licensed doctor doesn't help every person who walks into a medical practice work on the arthritis in their pinky.

1/11/2012 3:29:36 PM

^ That is true about the NA I and II in NC. You can take the class or challenge it directly, either way to get your certs.

I don't know a lot about physical therapy, but I'm curious as to why the therapist had you do leg raises with your knees locked? Knees locked for anything usually isn't good, as it can lead to hyperextension of the joint. They tell us to keep our knees slightly bent in yoga, weightlifting, etc.

1/11/2012 4:22:51 PM

what kind of "leg raise?" like a straight leg raise where you're on a mat table and raising it straight off the table? or like a knee extension?

1/11/2012 7:06:48 PM

isnt it generally accepted that you should never lock out your arms or legs during any sort of exercise??

1/12/2012 11:33:04 AM

^^ the former.

^ that's what I am thinking now, which makes me wonder why in the hell that wouldn't be the first thing she said when telling me how to do the stuff

1/12/2012 2:23:03 PM

I don't think locking out joints is an issue, unless you have some underlying impairment or dysfunction. As long as its not a violent, ballistic jamming motion.

And to the contrary, locking out can be useful because it transfers the load to the much stronger and more stable skeleton, rather than soft tissues.

1/12/2012 2:52:05 PM

if it's an open chain straight leg raise without any extra weight, i really don't see how locking out your knee could be an issue. it's basically a progression of a quad set, where you're focusing on the VMO which keeps your patella from shifting laterally. locking out in weight bearing is generally considered a no-no, but it doesn't sound like that's what you're doing

granted you may have some kind of underlying pathology that is affecting it, but generally speaking, locking out with a straight leg raise is knee rehab 101. for example, i've got an 87 year old woman with a patellar fracture repair who has zero issues with it.

[Edited on January 12, 2012 at 5:00 PM. Reason : .]

1/12/2012 4:56:24 PM

You should try going to the Student Health Center physical therapy department if you are a student. They have two experienced PTs over there.

1/13/2012 8:36:24 AM