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February 15, 2023

Physical Therapy And Sadism

By Barry Rudesill

Now I told myself that I needed to move on in my blog posts and start focusing on some of the topics that I’ve already mapped out. However, I want to go..sideway...one more time and share with you a story. (And with a title like that, can you blame me?)

About a year-and-a-half ago, I injured my shoulder working on a project. Since we had scheduled doing upgrades to our house, I held off on getting my shoulder repaired until the work was done. This month, I started physical therapy...and I don’t like it very much!

If you’ve ever done physical therapy, you know there’s a lot of stretching and strengthening involved. My physical therapist is a good guy, but I’m convinced that, on some level, he’s a sadist (someone who likes hurting people)!

Why do I say that? Because he says things like, “How much does that hurt?”

My response? “A lot.”

“Okay,” he’ll say. “Let me have you keep stretching that! Hopefully you’ll get your arm to move in that direction normally soon!” And then he steps back and watches me continue to hurt myself over and over again! See what I mean? Sadist!

Even worse, there’s a second piece to my therapy: dry needling. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, a trained therapist shoves small needles into muscle knots to cause them to release. The sensation ranges from a small poke to muscle spasms. Needless to say, this can be rather...uncomfortable…

The gal who does this is very nice and likes to talk as she works. This wouldn’t be bad if her work involved, say, cutting my hair. But, when she stabs a needle into a giant knot in my shoulder and then asks me if I have any plans for the weekend, let’s just say that it’s kind of hard to focus on what we’re talking about!

At the end of each session, as I lay there, trying to catch my breath, I think about my situation.

At the start of my therapy, my shoulder was locked up, it was useless at times, and it hurt most days. Because of that, I had two choices really: first, I could ignore the damage and just limp along in life without getting any help for it; or second, I could show up to physical therapy, put in the work – even when it’s unpleasant – and do whatever it took to get my shoulder back to healthy again...even if it meant having needles stuck in me!

On days when the therapy is particularly bad, it becomes very difficult to want to set up the next appointment, let alone show up for it. I mean, I got some relief, some healing; isn’t that enough? Why put myself through more when it’s easier to coast where I’m at or go backward and just pretend that everything is fine?

And then, a few hours after therapy ends, the pain subsides. I move my arm and the bones grind less, the muscles move more, and I can see that I’m one step closer to the end. The here-and-now hurts; but the process brings healing and a release of pain.

Oh, and by the way, there really won’t be an “end” to this journey. I’ll hit a point where I won’t need the therapy, but I’ll still have the tools that they’ve given me and I’ll need to keep using them, otherwise I WILL go back to where I was. It’s my choice.

So how about you? Is there pain in your life that you’re choosing to either ignore or hold onto? How’s that working out for you? I know the thought of getting help, of dealing with the hurts, can seem frightening; but, for me, the thought of a lifetime of being crippled by pain is even more frightening.

The only way to deal with it is to go through it! If that’s through The Trek, we would be honored to walk with you on your journey. If not, find someone else that can help you walk those steps, who can help you move past the pain, and experience the joy that comes from being healthy.

Well, time to get up from my computer and do my next round of stretches.

We hope you enjoy your journey!

- The Trek

February 15, 2023

Physical Therapy And Sadism

By Barry Rudesill

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