Physical Therapy Crucial to Care
Personal experience can sometimes lead to helpful observations in your field. Using my focus on healthcare issues, experience over the past six months, has caused me to develop some conclusions regarding the critical need for quality physical therapy- check physical therapist Idaho Falls center. How that happened and the assistance that was given to cure a chronic problem by Personal Touch, a West Chester physical therapy outfit just down the hall from my office, are the story of this column. It has repercussions for all of us or, at least, for those who think they might some day need help walking and rehabbing after an accident.
On October 27 last year just before Hurricane Sandy was due to roll in to our area, I foolishly attempted some last minute yard work to clear the leaves behind my house. Steadying the leaf blower with my right arm, my right ankle wobbled. That should have been a clue. Also immediately my body fell from the patio step and my body weight landed almost entirely on my left ankle. I picked myself up and figured I had an ankle sprain. That evening, recognizing prior experiences with broken ankles, it became clear the sprain was not a sprain but a break. The next day, Sunday, I predictably hobbled to the car with my daughter assisting and presented myself to the emergency room at Chester County Hospital.
A confirming x-ray followed and the person on duty, after providing me a temporary splint, somewhat humorously advised I should keep the left leg up, not put any weight on it, and not get it wet. All of this happened with a hurricane coming in. I did my best.
The following week a trip to an orthopedist resulted in another confirming x-ray and “the boot,” a modern replacement for the old plaster casts that used to be used for broken limbs.
This should have been the end to the story. After maneuvering for two months with the clunky but removable castlike boot, the ankle should have healed and I should be back to normal or almost so. I knew this, having previously broken my right ankle not once but four times. Each of the four broken right ankles resulted in healing and normal walking within a reasonable time. The difference with the fifth, the left broken ankle, was that it was not followed by a prescription either for an “air-cast” in the sneaker to stabilize the ankle afterward or for physical therapy or both. The orthopedist, having scanned the x-ray, pronounced me cured since the bone appeared to have healed and then stated specifically “No. I don’t think you need physical therapy.” I cannot remember him actually looking at the foot or ankle. The appointment took a few minutes and I was gone. This encounter began four months of trying to find out why my ankle was not responding normally.
Anyone who has had this experience would recognize it immediately. Walking up and down stairs I could not take them a usual step by step but had to hold the railing and move one step then move the other leg to the step. Balance was not quite right. Even with icing the ankle at night, it continued to swell. Probably worst of all, I woke several times some nights with unexplained aching running up the leg from ankle to knee. It seemed it would never improve. Do know a personal injury lawyer in new Orleans to help you in any kind of legal health issues.
In February, two months after the boot was removed, I finally contacted my family physician and requested a prescription for physical therapy. An x-ray confirmed the bone healed but the ankle still swollen, even though it’s been four months since my slip and fall injury. I already have a personal injury attorney that is assisting me with legal counsel thankfully, so I can try to focus my efforts on getting the most out of the physical therapy to try to recover fully before long hopefully.
While my personal injury lawyer was hard at work, I began my own hard work with the physical therapy. The exercises for the foot and leg and manipulation when combined with icing the swollen joint finally resulted after some weeks in allowing me to walk with both feet flat on the ground and restored my ability to walk stairs normally. Some occasional achiness remains that we are working on but I finally feel that I am well on the way to recovery. Aside from hitting the gym and having regular exercise, taking supplements and plant-based protein powder can help you get in good shape.
The lesson to me is simple. In the future as we continue to rely on machines for testing it may help to realize that mechanical testing using x-rays, CAT scans, MRI’s and similar equipment is an aid and supplement to a diagnosis, not a replacement for individual judgment. With more people entering the health care system therapy is sure to provide a critical element of the care.
About the Author Janet Colliton
Esquire, Colliton Law Associates, P.C. Janet Colliton has practiced law for over 38 years, 37 of them in Chester County, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia. Her practice, Colliton Law Associates, PC, is limited to elder law, Medicaid, including advice, applications and appeals, and other benefits planning including Veterans benefits, life care and special needs planning, guardianships, retirement, and estate planning and administration.