Did you hear the one where…
Did you hear the one where the family doctor says to the patient that he doesn’t really believe in physical therapy? The patient then asks why he prescribed it for her in the first place and he just shrugs his shoulders and says, “Because you asked for it.”
Of course, there’s a longer story behind that “joke”. I can’t tell it or I’ll lose some hair as I remember the unfortunate contact I had with the loser doctor. Thankfully, it really is one of my very few bad doctor experiences. Right now, I’m trying to figure out the best way to treat 2 or 3 troublesome discs without surgery. It seems that going into full abdominal surgery without your back being in top shape can lead to some back trouble in recovery. Three weeks into physical therapy, my right leg went numb and has stayed that way for three weeks now. Trying to get to the person/tests/therapy to correct the problem hasn’t been easy. I’m finally 2/3 the way there; I found a good neurologist who throughly ruled out other causes and ordered an MRI which confirmed what the physical therapist and I both suspected - disc changes. Now I get to decide if I want Physical Therapy again or Physical Medicine. The neurologist also doesn’t think much of physical therapy, much to my dismay. I’ve always highly respected that field and almost went to school to become one. Instead, he is recommending the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation department. Yet, no one can really explain to me what the difference is. Can anyone enlighten me?
