Physical Therapy

Apparently, Dr. Daniel Buss decided at some point to find and train up in his tradition of treatment a few physical therapists around the Twin Cities area. I met one of them yesterday, Rick Hjelm (pronounced Yelm). He is a very interesting and interested person to work with. He asks good questions about what I do for a living and about my martial art.

He tried a number of passive (meaning I didn't have to use my own muscles) exercises, only to find I could do them without difficulty or pain. He prescribed four exercises to do this week, a couple of which I've already aced. He explained why I shouldn't yet be trying for external rotation, especially with my palm up. Until the subscapularis tendon is firmly healed, I could damage it and delay the healing process. I forgot to ask about the biceps tendon and what I need to avoid.

But I go back next Tuesday morning, so I can ask him then.

Working is much less of a problem now. I still take Aleve every 8 hours. Sometimes it doesn't quite last 8 hours but I'm on a schedule (6 a.m., 2 p.m. and 10 p.m.) that fits my life so I don't take it early. I still take Vicodin when I go to bed, but I don't think I'll continue that past this week. We'll see how that goes.

The one problem is I still get really tired in the middle of the day. I try to eat well-balanced meals to avoid mid-afternoon droop. There's no way to take a nap at work and get away with it. I try not to nap when I get home because this makes falling asleep difficult at 10. Whine, whine, Merlot ... .

These are all expected problems that I am confident will go away soon.