2024, Health, Technology

Therapy Routine

34 Comments

Went for my first physical therapy appointment yesterday.  It went fairly smoothly; she poked and prodded and measured.  Made me stand on one foot and then the other.  Walked up and down the hallway.

She showed me four exercises to start with – one with a strap and one with a stretchy thing.  Two on steps.  All fairly straightforward but when I got home I realized that a couple only get done once a day, one gets done twice and day and the last one gets done three times a day.  I sat with the paper in my hands for about a minute before I knew what I had to do.  A spreadsheet!  It’s pretty simple, just a chart with each exercise listed the prerequisite number of times for each day of the next week.  I imagine, since I’m a morning person, I’ll do the four together in the morning and then slot in the rest as the day goes on.  

Spreadsheet isn’t pretty, but enough to keep track of what I’m doing on a daily basis… a rustic spreadsheet as it were.  What in heaven’s name did I do before Excel?

Do you have a daily routine (with or without a spreadsheet!)?

34 thoughts on “Therapy Routine”

  1. I, too, start my day with PT exercises. I just finished my morning exercises. I have to do all three exercises three times a day. I despise them, but they are reducing the pain that runs all the way down my right leg to my ankle. I love the dry needling my Physical therapist does on my lower back. I have two appointments a week.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

  2. I just did my morning PT exercises, and need to get a routine for the ones that I’m too wimpy to do in the morning (they hurt), because I’ve been remembering them only at bedtime…

    I do have a daily rhythm of sorts, scheduled things built around the three meals, or vice versa. But each day has a different “start time”, depending on what is the first item, so there is a weekly rhythm as well.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  3. More or less. Wake up, breakfast and read a book or do a crossword puzzle (Mondays), turn on computer, go through email, investing info, weather, check calendar, perhaps do some author business things if necessary. Morning fruit around 10- 10: then out for coffee to write for 3-4 hours. Exercise after that. Home for dinner, watch TV and/or veg out for the evening.

    Weekend mornings are similar except I don’t usually go out for coffee. During golf season, I’ll play/practice 3-4 times per week.

    Chris in Owatonna

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  4. Husband was in Bismarck last night, coming home later this afternoon, I hope before the first of two snowstorms hits this evening. This means the dog’s routine is off. He expects his breakfast from Husband at 5:30, with play and tugs after that, a walk at about 7:30, and then his crate until noon while we are at work. Well, I don’t get up until 6:30, so his breakfast is late, and he will get a walk at lunchtime. The dog is happiest when Daddy is home.

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

    1. Pet-wise my schedule is off this week because YA is traveling. Most of the pet care is no big deal but Guinevere’s first trip outside in the morning and her last trip outside at night are a pain. YA does these when she’s home.

      Liked by 4 people

      Reply

  5. Up at 6. Turn on Columbo. During commercials (and there are many), the Birds get fed, watered and aviary tidied up.

    BP meds and vitamins (and there are many) taken with oatmeal or corn flakes.

    Potty break.

    Watch the latest 45 embarrassments (and there are many).

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  6. For the past 4 years I have done a daily exercise/stretching routine plus walking between 3 and 4 miles almost every day. The fractured ankle disrupted that for a few months – especially the walking part. I am finally back to the full exercise part but not the daily walking part. I have been out a few times and have managed 1/2 to 3/4 miles in the time I usually cover 1 mile. My goal is to get back to the 20 minute mile. Because my ankle is still a bit stiff, I need to do my PT exercises first thing in the morning. Beyond exercise, I don’t have a daily routine. Some days I have choir rehearsals (both piano and singing), or monthly massages (but not on a specific date), or get togethers with friends (usually lunch), or kayaking early mornings in the summer (if not too windy), or reading, or travel, etc. Recently I have added occasional babysitting for my new grand niece.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

      1. My kayaking is usually at smaller lakes here in the cities. The closest is the Keller/Spoon/Gervais/Kohlman chain and that is where the bulk of my kayaking is done. Also Silver Lake, Hyland Lake, and Snail Lake. I have friends with cabins on Lake Vermilion and a good size lake in the Upper Peninsula – we stay close to the shoreline on those lakes.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

  8. My morning routine is more of a habit, but I don’t feel right if I don’t do it. I get up, go downstairs and push the button on the coffee maker. Then I take my meds and drink 500 mL of water. I take Pippin out while the coffee is brewing. Then I bring him back in and make his breakfast. (It’s not just putting kibble in a bowl. He has a recipe.) Once he has eaten and the coffee is ready I park myself in front of the fireplace in my recliner. I just sit while I drink my coffee. I don’t turn on the tv or music or anything – just silence. When the coffee is gone, I check emails, messages, the bank, the weather, and this blog. I watch the birds outside, and whatever weather there is. I have always felt at peace watching the morning light change. I’m not a morning person, and I find this gradual entry into the day is right for me.

    You are all so much better at doing your exercises than I am. I really need to work on mine. Yoga helps too. Most of my pain is in my lumbar area, but my right knee can really complain sometimes. I have exercises for these and the more I do them, the better I feel. So how do I motivate myself to do them? No, I’m not a spreadsheet person. You are amazingly well-organized, VS!

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

      1. I find most external stimulation irritating in the morning. It’s like rubbing a sleepy cat the wrong way. I prefer silence when I get up. It’s probably a good thing I never got married.

        Liked by 4 people

        Reply

  9. Jacque–

    My daily routine is shot right now. 

    OT: Lou had a good first night. I will go visit him later in the day and take Nurse Phoebe with me. I posted on Caring Bridge for the story and pictures Stay tuned.

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

      1. It did help his mood a lot. The quiet room with the big window, combined with a lot of sleep is making him more coherent. But he is already plotting independence moves. He is a fall risk which means he must ring the bell for help. He wants a way around that. Uh oh.

        Liked by 4 people

        Reply

  10. OT. Blevins Update (Blevins page updated as well)

    The Redbreast – Jo Nesbo

    &

    H is for Hawk – Helen Macdonald

    Sunday, May 19

    2 p.m.

    Occasional Caroline’s

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  11. Therapy update. My therapist was talking to me yesterday about an app or something online for the exercises and I said “oh could you just print it out for me” which she did. But she went ahead and sent me an email that has the four exercises and a link to either a download to my browser or to an app on my phone. Just for jollies, I downloaded the app and apparently this app can somehow track my activity which would make my spreadsheet obsolete. Unfortunately, by the time I figure out how this app works I may be done with therapy!!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. I use the app or one like it. It demonstrates the exercise which I then do with the video. It makes me do what needs to be done (like Powdermilk Biscuits).

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  12. thought I posted yesterday that I read a book called Atomic habits that is very impressive as far as figuring out how to get stuff plugged in that needs to be done

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  13. I would probably benefit from an app. Physical therapists usually give me handouts which get buried in piles of other papers. I have handouts targeting so manybody parts – knee, back, neck, hand, arm, shoulder, jaw…

    Like

    Reply

  14. My cat sets my daily routine. In the morning, it’s her breakfast, fresh water, playtime with the laser pointer, and an extended belly-rub/ear-scratch session. Then I go to work and she sleeps. In the evening, she supervises dinner preparation (i.e., gets under my feet), and checks out what we’re having, demanding a sample if it interests her. As soon as she hears us cleaning up after dinner, she’s back underfoot, demanding her evening snack. Then it’s a couple of hours of sleeping on my lap until bedtime. If I’m late getting to the sofa, she sits under the end table and waits for me. At 10:00, she decides it’s time for bed, gets up and stalks to the bedroom, where she has a favorite spot on our cedar chest. Once I’m in bed, she settles on top of me for the night. Variations to this routine are not tolerated.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a comment