Work Out Wednesday- Physical Therapy

This Sunday will mark the 5th Anniversary for my spinal fusion surgery.  A while back I received a comment asking if I would talk more about my back problems (and if these problems connected to CF).  To respond to that request, I thought I would dedicate the next week to posting information about my back problems.  Here is the first post!

I started going to Physical Therapy in December to address some back pain I was having.  In late October I had a flare-up and ended up in PT.  Initially I was not impressed with the first PT I went to.  She spent about 15 minutes showing me several different stretches and core strengthening exercises.  The exercises where good; her instruction was not.  With previous PT experiences, I always spent about an hour or so with the PT actually doing the exercises.  This PT just showed the exercises to me and then sent me on my way to implement the program on my own.  The second appointment was not any better.  During this appointment, however, the PT suggested I take a back strengthening course to help with my condition.  At first I was against taking a class, but I thought it couldn't hurt, especially after having such poor PT sessions.

Two weeks ago, I attended the first class.  It was actually really good.  The class is an hour long and I learned core/back strengthening exercises.  We spend the whole hour actually doing the exercises.  After the first class, I already felt like I was walking straighter and I didn't feel so much tension in my lower back.  The second class was yesterday and there will be six classes all together. 

The teacher also gave suggestions for at home exercises that should be performed about 5 days a week.  The exercises take about 30 minutes all together.  Initially, I felt a little overwhelmed because I already work out five days a week and to just add on another 30 minutes a day seems impossible.  At the same time, I really like my gym routine right now and I don't want to substitute this new work out for something else I am already doing.  As a trial, I am going to do the exercises on my lunch break.  This way I can fit it into my normal daily schedule, without feeling like I have to spend two hours at the gym.  So far it is working well.