Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Am I too loose??

I met with my physical therapist Curt yesterday. 
I have had to go see Curt at least once a year for the last four years.  It's often enough that he knows me even though he hasn't seen me since last summer.

Anyway, after I told him of my current ailment, and started complaining about my body that seems to crap out on me so often, he told me I was "too loose". 

I have previously been told I'm hyper-flexible, by doctors, by personal trainers, and by my chiropractor.  And I always thought it was a compliment????

But to my physical therapist, who is ultimately speaking for my body, it is NOT a compliment, it's a hindrance.

My body can move so much that my ligaments are straining all. the. time.
My hips, my back, my knees, my elbows, my shoulders...all of them have at one time or another gotten mad at me for over flexing them and therefore causing the ligaments to strain and pull the bones or muscles out of place and be used incorrectly.
And as I get older (I turned 40 last June), my ligaments don't bounce back like they used to.

I still remember the days when 2 ibuprofen actually "cured" the pain.

Now I have to take 4 just to feel it, and I have to take them repeatedly for days before I'm "cured" and even that can be a temporary curing.

sigh...

But, I can't stop the aging process, and I can't change my hyper-flexibility, and I absolutely WON'T stop being active.

So, I will go see Curt whenever my Doctor (Christine) directs me to, and I will ask about his family and how his knee is doing and if he's been camping or fishing and all the other things I've learned about him because we have become friends. 
In fact, when I showed up yesterday, he said, "Amy, I was JUST thinking about you the other day!"
So I will appreciate my relationship with Curt, because as much as I hate the idea that I have to have a physical therapist I see at least annually, he's awesome!  And without him, I would be miserable.

2 comments:

  1. I am the same way! I used to think it was good that I was hyper-flexible, that my joints were loose.
    Turns out, its a bad thing, and it causes a lot of my pain!
    Figures, doesn't it?

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  2. It sucks! I know you talk about knee pain, but do you ever have to see a physical therapist? They sure get expensive?! But I don't know what I'd do without him!

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