Maybe You Gotta Scream First

A really weird thing happened on Monday, and the wheels started grinding. Not sure whether I hope my thoughts on the subject are correct or not. Not even sure which way I hope the turn out.

Let's start with that visit to the neighbor's house a couple months ago. Quick recap: terrible chair, terrible "help" getting out, extreme pain. The thing is, even though it kept hurting for a few days afater that, my knee actually gained mobility after that.

Now this Monday, this time in PT, as the neighbors back up are enjoying their Canadian cool. I was lying back on the table, knee bent, foot flat, trying to pull my foot nearer to my butt. What I felt was a progressive ripping in the tissues under the skin, just as if there was a zipper there getting pulled apart one piece at a time. The therapist was pulling rather than me doing the work, and when I yelled, she stopped. But she made me try it again, and I felt it again, just this time starting where it had left off and heading further down the leg. The next morning, I felt it again, lighter but the same sequential kind of ripping feeling, going a bit further down.

I haven't felt it since, though I've been a bit easing off on the PT for about 36 hours, simply in fear of it recurring. There is no particular residual pain there. No bruising or discoloration, no swelling. Nothing to indicate anything actually happened. But something "came apart" inside my knee. Perhaps it had to. Knowing there is no actual zipper in there, my first thought was that the staples had caught up a little something extra inside their grip. My second thought was to wonder if the word "adhesions" was applicable. I didn't bother to look it up.

I finally went back to fully pulling for the bend in the knee, no longer going easy on myself. I know that doesn't really help me long term, so back to work. It didn't repeat, so I figure whatever it was that was letting go, it did what it needed to. I think I'm getting that bend a bit better now. 90 degrees with elastic belt assistance was near impossible, and now my eye says its happening.

So I'm wondering just how much you need to push "past the point of pain" as they say on the PT instructions. In order to improve,  maybe you just gotta scream first?