My physical therapy facility, a division of my local hospital, is no longer a division of my local hospital. At least, that's how I understand it. It's in the same place, same equipment, mostly the same people...so far. But, in the manner of modern business, they have been taken over by a private company.
A few therapists have been laid off. Salaries are being restructured so there will likely be some people leave as their pay is reduced. Scheduling is being condensed and hours extended so that fewer therapists can cover the same number of patient encounters. Happy chatter has been replaced with subdued and terse clinical instruction.
Thank goodness my therapist is still on staff. A wise decision by the new hierarchy. I have been so pleased with her. I really did not know the responsibility the therapist has in developing your treatment plan. Unless your physician micromanages your case, your therapist is in charge of your program and has to be knowledgable. Six weeks of PROM exercises seems so conservative but is crucial to allowing the artificial joint to settle in to place. Gradual introduction of AROM exercises in the six to twelve week post op window increases arm use but does not endanger the integrity of the prosthesis. Reverse Total Shoulder arthroplasty is still relatively rare so an uninformed cavalier therapist could easily get it wrong. I even had to explain how it was different to my primary care doctor and my thoracic surgeon! I read everything I could find on the web before I started therapy and I was so relieved to find my therapist and I were on the same page!
Anyway, the chill in the air at PT this morning was not just due to the air conditioning.
(PROM=passive range of motion, AROM= active range of motion)
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