I thought physical therapy was ending....PO day 67

As I approach ten weeks post surgery with only three more PT appointments scheduled, I thought my formal physical therapy was ending. I've made tremendous progress in the past three weeks, since moving into the AROM (active range of motion) phase. I can raise my arm to comb my hair, hang up measuring cups on the inside of an upper cupboard door, and put up my towel on the upper towel bar in the bathroom. I washed the living room window today just to see if I could...a little streaky but clean!  Every PT exercise has a comparable household job. Vertical flexion (what I call wall slides) converts to shower wall cleaning. Unloading the dishwasher is a good substitute for one pound curls. External rotation emulates moving cookies from the baking sheet to the cooling rack. Abduction seems a lot like reaching up to get a cup off of the higher shelf. And the standing bar flexion exercises are very much similar to hanging up clothes in my closet now that I am shorter! Got it!

So, when I started to begin the farewell process today, "only one more week," I said, I was surprised to learn there is more to follow. I am in the middle of PO week 9, which is half way through phase II (weeks 7-12).  In the next few weeks I will work on gaining strength by using slightly heavier weights and continue to " demonstrate the ability to isotonically activate all components of the deltoid and periscapular musculature." I hope that correlates to pulling weeds in the garden.

I'm afraid to write that there is a Phase III. But this might be the most painless way of letting Dear Husband  know...he reads my blog.