Work Hardening

I can be one of those commercials they used to show on TV, persuading young girls not to get pregnant, I think it went something like "baby, it changes everything". Why am I saying this? I am in the hotel room trying to get Jk to take a nap, not enjoying the pool!! Thats ok, I was ready for a baby, or 2!! Actually, travelling with kids has its perks, we got to skip the whole security line in Newark, and got to go in the "special services" line at Immigration! I have even gotten away with 'breaking the law' numerous times. Since the initiation of the 'no liqiuds' rule, things have been a little difficult when travelling with the kids. Especially the 'no ice' rule. But we travel with tons of food and snacks and milk....so I always throw in a few bags of ice, whats the worst that can happen, they will throw them away. But no, I get special treatment. All you have to do is look at me at the end of the security line, 2 kids, 2 strollers, carseat, no one is wearing shoes (yes, L and Jk need thier shoes screened as well), a diaper bag, a rollaway bag, J and his stuff, plus J putting his laptop away, his belt back on and trying to reconfigure the strollers....I usually look a tad frazzled by this point. I think the TSA officials are usually afraid to even question what type of liquid is in the sippy cup, and heaven forbid try to take my ice, for fear that I may hurt them. In the past, they have pulled me aside and quietly said "I am letting you keep the ice bags but don't tell anyone". I tend to invoke unwarranted sympathy!! The same thing happenned when checking into the airport on Wed. J went to park and left me with the kids + 6 pieces of luggage + 2 strollers+ 1 car seat, but with all 4 passports. The agent allowed me to check J in, even though he wasn't there, plus didn't charge me for the 5 lbs of overweight luggage I had, and even lied to the baggage handler about having charged me!!

Ok, so that is a quick explanation of why I have time for a long post now! Since returning to work, my right hip has been painful, and in fact, working causes pain. One of the first things they teach you in PT school is not to hurt yourself while treating (of course, first they teach 'do no harm'). So having good body mechnaics is key. If I am working on ROM, lets say, I will stand with one leg in front of the other, and shift my weight front and back, using my whole body for the ROM, not just my arms. In theory, this is great, except now, my hip gets the brunt of the work and seems to be the weakest link in my body! Sometimes, I will get up on a treatment table for certain things, if I decide to sit back on my heels, I may see stars from the sheer amount of pain shooting through the joint. I am not sure what to do about it, clearly hurting my back or shoulder to compensate for not being able to use my hips is out of the question, as is not working. I have to experiment with shoe choice, I did not wear my Danskos this week everyday (I know, fashion cannot always dictate), and my ballet slippers offer no support whatsoever (but are so cute!).

There are certain cases that need PT and need work hardening, for example, people who lift heavy loads, or work heavy machinery, they need to be trained to safely resume their normal work activities. This is not something I specialize in, nor something my practice specializes in (except my boss, but he doesn't know what is going on!!!), and returning to work as a PT does not fall into the same category as training the UPS man to carry 100lb boxes!!

(I again apologize for the spelling, I will do a retroactive spellcheck when I return to NY)