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October 29, 2007
physical therapy should not involve a finger in my mouth
And yet it does. Who knew? I also did not know that, in addition to being used to see shit inside your body, ultrasounds are also used for therapeutical purposes as well. I started physical therapy last week for my TMJ problems, and it is not quite what I expected. The massage part is great until my therapist amps up the pressure, then it moves from feeling good to "holyfuckingshit, I will cry if this does not stop NOW!" After what feels like an eternity of fighting off tears, the pressure starts loosening up whatever muscle is being targeted, and I start feeling some relief. Then she puts a finger in my mouth to do some fishhook move that hurts even worse, but also feels good after the pain recedes. After all the poking and prodding and pain is over, an aide comes in to start using the ultrasound machine on my jaw and neck, and, let me tell you, THAT is an uncomfortable feeling. Not the ultrasound itself, but the cool anti-inflammatory cream + the cold cold ultrasound gel is ick x 1000. As the initial burst of cold wears off, the ultrasound wand starts to heat up and feel good, which usually happens right before it's time to switch sides. Once we've gotten all that out of the way, we move on to the exercises, which mainly consist of stretches and jaw movements to expand my range of motion. So far the most uncomfortable one is the stretch where I have to open my mouth, put the knuckles of my middle and index fingers between my teeth, and hold that for thirty seconds. It starts feeling uncomfortable after five seconds; after ten it starts hurting. Most people without TMJ problems can do that comfortably with three fingers/knuckles, but I can't even imagine how that would feel. I'm doing this twice a week for the next few weeks, and then we'll re-evaluate and see how I'm doing at that point.
Posted by oracle at October 29, 2007 7:26 PM in health / the fourth year