Official Therapist Blog

My Hip Surgery Rehab

Author Ellen Bloome - PT | 12.09.2009 | Category Allied Healthcare, Ellen Bloome-PT, Therapist Jobs, Therapy Jobs, Travel Therapist, Traveling Therapist, physical therapist licensing, physical therapy, rehabilitation therapy

There I was…24 hours after hip surgery, crutching in for my first physical therapy visit at one of the world’s most famous orthopedic therapy clinics. I allowed myself to be the patient to absorb all that these highly skilled PT’s were teaching me. My hip was grateful to be there during those first 4 days…

I was in awe of the PT’s who were fortunate to work in this rehab clinic with my surgeon who is internationally known, and his patients, mostly high-level athletes with sports injuries. I speculated how traveling physical therapists are exposed to therapy career resources such as this! (Note to self…after my rehab is complete, consider looking for a Colorado physical therapy job as a traveler!)

Those early treatments were consistent with the surgeon’s suggested protocol. I did some work myself; isometrics to my hip and stationary biking, but was thankful for the hands-on hip flexor releases and gentle passive ROM. The biggest challenge I faced was potential hip flexor tendinitis, and after I returned home that was the yardstick upon which I based all interventions’ success or weakness. I kept a log of my experiences and shared it with my surgeon as I coyly announced at my follow up visit that I ‘broke protocol’ but had no tendinitis! He agreed that protocols are merely guidelines as he considered my suggestions for improvement.

PT’s … have you made adaptations to orthopedic surgery protocols? How were your suggestions received by the referring surgeon? Please comment!

BTW - The picture on the right is me during my hip surgery rehab process.

From PT to Patient - Part 2; Compassionate Rehab Therapy

Author Ellen Bloome - PT | 12.07.2009 | Category Allied Healthcare, Ellen Bloome-PT, Therapist Jobs, Therapy Jobs, Travel Therapist, Traveling Therapist, physical therapy, rehabilitation therapy

Anticipating hip arthroscopy, I was a basket case. As a runner, I wanted to be pain-free, stable, and fast again. As a Physical Therapist I had seen enough behind the scenes to know what could go wrong.

I discovered that people at my physical therapy job did not understand why I was so concerned. My supervisor, herself a physician, stated, “Enough about your surgery already! It’s not like it’s heart surgery!”

The light bulb flickered in my head…the blogs and posts of hip arthroscopy patients flooded back to me. I felt terror reading them. Was I afraid of the acute post operative pain? Or was it fear of being worse after the surgery…I knew that I could almost deal with my life the way it was now…I’d made my concessions and a pact with my higher power. The fear was…what if after was worse?

My hip surgery was uncomplicated and my rehabilitation therapy was provided by caring, knowledgeable professionals at Howard Head Sports Medicine. Taking my experience as a patient to my Florida PT job didn’t change how I treated my patients in Home Health settings. What my experience reinforced was that compassion is a gateway to trust. In this era of corporate methodical productivity within the health care environment, I as a PT,  have the responsibility to preserve that compassion and get great job satisfaction.

PT’s who have been patients; please share your stories! I’d love to hear from you.

From PT to Patient

Author Ellen Bloome - PT | 12.02.2009 | Category Allied Healthcare, Ellen Bloome-PT, Therapist Jobs, Therapy Jobs, Travel Therapist, Traveling Therapist, physical therapy, rehabilitation therapy

I couldn’t believe this could happen to me. After 25 years of a physical therapist career I thought I had seen all injuries. But a year ago I discovered that a simple thing like swollen, bruised toes can lead to a severe hip injury.

I was training for a half marathon when my toes turned purple. Because of those painful, agitated toes I got scared. I took advice from other runners… not ones with physical therapy jobs… to increase one size in my running shoe. I did, and the next day at the end of a five miler, having to to clear those size 10’s from catching on the ground… I felt a painful tear in my leg.

I was diagnosed with injuries from a hamstring pull to sciatica. All I knew was that I had pain and was falling frequently. No one mentioned a hip injury until I diagnosed myself with a labral tear of the hip.

Frustrated… I had to stop running until my hip arthroscopy surgery. What could I do to get stronger and pain-free? I began indoor cycling, 20 miles a day for 6 months to prepare for hip surgery. Hip arthroscopy has inconsistent outcomes and I was afraid I could be worse afterwards … but the regularity and intensity with that closed-chain bicycling really paid off. The muscles around my hip joint were so strong before surgery that 7 weeks afterward I could hike down mountains. 3 months later… won a 5K race!

Stay tuned; my next blog will share what I learned as I rehabbed my own hip. This is info that I am now applying to my hip arthroscopy patients in my current physical therapy job. Would love to hear from other PT’s that want to share their experiences as a patient, too!

About the Author: Ellen Bloome, PT, has been has been a physical therapist for 28 years and has worked in variety of settings, including acute care, home health, rehab and sports medicine. Ellen is a competitive masters’ runner and recovering successfully with a structured intensive rehabilitation therapy program from a recent hip arthroscopy procedure.