I’ve been doing Physical Therapy exercises for my MS since 2018, and hEDS since 2020. That’s when I finally saw a Physical Therapist. My Neurologist prescribed one round of PT, and my Rheumatologist another.
I originally went because of the weakness and foot drop I was dealing with after I got my MS diagnosis. There was a sharp, throbbing pain in my upper back. I went back in late 2020 when I knew I needed a refresher – I had suffered a slipped disc, and was in a lot of pain again.
I usually incorporate exercises I learned from both sessions into my daily workout schedule. Between the two, I’ve found a routine that works for me.
Because I was dealing with both MS and hEDS, I had to make sure that one treatment plan doesn’t interfere with either. Thankfully, my physical therapist in 2020 was able to take into account both diagnoses, and create an exercise routine tailored to my needs.
The benefits of physical therapy have been widely studied. For MS, you can read more about the benefits here. For hEDS, you can read more here. Suffice to say, with just a simple google search, the evidence is overwhelming. PT helps people with both conditions lead healthier, more active lives. It helps those able to participate in it accomplish their goals, and live with less pain than most, myself included, could imagine. People who participate in it tend to have much better long term outcomes than those who don’t.
I’ve mentioned the benefits of PT many, many times on my Instagram. The relief from unceasing pain I’d experienced since 2016 was immediately noticeable after just one appointment. I honestly had no idea what PT entailed prior to my first encounter with it.
The first half of the initial appointment was mostly just the two of us getting to know each other. After all of the ‘rate you pain on this scale’ type of questions, we jumped right into testing my flexibility. This wasn’t super comfortable, but I apparently was more flexible than expected. Looking back, that would make a lot of sense, as I would get diagnosed with hEDS less than two years later.
Because of this flexibility, I was given what my PT described as ‘ intermediate’ exercises. She was of the opinion flexibility was the foundation of strength, so I got to skip that portion a bit.
We did some exercises during that appointment, and it was over. That day, I was sent home that day with a folder of exercises, along with a few resistance bands to increase the intensity of my workouts. Some sessions, especially after the hEDS diagnosis, included a short massage on my most affected muscles to help release some tension.
After that, I attended weekly sessions. Both times I attended PT, I went for 8 weeks total. Excited doesn’t describe how I felt when it was over. It wasn’t just the annoyance of having to fit it in my schedule, it was the soreness I felt afterwards.
Don’t get me wrong, if I went back, I wouldn’t do a thing differently. I take that back – I would probably work a little harder.
But, it was hard at the time. After learning my lesson the first week, I made sure not to schedule anything important for the day after my weekly session. At first, I felt like a truck hit me the day after. Soon, I learned to drink lots of water the day of, and drink a plant based protein shake right after. The day after, I didn’t work out, but focused instead on light yoga and stretching out my sore muscles. All of those habits helped the soreness significantly.
Once I figured out how to deal with the soreness, the relief was overwhelming. Like I mentioned earlier in this post, I had been dealing with chronic pain since 2016. It was tolerable on most days, but once I got to the benefits of the PT, I realized just how bad the pain really was.
It’s been almost three years since I last attended a PT session, but everyday, I reap the benefits. The biggest piece of advice that I have is if you haven’t tried it, give it a shot. In my experience, it has been so worth it. You’ll learn ways to rid yourself of pain, strengthen the muscles that have been neglected, and be able to enjoy life in a way that might not have been imaginable before.
Have you had a great, or even horrible, experience in physical therapy? Let me know in the contacts below! You can also contact me via email at bri@stumblepup.com
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Until next time,
