From Pain to Progress: My Experience Trying Physical Therapy

Posted on December 5, 2024

Snap, crackle, pop! These sounds, once reminiscent of breakfast cereal in milk, now accompany my movements as an adult. Who knew that adulthood would come with its own soundtrack? As I’ve aged, my lifelong hypermobility— a trait often linked to individuals on the autism spectrum—has transitioned from an impressive to a significant hindrance, particularly in my knees. I know my knees frequently extend beyond the normal range of motion, causing feelings of achiness and a sensation that they might pop out of their sockets. This happens particularly during repetitive motion activities such as biking, lunging, jumping, and rowing—essentially everything I do to stay active! My current doctor hasn’t been helpful, only suggesting some arthritis medication (which definitely makes me feel a lot older!). To manage the situation independently, I use compression knee sleeves during all my workouts. In my quest for a lasting solution, I decided to try physical therapy this year!

Discount evaluations through my gym promised a “personalized, thorough assessment of movement patterns and pain points.” Finally, I had the chance to explain the phenomenon of my super-knees in detail to a professional who shares my enthusiasm for physical activities like CrossFit. The physical evaluation was incredibly humbling. I felt betrayed by my body; I had always believed I was a relatively strong and capable adult, yet I watched helplessly as my weaknesses were highlighted time and again. Curse you, weak hamstrings! We agreed that I would attend weekly in-person sessions and follow at-home exercises 7 days a week. As I left the assessment, I felt like a crown had been placed upon my head; I was one of the fortunate ones. My struggles with my knees no longer seemed hopeless if I committed to my physical therapy!

My personalized treatment plan started engaging, and I was 100% committed. I logged into a portal and out popped a handful of exercises I could do at home before my next in-person session. The nerd inside me was excited to delve deeply into helping my body learn something new. Many movements were the same ones we went over in person, easy-peasy. Yet, somehow, I barely made it through the first few days of these exercises. Who knew laying on my belly and lifting one leg at a time could be such hard work? Although we reviewed the movements thoroughly, which included written instructions and videos, I only interpreted some directions as a neurotypical person might. For instance, I often confuse the term “working leg” because both legs are typically engaged to some extent during most movements. My physical therapist, Nicholas, appeared unbothered by my confusion and provided seemingly unlimited assistance.

Nicholas was very kind, yet somehow, an evil supervillain, with some exercises becoming my nemesis. Wall sits, and any side plank/leg hold combo was murder to me. My legs would shake as I squeezed my stomach and held on as if my life depended on it. Some exercises in the office were fun, like passing a medicine ball back and forth in a wall sit. The more I progressed, the more challenging (and sometimes complicated) the exercises became. Weights would go up and holds would extend to longer periods. A one-hour session at the office left me sweaty, and my legs felt like I went running for miles. Every in-person session would beat me up but strengthen me, so the trade-off was fair.

Staying motivated at home was hands down the most challenging part of my journey. I like group fitness because, in a group, you are forced to soak up the encouragement and endorphins. Knowing how difficult the work could be was daunting (and straight-up dull) at home. To make my daily rotation of exercises less boring, I turned on a podcast or audiobook. Inevitably, I would still grumble and whine through the movements, but it was for the greater good, so I persevered. My at-home training app also had a timer and individual videos that played along with your attempts at the movement. The timer quickly annoyed me as I never had what I would consider the proper time to move from movement to movement at home. I gave up on the app, printed all the exercises out, and put them in a binder to flip through at my own pace.

After six weeks, I was moving significantly better than where I started. I was pleased with how much stronger, more balanced, and mobile my lower body had become. However, like many things in adulthood, maintaining that newfound strength and keeping pain at bay would require ongoing at-home exercises and stretching, even as I returned to my everyday life. This ongoing commitment is a crucial part of the journey, but fortunately, it would be less intense. Upon graduation from the program, I received a new personalized routine that I could do about three times per week, which felt much more manageable.

Today, I timed my current mobility and strengthening routine and found that it takes a little over 50 minutes. Physical therapy has significantly reduced the snaps, crackles, and pops in my knees when jumping into physical activities that once bothered me. Best of all, I opened the door to a new way to heal any other tricky pain point in the future. Even though I finished my program, I can always return for a new, challenging, but helpful, personalized program. Physical therapy has had a transformative impact on my well-being. I encourage anyone to try it if they have yet to do so!