Protection mode

    Last night Amaya's pain began to increase and continued to a very high level. It made getting comfortable, and being able to sleep very difficult, even with all our normal "tricks" that usually work. This morning there was still a lot of pain, and lots of tears. Since she had slept poorly, was in so much pain and had pt later today we decided she should skip school. It made no sense to try to send her since she was not able to control her pain, move around safely let alone focus. After lunch she was in a much better spot; her pain was tolerable but was very tired. 

    The therapist said the pain could be coming from nerves or any of the "structures" (nerves, muscles, ligaments, etc.) that can get compressed during stretches and lengthening. She did some soft and less painful stretches and exercises. It's interesting because Amaya's pain isn't in her knee but on the inside of her calf. The therapist reminded us that everything is connected and that our brain will adapt and use other things to get a motion done. So since Amaya's leg isn't able to move as it should then her brain and body are making it happen even if this is an incorrect and painful way.

    At the beginning of pt the measurement in her knee was 72 degrees. That showed that Amaya's body had gone into what the therapist called "protection mode." Since her body was in so much pain her brain decided to protect her and essentially kept her from hurting herself again (by doing any stretches or bends). There was a "brain block" that prevented the knee from bending. Her brain and body weren't communicating and working together. Our minds and bodies are pretty amazing! 

    With some massages and gentle stretches her knee began to bend. By the time we were done Amaya was able to get her knee to 92 degrees! Amaya and I were a bit worried that wouldn't happen today. Even though we didn't hit the 100 degrees we had hoped for earlier this week, at least she kept her range of motion that she's gained. PT homework will be really important over the upcoming weekend. We will be back at pt next Tuesday (our last day of lengthening!).  

    Keep us in your thoughts and send good wishes for a good night. We're all pretty tired and worn out. 

Straightening and bending the knee

     

At first measurement her knee got to 72 degrees  

More painful knee bends to stretch a bit more and hoping to get to 90 degrees 

Lifting and bending the knee from a sitting position.

After some work her knee got to 90 degrees!