The Dark Side of Physical Therapy - A Tale from the Crypt
Of course - once I was present - such behavior on the part of the department head was not to be seen. Further - the department head was so sweet that she said that the patient could manage the therapy program "any way that the patient wished". This - in a meeting of the program to ensue from the time that I began to escort the patient to Gaylord.
Well - in fact - this statement of the patient being in control - was not really so. But because I was present - it in deed - did become so. For when necessary - I forced the request for a break when it was needed.
The part of the therapy in which I became witness to was the so-called "Work Hardening" program. Here - ostensibly, the intent was that the patient was NOT to take any breaks whatsoever. It seemed as though the goal was for maximum time in this grueling therapy - and seemed as if it were being administered as if it were some kind of punishment for the patient.
The patient complained frequently of pain, and was forced to seek other positions (standing, walking, or another activity altogether) to obtain relief from the pain caused by the prescribed exercise of the moment. All of this was noted by the assistant therapist and in some cases, observed directly by the department head as well.
The patient was requested to endure an ever-increasing program of Work Hardening therapy, both in intensity and in duration of total time spent in therapy. It was never possible for the patient to achieve three days a week, let alone the target of five days a week. The time in therapy each day was increased from two hours to three hours with a goal of five hours per day.
Such protracted "therapy" is definitely NOT recommended for those that suffer RSD. But remember - this is a WC case and all sanity and care for the patient is no longer present.
It is almost as if the department head were in the employ of the WC or was given the incentive to "dispense" with the patient as soon as possible - in order to get her of the list of patients under therapy - to save money for the WC and the insurance company.
The Aftermath
The patient was finally discharged from Gaylord on the 26th of May and released for work. Not cured,
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