Summary:
My experience at SF Sport and Spine was amazing. I couldn't have asked for better care and advice during PT. Leigh, my PT, is a miracle worker.
Here are the details:
Late January - excellent snow conditions + skiing pretty fast/aggressively + hitting a bump = rough twisted landing on one leg, resulting in Grade 2 Tears of PCL, MCL and LCL (fortunately everything but ACL) and bone contusions (whatever that means). I was pretty freaked out because so many of my friends and relatives have gone through knee surgery and it didn't sound fun. Doc says I got really lucky - MRI looks like I avoided near disaster. Once I got into PT, my worries went away, and I accelerated into the recovery phase.
One to two weeks after the incident, I couldn't walk, put on my socks, sit without holding onto something, or even sleep properly. I called SF Sport and Spine as they were one of the places recommended by my doctor. They said that insurance would only cover partial, whereas insurance might cover more at some other places. But, this is because they are different... they assign a therapist for the entire 50 minutes you're there and you have their 100% attention. I figured, I'd check it out and if I didn't like it after my first session, I'd go somewhere that insurance would cover more of. Bottom line is, I wanted the best care to rehabilitate my knee... regardless of insurance coverage.
Leigh was assigned as my PT and I consider myself super lucky for that. I'm pretty aggressive with my normal workouts, I definitely push myself, and I was itching to get back into good condition. Leigh was a pleasure to work with and was like a trusted partner during my entire recovery process. She customized the therapy to my goals and let me push myself as hard as I wanted, but kept me within proper limits. She assessed my progress at every session and gave me a path to new levels of recovery (actually more like breakthroughs) every week. It was amazing. I had to retrain my leg to walk, put on my socks, jog and other normal stuff. But, I was also pretty quickly moving on to squatting, dead lifting, jumping, running, swimming and playing baseball again thanks to Leigh's excellent PT and guidance.
My impacted leg atrophied really quickly after the incident... 3 weeks after the incident, it was noticeably smaller. But, the focus on integrating some of Leigh's PT techniques and exercises with my normal exercise routine quickly got my leg back into shape, and actually, stronger now than it ever was (thanks to one legged squats and exercises I would not normally perform).
When the Doc saw me a month later, he thought my progression was "impressive". I'm now 4 months post injury and my knee is probably almost 100% recovered. Still can tell it was injured, but Doc said it was a pretty traumatic injury, so be patient for 6 months. I don't regret tearing my knee ligaments because I think the recovery has made me all the better, wiser (I'm not doing that again!), and even stronger. I can't thank Leigh enough for helping me every step of the way. If you need some PT for anything, I'd suggest paying Leigh a visit.
Stay positive, and best of luck to you. read more