Yesterday I had my first physical therapy session and I met my new therapist. She is well versed in the operation and made several observations on how we can improve my gait. I was very pleased with her knowledge given the importance of physical therapy in the post rhizotomy process.

The therapist spent the majority of the appointment measuring my range of motion, performing strength tests, and documenting other stats. In general she noticed that I seemed to have a good level of strength but needed to learn how to use some muscles in isolation. That said there are some areas where I will need to increase my strength such as my quads on the left side and my hamstrings in both legs which are very weak. She also tested for spasticity several times and did not detect any!  I don’t want to say the spasticity is gone since it has been less than 2 weeks but it looks promising.

Towards the end of the appointment I asked the PT if I could try riding a stationary bike for a few minutes and we gave it a shot.  The feeling of pedaling is very different now.  I noticed a fluidity and consistency in my pedaling that was not possible before.

One last note – at the end of my appointment I was waiting for my PT to give me something and one of the other therapists saw me and asked what I was doing back (I used to PT at this place last year) and I explained that I had a rhizotomy done.  She asked me to walk (with the walker) so she could see the difference.  As I started walking I looked at her.  She did not say anything but the “oh my god/I can’t believe it” expression on her face said it all as her jaw dropped (it really did) and she whispered something to my therapist.