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I had my first appointment with the physical therapist specifically for balance today.
Most of what she did was evaluation, starting with a page of questions the receptionist gave me to fill out before my appointment. It asked how confident I was that I wouldn't lose my balance while doing a variety of different things. The examples include walking in my home, walking down the street, getting something out of a cabinet at eye level, using stairs, and riding an escalator (two questions: holding the handrail, and not holding on because I was carrying packages), all on a scale from 0 to 100 percent.
After that, the therapist asked me a bunch of questions about my balance, falls in the last year, and things I can do myself versus those I need help with. I noted that some of the "needs help" were physical, and some mental: dropping things, or worrying about doing so, is different from having trouble making decisions.
This was an in-person appointment, and I think had to be: some of what she did involved physical contact, and other things involved her watching me closely and looking for small changes: for example, asking me to stand still with my feet close together. She had me repeat that, and a few other things, once with my eyes open and once with them closed.
At one point I was sitting on a chair and she asked me to stand up, so she could watch me do so. She seemed a little surprised that I didn't have trouble, and didn't use either hand to support me, so I explained that doing exactly that is one of my existing physical therapy exercises (for either hip or knee, I don't remember anymore).
Today's appointment was an hour, and I have four half-hour follow-up appointments scheduled between now and the end of December. The therapist also gave two exercises to do at home, twice a day, and seven days a week. I should probably go do some of that after I post this.
Most of what she did was evaluation, starting with a page of questions the receptionist gave me to fill out before my appointment. It asked how confident I was that I wouldn't lose my balance while doing a variety of different things. The examples include walking in my home, walking down the street, getting something out of a cabinet at eye level, using stairs, and riding an escalator (two questions: holding the handrail, and not holding on because I was carrying packages), all on a scale from 0 to 100 percent.
After that, the therapist asked me a bunch of questions about my balance, falls in the last year, and things I can do myself versus those I need help with. I noted that some of the "needs help" were physical, and some mental: dropping things, or worrying about doing so, is different from having trouble making decisions.
This was an in-person appointment, and I think had to be: some of what she did involved physical contact, and other things involved her watching me closely and looking for small changes: for example, asking me to stand still with my feet close together. She had me repeat that, and a few other things, once with my eyes open and once with them closed.
At one point I was sitting on a chair and she asked me to stand up, so she could watch me do so. She seemed a little surprised that I didn't have trouble, and didn't use either hand to support me, so I explained that doing exactly that is one of my existing physical therapy exercises (for either hip or knee, I don't remember anymore).
Today's appointment was an hour, and I have four half-hour follow-up appointments scheduled between now and the end of December. The therapist also gave two exercises to do at home, twice a day, and seven days a week. I should probably go do some of that after I post this.
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