"Physiotherapy experience"

My injury in summation: Right knee ACL full thickness tear, Large tear of meniscus, grade I MCL damage and some "bone bruising". Had 2 separate surgeries and now have a hamstring graft ACL and no cartilage in the right knee...surgeries in October & last day in December 2014.

With my injury in particular I experienced a lot of pain post op compared to most, and about 3/ 4 weeks after my surgeries (end of Jan) I began my NHS physio. You start with a 1 to 1 assessment and chat with a physiotherapist, and then as my injury was lower limb, I began attending the three lower limb sessions every week. By the time I had begun physiotherapy, I had not left the house since my operation, I had become a reculse, did not want to see or talk with people and had become very down, as the pain, lack of sleep, waking up in the night in agony and general absence of independance and movement had really hit me hard (contrary to the fact I had been a very outgoing confident individual with a great suppor network). The first couple of months were frustrating. I was in pain all the time with everything, I felt useless and could not see how my situation would improve, yet irrespective of my grumpy and abrupt nature, the physio team still welcomed me with a smile everyweek and never gave up on improving my angry and upset struggle as well as my physical. This might all seem bleak and some people don't have an experience like this at all post knee reconstruction but I would like to stress every individual experiences pain and healing differently as no human body or mind is the same.

The staff were great. They were always patient, kind, and listened, yet when a point needed to be taken in by the patient (me) they greatly stressed it, and were both professional and approachable. I started to look forward more and more to physio sessions, I could see improvement, I enjoyed seeing the staff and especially when I was knocked back during the passing of my grandma, they really helped me get through everything. I cannot stress to listen to the advice they give, as I was slightly impatient with my recovery and pushed my physical capeability to far, thus i fell a few steps back in my recovery time. The team were still supportive and gave realistic and attainable goals, and were honest in what I would be able to do in the future and what I should avoid altogether to prevent me injuring myself again.

The team signed me off when I was ready and when they felt I was ready, not as quickly as they could as some may presume given the bad press the NHS gets, as I was in fact under the NHS rochdale physiotherapy unit for 12 months . I did have some private physiotherapy sessions at £50 a 30min session, however I personally saw no difference between the private sessions and the NHS, if anything I felt I was given ample time with the NHS sessions.

I received the brilliant treatment,and I cannot thank the staff enough for everything. I wish you all the best, thank-you! N.P