Replacement Parts

My wonderful allegro reformer (from 2002??) recently sustained an injury (June 6, 2013). I pulled the knob to adjust the footbar right off the frame. Blood was shed. The wounds were dressed, both my wounds and the allegro’s. Calls to the Balanced Body experts were made. Since this catastrophic emergency occurred on a Saturday (mid-class by the way, as a complete professional, I held it together), the poor reformer would have to wait until Monday for diagnostic test results, treatment plan, and prognosis.

After speaking with the technician at Balanced Body, it was determined that the allegro needed a new plunger knob. Parts would be shipped in 5-7 business days. Reformer surgery scheduled when the knob arrives. A $30 repair and she would be good as new, better even, because BB sent an upgraded version of the knobs.

I also purchased expensive new tires for my car earlier this summer. Without blinking an eye the mechanic popped off the (very) bald tires and replaced them. Now that Traverse performs better than before.

Replacement parts for humans don’t quite work the same way. Once a joint is cut open, even without repairs/replacement parts, it is never the same again. The replacments parts don't work as well as the original design.

I often joke with clients that I’m out of replacement parts for shoulder, knee, spine, etc., so you are going to have to work with what you’ve got. My motivation to continue Pilates for hopefully the rest of my is to keep all my original parts. My dad and aunt/uncles from both sides of my family each have a laundry list of orthopedic surgeries. I don’t want to be cut open. Even the most skilled surgeon can keep his/her scalpel away from my joints. Once a joint is cut open, it's never the same again.

One of my clients is an orthopedic surgeon in Columbia. When I took a spill while running in February, his first thought was, you need surgery on your ankle. Uhhh, no thank you, sir. My goal in life is to render your services unnecessary. Now if there is an ACL tear or a fracture that needs repair, that's a whole different discussion.

So many of us are quick jump on the operating table, hoping for a quick fix.

Here are a few recent internet finds on joint replacements at a younger age in the military:

http://blog.todayinpt.com/joint-replacements-service-members/

and another on unsuccessful knee surgeries:

http://blog.todayinpt.com/review-knee-surgery-inconsequential/

one more comparing manual therapy in PT to surgical interventions for carpal tunnel syndrome:

http://blog.todayinpt.com/therapy-carpal-tunnel-treatment/

If you're into historical barbaric surgical tools, here's the post for you (this is just for fun):

http://www.iflscience.com/technology/ten-weird-and-terrifying-medical-instruments-past

---There are so many more articles comparing PT to surgery for almost any orthopedic condition. Listed above are just a few I read recently.

#jointreplacement