Good questions. To answer I need to give some background. Before I had the ankle surgery the arthritis was getting to the point that if I walked any distance at all I developed a limp and favored one side. That threw off my gait and I started having pain in other areas, mainly the hip and lower back. So I saw a DPT prior to the surgery and it helped. She did some dry needling, stretching certain muscles, and strengthening exercises for other muscles to bring the hip back into alignment. And post-surgery I’m limping again with the same problems in the hip and lower back that need to be corrected.
As far as PT to recover from the ankle fusion, the way my surgeon explained it there really isn’t any besides restoring the strength that was lost during 8 weeks of no weight bearing. Most post-surgery PT for orthopedic procedures is focused on breaking up scar tissue and restoring range of motion and there isn’t any range of motion to restore so my surgeon said I should focus on rebuilding strength and a good trainer would be just as beneficial as a good DPT so that’s the option I chose.
After working with both I’d say the benefit you get depends more on the quality of the individual than their degree. A DPT is theoretically better trained but I’d take a good trainer over an average DPT. The trainer I’m using has definitely helped already. He’s used some different stretches that really loosened up the hip flexors and helped. He’s also been good about tailoring the workouts to my objectives which are mainly strengthening the legs and core, and evening out the strength on each side by including a lot of unilateral (one side at a time) workouts. Also, he’s included a lot of stuff that I never would have come up with on my own, lots of body-weight and stretch band stuff that doesn’t look very impressive but I can sure feel it in the muscles a day later.
Also, I’m learning from him. I think the mark of a good trainer is, they not only know the right individual exercises/programs to accomplish your objectives but they also teach you things along the way. The trainer I’m using now explains why we’re doing certain things, and that helps a lot. He’s good about explaining how muscles work and the best way to build strength. Knowing the theory behind why we’re doing different exercises helps a lot IMO, and it’s changed the way I work out even when I’m on my own time. The best example is the benefits of using stretch bands vs certain resistance machines. The theory behind that is that the stretch bands work the same as your muscles in that muscular strength increases as muscles contract, and the resistance from a band also increases as muscles contract. Compared to the way a lot of machines work, especially the ones with a lever and fulcrum where the resistance lessens as the muscles contract.
Anyway, to answer your question, yes, I’m using the trainer because I’m convinced I’m making more progress than I would on my own.
