What happens if I get well too soon?

I went to my first meeting with "Steve," my physical therapist, yesterday.

Of course I've been getting PT the whole time, first at home, and then, last week, an "evaluation" by the supervisor at the local hospital's therapy shop. All these people told me that I was getting well at a surprisingly fast rate, measured by the range of motion in the new knee. I can walk up and down stairs alternating legs (unlike my previous one-step-at-a-time pace like a two-year-old), I can use the stationery bicycle. And so forth.

Steve seemed disconcerted by all this. I shouldn't "overdo," according to him. All I can think is that he's assuming that my rapid progress is the result of pushing too hard on the exercises. Actually, I'm just doing what I was told, and I'm at something of a loss to explain the speed of recovery.

On the other hand, I'm not inclined to look this particular gift horse in the mouth.

As for being painful, rehab is not as yet living up to its ferociously bad advance billing. Steve does a nice massage, but neither Steve nor the exercises are particularly painful. For those of you who haven't had this surgery, the exercises are like yoga, where you're stretching to loosen up a joint. You get to the point of a stretch, but if it hurts you're going too far.

Everyone said to me, "Take the pain pills, do the exercises," and I'm on Vicodin during the days (having downshifted from Percocet) and I'm doing the exercises.

I found Steve rather discouraging on the whole. I need to remember that he can say whatever he wants, but as a practical matter he can't really retard my recovery (even if I'm sensing that, rather illogically, he'd like to). Perhaps he's just feeling unnecessary.