Hi Ali;

I have been thru almost 10 months of PT for my knee replacement that I have RSD effecting. Some of the time, it worked - helping me gain a little of my flexation and extension. Other times, the therepist would get too aggressive with my knee and the RSD would flare really bad. At a couple of different points during the year, I have taken a "rest" from PT and managed it on my own. My Ortho dr even suggested this. It really helped as it let my knee settle down with the flare and I could do my own excercises as I felt. I too have been told you must go to PT in order to "get over" the RSD, but I honestly do not believe this. The main point is to keep moving - not letting the pain keep you in bed - even if its just walking around in the house. PT does have its good points - they can give you encouragement and show you new ways of helping to maintain and hopefully regain some muscle movement. But, once they go over this, you can do most of everything at home yourself. Maybe a month or two break from PT would be ok - talk to your therepist on your next visit and maybe you can work out a plan for seeing them maybe once a month for 2 months or so - and then have another visit. Right now, my husbands insurance changed and they only cover $1,500.00 per year for therepy of any kind. This will probably break down to only about 8 visits for the whole year if I am lucky! So, I plan on see my new therepist a couple of times, getting ideas and new excercises, then doing on my own for the next couple of months. Then I will go back for a refresher every couple of months - unless things change! Remember if you start having problems, you can always call your therepist and start seeing them again. As for the casting..... I have no idea - but I would definately talk to your dr and explain your concerns. Overall, seems like good news for you Ali, having less pain and moving better - keep it up! I know its been a hard time for you the last month with your grandpa passing, but I think he would be very proud of you on how you have been coping. Take care!