- Name: Dan
- Age: 70s
- Pain point: Shoulder
- Outcome:
Return to bow hunting and lifting items into his truck without pain
Dan’s Story
How long did you wait before deciding on physical therapy and what was the obstacle?
As soon as I was allowed I came in to start physical therapy. So, that was probably about five weeks after my surgery.
What was it and how bad was your problem prior to receiving physical therapy?
I had surgery on the shoulder and it was immobile for four weeks after the surgery.
What was your pain preventing you from doing?
I have quite a bit of experience with physical therapy because I’ve got two artificial knees and an artificial hip, and I’ve rehabbed those. My attitude is, “I’m getting back to 100%”. We went very slow. All the [therapists] helped me and understood how slow we had to go. We couldn’t rush it and I didn’t rush it. They would give me a home program that I could do in between visits. It was a slow program but a good program.
What would you say to someone who was experiencing pain but skeptical about physical therapy?
If you listen to a therapist, then you’ll recover ten times faster than if you try to do it on your own because they know what your limitations are, they know where the muscles are, they know where the bones are. In my mind, you go into any surgery as strong as you can
Out of all the things that you enjoyed about coming to Preferred Physical Therapy, what did you enjoy the most?
Number one, I always felt at home. I always felt like people were glad to see me, even though they knew I was going to be working and sweating. They were always encouraging. There was never a, “Oh, come on, you can do this.” It was, “We can do it.” It wasn’t YOU, it was WE. To me, that helps because you are limited in your capabilities and they realize that. They don’t expect you to do anything other that what you were subscribed to do.
What were you wanting to achieve and did we help you to achieve it?
One of my big things is archery. I love to shoot archery and hunt archery. My big thing was to get to where I could pull my 65 pound bow even after my shoulder surgery and I did that. I shot 16 times this morning, so I am where I want to be.
What to Watch Out For:
- Reaching or moving arm away from body
- Resting and icing it for the first 4 weeks and then doing easy movements for the next 4 weeks