Written by: Adrienne Reich, PT, DPT
We see it on our hometown athletic fields. We watch it during our TV sporting events. As we scroll through Facebook, we read about it. But we don’t really get it until it happens to us- injury that is. Watching the video Lindsey Vonn created about her recent rehabilitation from her humerus fracture makes those of us who have experienced an injury or surgery, stop and remember what that chapter in our life was like.Â
We remember wondering, “Is this what it is going to be like forever? Am I ever going to get better?” We remember looking at that limb that we are willing to move with our mind but that seems to have a mind of its own saying, “Ain’t no way, Honey.” When we watch that video and read her story, we also might celebrate those great (though seemingly small) victories of more movement and more strength.
Our clinic offers physicians spanning several specialties, allowing us to try different techniques and call upon our peers’ expertise to provide each patient a unique rehabilitation program. As a physical therapist here at Raleigh Orthopaedic Clinic, I am so thankful our group gets to be witness to these victory stories. We have an open line to our doctors about getting you the best medical advice and care. There are several specialties throughout our therapists that allow us to try different techniques and call upon each others’ expertise to get each individual a personal and tailored rehabilitation program. Because of this, we get to be the ones who cheer on how excited you are to put on deodorant after a shoulder injury or to go a full revolution on a bike after a knee or hip surgery. We get to be the ones who hear your goals and smile with you as you walk (even if it’s with a crutch or cane) down the aisle at your child’s wedding or throw a ball with your friends for the first time in a year.
Some of you may be still writing the pages of your injury story with the line of “How is this ever going to get better?” Please know here at Raleigh Orthopaedic, we are more than willing and ready to coach you, encourage you, and cheer with you as you go through your journey to recovery. We want to be there at the end holding our signs that read, “We knew you could do it all along!”
About Adrienne Reich, PT, DPT:
Adrienne Reich is a physical therapist for Raleigh Orthopaedic Clinic. She graduated with her Doctorate of Physical Therapy in 2008 and has since been practicing in the orthopedic clinical setting. Adrienne works closely with students to assist with their clinical education for physical therapy. She lives with her family in Cary, North Carolina and enjoys camping, running 5Ks, and being a mom.