“I’m so much stronger now”
- Posted on: Apr 7 2014
When Wendy first saw Dr. James Coomber at Advanced Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, she’d given up on feeling like herself again.
“An orthopedic surgeon told me that he couldn’t do anything for me, and I’d have to live with my pain,” says Wendy, 42, who suffers from a genetic condition that causes chronic muscle spasms and aching joints.
Wendy, who used to be athletic, had been virtually bedridden for four years, and she wanted to regain her strength and endurance. A friend urged her to see Dr. Coomber because she had been successfully treated for another problem. “Just give it a month,” Wendy’s friend told her.
Dr. Coomber assessed Wendy and asked her which body part hurt most. The most painful area was her shoulders; she couldn’t raise her arms above her head without pain.
Dr. Coomber used active release techniques to help break up the adhesions in her muscles. His treatment plan included working with exercise balls, lifting light weights and riding a stationery bike. Wendy also did isometric exercises to strengthen her lower back. “He’d go into the gym and watch me do the exercises to make sure I had the correct form,” recalls Wendy. “He would look at why it was painful for me to move my joints and worked around it.”
Wendy saw Dr. Coomber twice a week for five months. She also had acupuncture treatments, which helped ease her pain. Over time, she was able to do things she couldn’t do before without pain, such as braid her hair and brush her dog.
Before she began PT, she could barely walk a mile without pain, and now she can walk nearly 3 miles without any discomfort. “I’m so much stronger,” she says. “My friends and family say, ‘You look great. Your color is good, and your energy seems higher.’”
Wendy is grateful for Dr. Coomber’s help. “He never gave up on me,” she says. “And he was patient and meticulous. He wanted to make sure I got the exercises right so I could do them on my own at home.”
When Wendy finished her therapy, she was overcome with gratitude for Dr. Coomber: “Thank God for you,” she told him. “I can’t believe how much I’ve improved.”
For more information on how physical therapy and acupuncture can help you cope with a chronic condition, contact us here.
Tagged with: acupuncture, patient story, physical therapy, shoulder pain
Posted in: All Posts, Fitness, Health & Wellness
