Lilo came in to see us at Dynamic Sports Physical Therapy in New York City after falling on her right shoulder. Her injury was diagnosed as a fractured humerus and complete tear of one of her rotator cuff tendons. The humerus is large upper arm bone, and the rotator cuff is a group of muscles and tendons that surrounds and protects the shoulder. Fortunately for Lilo, the fracture was nondisplaced, and it did not require surgery.
Lilo started physical therapy with Bridget about three weeks after her fall. After performing an in-depth evaluation, Bridget noticed that the range of motion of Lilo’s injured shoulder was significantly lower than normal, which was preventing her from lifting her arm overhead and reaching behind her back. Three weeks after the injury, Lilo’s shoulder was also still painful and weak.
Lilo is an avid practitioner of yoga, but after the injury, she was unable to perform many of its postures due to the condition of her shoulder. She explained to her therapists that her main goal of treatment was to return to her regular yoga practice and be able to lift weights once again.
Based on her evaluation, Bridget formulated a treatment program to address Lilo’s issues. Treatment started with exercises designed to increase Lilo’s shoulder range of motion, as well as other exercises meant to build back the strength of her rotator cuff and surrounding muscles. As Lilo improved, the exercises became gradually more intense and challenging. Eventually, therapeutic yoga poses were added to treatment as well, which were intended to help Lilo transition back to her regular practice. Each session also began with hands-on therapy of the shoulder performed by Bridget, which included a treatment called Active Release Technique, to reduce Lilo’s muscle tension and further improve her shoulder range of motion.
After four weeks of this treatment, Lilo was able reach completely overhead without experiencing compensations anywhere else in her body. After 10 weeks, she was able to perform a full side plank on her right hand, which is a difficult yoga pose that requires a great deal of shoulder strength.
Dynamic Sports Physical Therapy in New York City produces similar results for just about any injury
Here at Dynamic Sports Physical Therapy in New York City, we are thrilled to see Lilo back into her yoga practice after suffering from such a serious injury. Her return to yoga highlights what we are capable of at our practice: restoring your capabilities and allowing you to return to doing what you love. So if you’ve recently experienced an injury of any sort or are dealing with lingering pain, contact us at 212-317-8303 to schedule an appointment today, or click here to read our last blog on humerus fractures.
