Prehabilitation helps prepare for surgery

On the last day of their California trip, Deborah Phillpeck, 65, and her family decided to take a long electric bike ride. Deborah hit an unexpected bump at 18 miles an hour and was launched into the air! She landed with her arms outstretched and was badly scraped and bruised. Not knowing the severity of her injuries, she finished the bike ride.

Having thought that the worst of the pain was in her knee, it took a couple of days to realize what injuries had occurred. "I went to throw the ball for one of my dogs, and the whole motion didn't work." It was at this moment that Deborah called her orthopaedic surgeon, Dr. Jason Schneider.

After a consultation with Dr. Schneider and an MRI, she explains, "It [the injury] didn't break anything, but it [the injury] tore my rotator cuff and bicep." For this injury to heal, Dr. Schneider recommended surgical intervention. At the time, Deborah was the primary caregiver to another member of her family who was undergoing health issues. This made scheduling surgery more challenging.

As an alternative to immediate surgical intervention, Dr. Schneider recommended going to prehabilitation. Prehabilitation (Pre-hab) is designed to help your body prepare for surgery to optimize the odds of a good outcome and for speedy recovery.

Deborah felt little fear going into her surgery, she explained "Dr. Scheider made it clear what the expectation of surgery was and had full confidence in his team, which gave me confidence going into the surgery." The surgery went as expected and Deborah started rehabilitation the week following. "According to the Physical Therapist, I progressed very quickly. And I was chomping at the bit to start my normal activities after three months."

I really appreciate, being an older athlete, that I was treated as someone who should get out there and be fixed so that I can do and enjoy activities I love.

While she felt ready at the time, Dr. Schneider kept her focused on a full recovery, explaining that bodies, especially those within her age bracket, needed time before reentering into activities that could reinjure her shoulder. "I didn't want to listen to him, but I did. And it was hard." She said with a laugh.

A little over five months after the surgery Dr. Schneider gave his seal of approval for Deborah to restart her physical activities. She jumped back in and attended an OrangeTheory Fitness class that day! Now, Deborah is enjoying being active and will participate in a soccer tournament in the fall.

Dr. Schneider and all the staff at Resurgens are proud that they were able to help Deborah get back to participating in the athletic activities she loves and continue to reach for more..

If you have questions about treatment options for your injuries contact one of our 24 convenient Resurgens Orthopaedics locations.