Often times in life we all get advice from someone, and we wonder,” how do they know how I
feel if they have not gone through this situation’? When it comes to rehabilitating someone
who has had an ACL or meniscus tear in their knee, | can speak from experience. In 2009 |
tore my left ACL and meniscus while playing basketball, which required surgery shortly after.
Once the surgery was done, my rehab started. Even though | knew the exercises and the
process that went into the rehab, | still needed outside help to achieve my goals. Most people
inthis world do not enjoy pain, myself included, so it was hard for me to push myself as hard
‘as someone else could push me. Getting your range of motion back is one of the most
important (and painful) steps of this recovery. This is an area where having help for another
therapist was very needed. Once that range of motion had improved, | could start to progress
my exercises to get back a lot ofthe strength that was lost.
With that experience, | feel I can better understand and appreciate what the patient is going
through during their recovery. Having felt alot of the same symptoms as most people
recovering from an ACL or meniscus surgery, | can give them an idea of if that is a normal
symptom. | was able to get back to running and playing basketball after my surgery, which |
feel proves to a lot of patients that if you put in the work, you can achieve your goals.
Having surgery Is not a fun process for anyone, me included. | feel that one of the reasons a
lot of things happen to us in ife are so we can then teach others what to do when they are in
that same situation. A lot of therapists are good at helping patients recover from a surgery
without ever having the surgery themselves, but | feel having that first hand experience is.
very helpful for me when it comes to helping my patients.
-Albie DeVries, PTA @ our East Beltline Office
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