Health
Inspired by PT First
Monday Apr 12, 2010
My
wonderful friend, Maria Vega, inspires me endlessly. She is a
marketing director of the Physical Therapy First in Albuquerque.
Thanks to her, Felipe Mares, the owner of PT First, invited me
recently to see how he works with his patients. While I observed
him in his large and well equipped office, I was amazed by the
professionalism of his staff. Everyone was trying to help the
patients in their approach, from the front desk person to the
physical therapist aide to Felipe himself.
Felipe worked with a patient who had issues with his shoulder. He tore a ligament in the shoulder several months before and had a surgery to repair the injured rotator cuff tendon. Now, several months post-surgery, he didn’t have a full range of motion. Felipe worked by stretching the shoulder in slow, progressive movements, with and without the resistance on the patient’s end.
Felipe explained to me that he was working with the deepest layers of the shoulder joint, specifically the labrum. It is a thin sheath that surrounds and protects the joint capsule. He said that because of the long term range of motion restriction before and after the surgery, the labrum became tight and didn’t allow the joint to glide in the socket. Normally, the humerus bone of the upper arm glides up and down in the glenoid cavity when we raise our arms above the head. In the patient’s case, this movement was very difficult and painful.
In the weeks since I shadowed Felipe, I have had several people who manifest Felipe’s patient’s issues: difficulty raising their arms up while leaving their shoulders down, feeling weakness in the arms, and pain when arms above the shoulder height. None of them have had a surgery or trauma; it is more a result of repetitive strain to the area. I now have a better understanding of the joint and movement in it. I work with the arm and the joint in a way that helps the deepest layers to give a little bit of freedom to the socket area. Often, the smallest amount of change can give way to normal movement and progressive recovery. Thank you, Felipe!
Felipe worked with a patient who had issues with his shoulder. He tore a ligament in the shoulder several months before and had a surgery to repair the injured rotator cuff tendon. Now, several months post-surgery, he didn’t have a full range of motion. Felipe worked by stretching the shoulder in slow, progressive movements, with and without the resistance on the patient’s end.
Felipe explained to me that he was working with the deepest layers of the shoulder joint, specifically the labrum. It is a thin sheath that surrounds and protects the joint capsule. He said that because of the long term range of motion restriction before and after the surgery, the labrum became tight and didn’t allow the joint to glide in the socket. Normally, the humerus bone of the upper arm glides up and down in the glenoid cavity when we raise our arms above the head. In the patient’s case, this movement was very difficult and painful.
In the weeks since I shadowed Felipe, I have had several people who manifest Felipe’s patient’s issues: difficulty raising their arms up while leaving their shoulders down, feeling weakness in the arms, and pain when arms above the shoulder height. None of them have had a surgery or trauma; it is more a result of repetitive strain to the area. I now have a better understanding of the joint and movement in it. I work with the arm and the joint in a way that helps the deepest layers to give a little bit of freedom to the socket area. Often, the smallest amount of change can give way to normal movement and progressive recovery. Thank you, Felipe!