BRENDAN
Brendan is a 28-year-old who fractured his left shoulder during a motorcycle accident where he was run off of the road. He tried to rehab his shoulder on his own, but eventually opted for surgery. He had a distal clavicle open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) (surgery that puts pieces of a broken bone back together using screws, plates, sutures, or rods), which was performed by Dr. Fortney. He came to Apple Bedford with significantly limited range of motion (ROM) and strength.
Initial treatment focused on increasing ROM without increasing pain. As his ROM was improving, we were able to initiate some gentle strengthening, which was well tolerated. With the addition of wall walks, his ROM improved quickly. His home exercise program was focused on gaining range of motion, which we could see improved his mobility between clinic visits. During all of this, he was gaining strength, but still felt weak. His job requires great upper body strength to perform his work duties (including climbing ladders and reaching overhead) as a cell tower worker. Over the last couple of weeks, his strength has really improved and work-related activities were introduced as part of therapy.
Brendan has pushed himself to improve, both at PT and at home, and has done a great job! He will return to work next week after his follow up with Dr. Fortney
Congratulations Brendan!
