Meet Angie.
After being thrown from her horse.
Angie had been competing in an equestrian event as a Division 1 athlete in an out-of-state school. She had every opportunity for a promising life ahead of her.
Then she injured her back after being thrown from her horse.
She began completing physical therapy and working with an athletic trainer at her out-of-state school, but decided to return to Colorado to be closer to her family as she recovered. To Angie, it seemed as though what she loved most in life was taken away from her:
“When Angie first started at Physical Therapy of Boulder, she couldn’t walk a full mile, could barely bend forward, and could not sit for any significant period of time, which affected her ability to take classes and to drive.”
When Angie came to us at PTOB, she was improving slowly, but proved to be less than patient with her progress.
Angie’s injuries were complex, and we knew that different specialties would be required. There was no way we could limit her to just one therapist.
While one of our PTOB therapists was assigned to monitor her case overall, several of us had to come together to create and implement the strategies we needed to get Angie back to her normal functioning. We tried several techniques, selecting some and rejecting others, and reassessing Angie’s changing treatment needs as she improved.
We gave Angie the information she needed to ensure that her drive for success didn’t lead to her over-extending herself. We taught her the tools she needed to balance building strength without strain. It was definitely a joint effort!
In the end, Angie was able to make the recovery progress that she wanted without injuring herself.
With a lot of collaboration between our therapists, we were able to get this young, vibrant twenty-something athlete hiking, running, and even back on a horse! Angie was also able to resume traveling internationally again—talk about prolonged sitting!
Angie earned each of her successes. We just coached her along the way!