PT PRO’S PATIENT SPOTLIGHT Back Surgery Is off the Table — How PT Helped With Chris’ Rehab
Inspired by ThisSavoryVegan.com
Last year, I was removing snow from an RV when I lost my balance and fell. I hit the ground hard and knew instantly something was wrong with my back. I couldn’t get up or do anything else. Thankfully, I had my phone and called for help. Without that phone, I would have been out there for hours before anyone found me. Medics arrived and strapped me into a back brace. It was clear to them what was wrong. I was rushed to the trauma center, examined,
VEGAN POTATO SALAD
and the neurosurgeon made his recommendation: We’ll rule out surgery for now. Instead, I was put on three months of rehab in order to build up strength and partially heal my injury. Of course, after it had healed, they wanted to do the surgery. I was terrified. They also told me that if I didn’t have back pain before the injury, after the surgery, I would likely have back pain for the rest of my life due to the surgery itself. Not great. The good news was, I was cleared for physical therapy. Day one, PT Alice Wong showed me the ropes. We started simple: rolling off the mat and a lot of manual therapy. The goal was to get me back to the point where I could move and bend. Then I graduated to light yoga and Alice put me on the Pilates reformer. It was all about building up strength step by step. It wasn’t long before I was doing most of the exercises on the Pilates reformer, and within a month, I was told I no longer needed the brace! The next thing I knew, I was cleared for cycling, which was very exciting! I even picked up a Peloton for home exercise. The step-by-step approach worked, and I could see my transformation. Alice took a holistic approach, as they do at PT Pro, and reminded me that the goal was to get me out of rehab and back out there with sustained improvement. Last fall, I met with my neurosurgeon. After another round of X-rays, they told me my back had healed really well. The PT worked and everything looked great! So great, they took surgery off the table. I even got a second opinion, and that doctor concluded the same thing, but said it was likely I would need surgery 20 years down the line because of how traumatic the injury had been. Since then, I’ve kept up with the Peloton and at-home exercises, including various stretches and yoga. I still have minor tension in my back depending on what I’m doing, but I can say I’m a fully functioning human, and I appreciate everything Alice and the team has done to get me to this point. Even during the height of the pandemic, they went to great lengths to make PT accessible and make sure I was able to get the PT I needed in order to remove surgery from the equation.
Prep for barbecue season by perfecting this delicious vegan-friendly side dish!
Ingredients
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3/4 cup celery, chopped 3 green onions, chopped
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1 1/2 lbs potatoes, any type 1 cup plant-based mayonnaise
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1 kosher dill pickle, chopped
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2 tbsp white vinegar 1 tbsp yellow mustard
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Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
1. In a large pot, add the potatoes and cover with water. On high heat, bring potatoes to a boil, then lower to a simmer. Cook until tender. 2. Drain the water and let potatoes sit for 15 minutes. 3. In a large bowl, combine mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard, celery, green onions, pickle, salt, and pepper. Place in the refrigerator until ready for use. 4. Once the potatoes cool, slice them into 1-inch pieces. 5. Add the potatoes to the dressing and mix gently to avoid mashing the potatoes. 6. Add more salt and pepper to taste. 7. Cool the dish for 1 hour before serving.
“Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions.” –The Dali Lama
Chris Anderson
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