When my doctor recommended I do physical therapy to help with my lower back pain, I was scared. I was 16 and had no idea what to expect. On my first day, my therapist Emily did an evaluation. It turned out that certain muscles in my hips were very weak and unable to support my lower spine which was causing the back pain.
When I came back the second time, she showed me several exercises to strengthen them and she did them all with me. Emily was there the entire time fixing the small things I was doing incorrectly and encouraging me through the fatigue. The first few times were tiring and difficult, but Emily was very kind and energetic and made exercising a lot of fun.
As I continued going the next few weeks, I got to know more of the staff . They all treated me like I was part of their family and the friendly fun atmosphere they created made me excited to go and work with them.
After I had been going for about a month, Emily found out that my lats were also weak. I have been a competitive swimmer for 12 years and lats are kind of important if you want to swim fast! She gave me exercises that helped strengthen my lats on top of all the ones I was already doing for my hips. It seemed like a lot and it was hard to continue doing everything at home. However, within a few weeks, I was beginning to see progress. I began to drop a little time in events that I hadn't been able to for years. It was a small improvement, but very encouraging.
I have stopped going to Noonan's for a few months now but have kept up with the exercises at home. Just recently I dropped several seconds in races that I didn't think I could possibly swim faster in. It was incredible.
I came back in to tell Emily how I was improving and she was really excited for me. It made me very happy to see how genuinely she cared about my progress. The others who were working that day congratulated me as well and it was really neat to see how they care about me too.
The experience the staff gave me was wonderful. It didn't matter if there were only two patients or ten patients in when I went, there was always Emily or a tech (Daniel was my favorite) right there helping and encouraging me through the exercises. I highly recommend Noonan's personalized care to help anyone who needs physical therapy. They changed my life for the better, and now I have zero back pain and hope for a future in competitive swimming. read more