If you are a fan of NBA basketball like I am, I’m sure you were bummed to hear that guard Kyrie Irving will miss the rest of the season because of his shoulder injury.
Mr. Irving, an All-State scholastic player from New Jersey and an All-America player at Duke University, is an amazing athlete and it’s a joy to watch him play the game. When I heard the news my first thought was that I’m hopeful that with the help of his team, friends, and family he will make a speedy recovery and get back to 100%. I’m sure he’s surrounded by a team of rehab professionals that are second to none, much like the team at ProFysio Physical Therapy.
My second thought when the news broke was how can I use some of the information about his shoulder impingement condition that has been made public to teach our patients and young athletes about the importance of caring for your body and investing in your future health. Shoulder impingement and other similar conditions are very common sports injuries.
Lesson No. 1: Conservative care first. Professional athletes have a team of doctors and physical therapists that work around the clock to provide conservative rehabilitative treatment to ensure that they are preventing injury and treating any new injuries. We should be caring for our bodies at the first sight of pain or lack of mobility in the very same way. At ProFysio, you can make a same day appointment at the click of a button on our website or even schedule a free video consultation.
Lesson No. 2: Listen to your body. yrie attempted to return to play after receiving his cortisone injection and while he performed well, his pain returned. He did what is often times best practice – listened to his body, discontinued activity, and sought the advice of his healthcare team. We advise our patients to do the very same thing. At the first sight of pain contact us. Early intervention can prevent chronic long standing pain and dysfunction.
Lesson No. 3: Early intervention is critical. Delaying treatment can have serious consequences on the overall rehabilitation outcome. Instead of opting for multiple injections just to perhaps buy some time, his healthcare team has decided it is best practice to have it surgically corrected right away. In a similar way, initiating early physical therapy at the first sight of shoulder pain may reduce the likelihood of needing more invasive treatment such as injections or surgery.
Lesson No. 4: Staying positive. When asked to comment about Mr. Irving’s situation Brooklyn Nets teammate Taurean Prince stated, “But Ky is one of the most positive people I’ve ever been around this whole process of me knowing him, meeting him since he signed.” Research shows that when our patients believe that their condition will improve and feel that they will have a positive outcome, they are more likely to experience a positive outcome. I find that this is more easily accomplished at ProFysio because our doctors spend a significant amount of time with our patients to explain their condition and most importantly – how we are going to help them achieve their goals.
