For Mary Barrow, simple pleasures like taking walks with her husband became difficult after two falls left her with chronic back pain and unsteady knees. When injections didn’t fully relieve her symptoms, the 71 year old wasn’t sure what to do.
“It was annoying,” Barrow said about her back pain. “It was like a toothache. It was always there.”
Barrow was also experiencing weakness in her knees, with them sometimes giving out while she walked. She eventually saw her pain management doctor, Aditya Patel, M.D., at Mountainside Medical Center for treatment.
When Dr. Patel told her he was sending her to physical therapy to help with the pain, Barrow was skeptical.
“I had a hard time believing that my doctor was telling me to go to physical therapy,” she said. “I said, ‘for pain?’ He said, ‘Yes, Mary, you’d be surprised.’”
Unexpected relief
Mary began seeing Dr. Robert Tucker, a physical therapist. Her treatment involved massage and exercises to strengthen her knees and back. She said even though some of the movements were painful, Dr. Tucker encouraged her the whole time.
“I was surprised because working with [Dr. Tucker], he made a believer out of me,” she said.
He gave her exercises to continue at home, so her knee wouldn’t weaken over time. The combination of at-home exercise and visits to the physical therapy clinic got her back on her feet, with steadier knees, and less back pain.
“I went from pain, pain, crying pain sometimes to, I can walk,” Barrow said.
A standout PT team
Barrow described her experience at Mountainside’s outpatient physical therapy clinic as “phenomenal.” They helped her with a personalized plan and paid close attention to her progress.
“It’s a one-on-one program,” she said. “Everybody is so attentive and nice. It was a pleasant experience, and I met a lot of nice people.”
Barrow was particularly touched by Dr. Tucker’s positive attitude toward her and her treatment, describing him as, “very happy, always smiling, always the same, never moody, never judgmental, never mean.”
Back to an active life
Baking, sewing and walking with her husband are a big part of Barrow’s everyday life. Now, she has returned to her usual activities without unsteadiness or pain and looks forward to walking with her husband again.
“I like to do those things,” she said. “My husband and I would walk the park when I could walk. And now we’re getting ready to go back and start our walking.”
Barrow is now a firm believer in the effectiveness of physical therapy for pain relief. She encourages others experiencing chronic pain to explore their treatment options and ask questions.
“Before you go for surgery, before you even think that… tell your doctor that you want to go to physical therapy.”