Right on Track

Physical therapy after joint replacement helps patients return to their everyday activities. It restores normal movement, builds strength and eases pain and swelling. But when the body doesn’t heal as expected, it throws extra hurdles in a patient’s recovery road.  

After his right knee replacement, Mike Zobel of Arlington discovered his body doesn’t efficiently break down scar tissue. Without much improvement after five weeks of physical therapy post-surgery, his orthopedic surgeon manipulated his knee to unlock it. 

“My surgeon said I was one of the one percent. When I get scar tissue, I get it really bad, and that affects the way [the joint] will bend,” said Mike.

His surgeon wanted him to continue physical therapy. Based on his son’s recent experience, this time Mike opted for PT at Brookings Health. 

“I was kind of looking for somewhere to go after or before work that was close so I could come and not have to drive a half hour to work after I got done,” said Mike, who works at Bel Brands. 

Physical Therapist Stan Halseide helped Mike regain full movement and function of his right knee. It was so successful that when Mike needed his left knee replaced, he chose PT at Brookings Health System right away. 

“They knew what to look for,” said Mike. “When things weren’t going how it was supposed to, they knew how to try a different technique.”

His left knee came with some additional challenges. Because he had been bow-legged, his muscles and tendons required special exercises to lengthen and straighten them. And Mike still had the scar tissue issue to contend with. 

“It was going along great for two weeks, and all of the sudden, we hit that stretch where [the knee] doesn’t do anything. Stan was right on top of it. He called my surgeon, and yep, we need to go in and manipulate it,” said Mike. “I was kind of hoping to avoid [manipulation], but then we were right back on track again.”

That track included getting Mike back to work. He was out for three months after his first knee replacement. Because of Stan’s knowledge and expertise, Mike was back to work part-time in only six weeks.

“It seems pretty simple, but from the tail end of the [right knee] to the beginning of [the left knee], the exercises that I was doing and the techniques they did are what I would consider got me going faster than I did the first time.”

The PT team’s knowledge, combined with equipment and a variety of exercises specific to Mike’s situation, helped him get back to his daily routine.

Hear the rest of Mike’s story at brookingshealth.org/MikeZ.