Caron Cooper was feeling “busted up” with chronic shoulder and lower back pain and had been holding stress in her body ever since running an intense political campaign the previous year. “I was sick of feeling old and debilitated at the age of 58,” says Cooper.
She saw physical therapist Max Bartlett at Granite Sports Medicine with the goal of feeling better and self-managing her pain. He says Cooper wasn’t eager to do exercises at home so he asked if she was willing to do 10 minutes at day in order to feel better the other 23+ hours a day. “She led herself to the practical conclusion that a few minutes of home exercise was a worthwhile investment. Her willingness to exercise snowballed from that point forward as she began to improve,” Bartlett says.
Cooper’s had two months of physical therapy at Granite Sports Medicine, including dry needling, physical therapy and exercises to do at home. She also got foot orthotics to help with balance. The outcome is that her days are now primarily pain-free, she has more energy, a more positive attitude, and has met her goal of being able to do an exercise class.
“I learned that help doesn’t come from just one thing, but having the whole body treated, and how each part affects the other,” says Cooper. She also enjoys the experience of being at Granite Sports Medicine’s physical office and appreciates that they have appropriate, loose-fitting clothing for her to wear for therapy so she doesn’t have to wear a special outfit on therapy days. “It’s a huge convenience; I can just go and everything’s there,” Cooper says.