PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. – Christine Moriconi, a psychiatric nurse practitioner at University of Pennsylvania Student Health, worried she might never return to the full-time job she loves after undergoing right-knee replacement.
Prior to surgery, Christine experienced several functional changes in her daily life. Osteoarthritis runs in the family and Christine struggled with going up and down stairs. She had a difficult time sitting down and getting up, which was challenging being a grandmother of four. Keeping up with family activities while living with constant pain took a toll on her. To leave the pain behind, Chris decided to undergo knee replacement surgery.
Following surgery, Christine had two clear goals in mind: be pain-free and return to full-time work. Although she was nervous to begin physical therapy with Penn Medicine | Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Outpatient Therapy, she shared her fears with her therapists, which helped.
“They normalize the fears you might have,” Christine said. “Doing all the first things is hard, but having the encouragement and expertise was really helpful.”
She added: “You need to be able to trust yourself and these are the people that are going to help you keep moving despite your hesitation.”
One tangible goal stood out: being able to take public transportation again. Prior to therapy, she was unable to take the stairs safely, making it impossible to commute via public transportation.
Because of her physical therapy at Penn Medicine | Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Outpatient Therapy in Plymouth Meeting, Christine can now take public transportation to work and go up and down stairs without assistance. She no longer needs a railing for support. Within a week of returning to work, Christine was back to performing her job at full capacity, even forgetting about her knee altogether.
“It’s really a community that they have built at Plymouth Meeting,” Christine said. “That community has sparked safety and from that safety comes confidence.”
She added: “Physical therapy is the harbor of hope in a really difficult transition from pain to freedom again.”