Andrea Wonderlin loves running and enjoys competing in races. Since 2012, racing has been a family activity, with her husband and two sons joining her multiple times a year for ultra racing, half marathons and 5Ks.
However, Andrea found herself on the sidelines for about a year after falling off monkey bars during her 100th Spartan race.
That traumatic injury during the July 2025 race resulted in a severely broken left leg. She was taken by helicopter to the nearest trauma center in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where she underwent surgery for a compound tibia-fibula fracture.
One rod and 3 screws later, the New Jersey resident faced a long road to recovery at Penn Medicine | Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Outpatient Therapy in Woodbury Heights, NJ.
“I was very active before the accident, but now my world stopped,” Andrea said. “I was out of work for about six weeks and really fumbled using crutches. I remember my first physical therapy sessions where they took measurements, and I could not do anything. I could not move my foot backward and forward. I was shocked and wasn’t sure I would ever walk again normally.”
Andrea’s physical therapy plan started with seated and non-weight-bearing exercises twice a week to regain motion, strength and restore overall function of her foot, ankle and leg. Andrea progressed to standing exercises and compound movements, such as squats, lunges and step-ups.
As she progressed through her physical therapy, Andrea’s readiness to resume running was measured by her jumping/landing mechanics and the limb symmetry index.
Once cleared to run again, Andrea had a small setback. Brittany Friedman, PT, DPT, OCS, noticed the issues and sent her for an analysis by a therapist who was an expert in running mechanics. Both therapists agreed on a set of home exercises to improve Andrea’s range of motion and landing mechanics and further strengthen her left leg. This personalized therapy approach helped Andrea reach her running goals and graduate from physical therapy.
“My injury was life-altering, and thankfully the staff at Penn Medicine | Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Outpatient Therapy gave me the support and faith in myself to get back to running,” Andrea said. “Recovery was a long, slow process, but the therapy team was always so positive and knew how to focus me when I was unsure if I was making progress.”
During her many months of physical therapy, Andrea clung to a goal of finishing that 100th Spartan race. Exactly one year after her injury, Andrea returned to the same Spartan event, and it was the joy of finishing that race that pushed her through her fears.
“I did the 5K that day and skipped some of the hanging obstacles, but I earned a finishing time for my 100th race, so I happily checked off that box,” said Andrea, who is now retired from obstacle course and Spartan racing. She continues to run and hike.
“The Penn Medicine | Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Outpatient Therapy team really supported me in my time of need, and I am grateful I am again active,” she said.
