At a time when her body should be running at its peak, Kara Lehaman found herself paralyzed with pain that had overtaken every aspect of her life.
“I was 25-years-old and in serious pain, simply standing up was excruciating,” explained Kara about her back and knee pain that stemmed from improper sports training throughout her childhood. “I could barely hang out with my friends because of the level of pain, let alone play sports.”
After being told by a chiropractor to stop all physical activity, Kara refused to give into her problems and decided to seek out a different route in treating her pain. Before starting her on injections, Kara was referred to physical therapy as a last resort. As a local resident of Conshohocken, she began treatment at Penn Therapy & Fitness.
Alongside her physical therapist Desirea Caucci PT, DPT, OCS, the cause of her knee pain was identified, and a plan to correct the issues was created. Within weeks, Kara was pain free through the combination of weekly physical therapy sessions and diligently completing her home exercises. After seeing the success Kara began being treating for her back pain that had been plaguing her for years.
Throughout her physical therapy sessions, Kara learned how to strengthen her body and ways adjust her daily habits to become more pain free, including how to sit and stand and what is the best posture.
“I learned what muscles I needed to strengthen and how that would help alleviate my suffering. I quickly found that I was in control. It was healing and liberating,” says Kara about the self-management tools she learned in physical therapy.
After twelve weeks of outpatient physical therapy for her knee and back, Kara was ready to return to her active lifestyle without being sidelined by pain. She continues to maintain her strength as part of the self-care management tools she learned during her physical therapy experience.
“Penn Therapy & Fitness is a friendly, nurturing environment that is healing. They have dedicated and knowledgeable therapists who work with you to create a plan for success,” says Kara, who has referred countless friends and family to Penn Therapy & Fitness. “If you put the work in, it works. With their therapists, it’s not just physical therapy; it’s an education on how our bodies work.”
For more information or to request an appointment, call 877-969-7342 or request an appointment online.