For Cynthia Falone, everyday life revolved around debilitating knee pain stemming from osteoarthritis in both knees. At 53-years-old, the limitations of her mobility began to impact her health.
“My blood pressure was out of whack because of my lack of physical activity,” shares Cynthia. “I was unable to do a lot of walking and exercises because of my knee pain.”
In January 2016, Cynthia underwent a double knee replacement in order to improve her quality of life and overall health. Two days after surgery, her recovery began in at Penn Institute for Rehabilitation Medicine. During her week-long stay, Cynthia underwent daily physical and occupational therapy that would give her the ability to safely return home.
“At Penn Institute for Rehabilitation Medicine, the therapists provided were proactive in anticipating what needed to be done,” shares Cynthia. “Each session had activities tailored so that I could meet my goal to return home where there would be steps.”
The next step of Cynthia’s recovery from double knee replacement surgery was to continue outpatient physical therapy at Penn Therapy & Fitness with physical therapist Cheryl Cocca, PT, DPT, OCS.
After years of adapting everyday activity because of her bad knees, Cynthia was starting from scratch to learn how to properly move with her healthy knees. During outpatient physical therapy, a main focus of treatment was to relearn how to maintain balance and walk normally once again.
To regain function and mobility, Cheryl created a customized therapeutic treatment plan that was targeted to increase range of motion, balance and endurance for Cynthia’s recovery.
“For the first time in years, I was riding a stationary bicycle to build my endurance. Within a month of going to outpatient physical therapy, I realized that my body was improving,”
“For the first time in years, I was riding a stationary bicycle to build my endurance. Within a month of going to outpatient physical therapy, I realized that my body was improving,”
– Cynthia Falone
Patient education is a vital part of therapeutic recovery at Penn Therapy & Fitness, to both encourage patients to manage their symptoms and to continue the progress of what was gained during their sessions.
Now able to enjoy life without being sidelined from pain, Cynthia has been able to take part in an active lifestyle improving her happiness and health. Since the surgery, she has lost 20 pounds because of her ability to be active without debilitating pain, and no long requires pain medication for her knees.
For more information about outpatient physical therapy services at Penn Therapy & Fitness, call 877-969-7342 or request an appointment online.