Keep an eye out for an inspirational ad this Super Bowl Sunday for Winter Olympics, “Best of U.S. Lindsey Vonn.” World-renowned skier, Lindsey Vonn, shows her journey towards becoming an Olympian, and her experience following traumatic injuries. In this ad, it’s clear it will take much more to keep Vonn down. This inspiring story showcases Vonn’s never-wavering persistence and strength, and the impact of rehab therapy on even some of the toughest injuries.
Vonn is ready for her comeback in the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Games.
In 2014, Vonn withdrew from the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, after fracturing the tibial plateau in her left knee. Just two years later, she broke her humerus of her right arm in a training crash at Copper Mountain. She sustained severe nerve damage and was rushed to emergency surgery. Following the surgery, Vonn couldn’t move her right hand.
As soon as possible, Vonn began a very tough battle to regain “feeling, motor control and strength.” (The Denver Post).
“I woke up from surgery and had no function of my entire hand. I worked closely with my friends and physical therapists, Lindsay Winninger and Patrick Rottenhofer, every day to slowly regain my motor function,” Vonn wrote on her Facebook page.
Vonn shared a video on her Facebook page of her rehab journey with therapists Winninger and Rottenhofer in Colorado. Throughout the video, you can see Vonn go from struggling just to straighten out her fingers, to racing on the icy slopes once again. Her PTs offer support and encouragement along the way.
“This has been the hardest recovery of my career to date, but thankfully it has taken less time to heal than my knee injuries. After my eight-week checkup with Dr. Hackett, my bone showed significant healing and I was given the green light to start training and if I was comfortable, start racing,” Vonn wrote.
Without her perseverance and intensive rehab therapy, Vonn wouldn’t be where she is today – ready to compete in the next Winter Games. Physical therapy has proven to be essential to the speedy recoveries of so many athletes and everyday people alike. Each day therapists help patients get back to the quality of life they desire and reach the goals they dream of.
Watch for Vonn’s Super Bowl ad this Sunday, and share her incredible story with other therapists and your patients. This is why you do what you do – so your patients’ dreams can come true! (Like what I did there?)
FYZICAL’s own “PT to the Stars,” has been able to spend more time doing what he loves, all thanks to FYZICAL helping him become a better practitioner, better person and better business owner.