[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2019\/08\/davids-story-rotator-cuff\/#Article","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2019\/08\/davids-story-rotator-cuff\/","headline":"David\u2019s Story: Dual Rotator Cuff Recovery for Racquet Sports Businessman","name":"David\u2019s Story: Dual Rotator Cuff Recovery for Racquet Sports Businessman","description":"\u201cHe literally took out a pen, drew a diagram on the exam table paper, and said, \u2018This is, generically, how it needs to be done.\u2019 I remember looking at that and thinking, \u2018I\u2019m in the right place and with the right person. I\u2019m in good hands.\u2019\u201d \u2014David A Personal and Professional Passion For as long […]","datePublished":"2019-08-21","dateModified":"2023-04-17","author":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.upmc.com\/services\/sports-medicine-regions","name":"Sports Medicine","url":"https:\/\/www.upmc.com\/services\/sports-medicine-regions","sameAs":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/sports-medicine\/","parentOrganization":"UPMC"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"UPMC HealthBeat","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/UPMC-HealthBeat-Logo.png","url":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/UPMC-HealthBeat-Logo.png","width":600,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/pickle_blg.jpg","url":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/pickle_blg.jpg","height":327,"width":754},"url":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2019\/08\/davids-story-rotator-cuff\/","about":["Sports Medicine","UPMC Stories"],"wordCount":976,"articleBody":"\u201cHe literally took out a pen, drew a diagram on the exam table paper, and said, \u2018This is, generically, how it needs to be done.\u2019 I remember looking at that and thinking, \u2018I\u2019m in the right place and with the right person. I\u2019m in good hands.\u2019\u201d \u2014DavidA Personal and Professional PassionFor as long as he can remember, David has been heavily involved in the sports world.Nearly 25 years ago, he made his personal passion for sports a professional one by securing a job at a well-known racquet sports company. Today, he is an international businessman at that same company, spreading his passion for pickleball, one of the fastest-growing sports in America, worldwide.\u201cBeing in this business means that I have to be a participant,\u201d David says. \u201cMy job requires me to play sports, in addition to representing the company.\u201dUnfortunately, the heavily active lifestyle so important to David took a toll on his shoulders and resulted in one of the most common injuries in players of racquet sports. He pushed the rotator cuffs in both of his shoulders to a point of immense pain and weakness. His right shoulder was so painful that, at one point, he couldn\u2019t even hold up the equivalent of a coffee cup in his hand.\u201cFrom constant and regular weight resistance training, I had worn my shoulders down,\u201d David says. \u201cBy the time I had reached this point, I had already gone way too far.\u201dIt became clear it was time to do something about it.The Search for Shoulder ExpertsHaving decided to get his shoulders medically evaluated, David visited and received a diagnosis from professionals at another health system. He was determined to get his lifestyle back and was willing to travel anywhere to seek treatment.This determination led him to search the internet for sports medicine shoulder experts, which, in turn, led him to UPMC Sports Medicine and orthopaedic surgeon Albert Lin, MD.David described his first appointment with Dr. Lin and a moment that he will never forget: \u201cHe literally took out a pen, drew a diagram on the exam table paper, and said, \u2018This is, generically, how it needs to be done.\u2019 I remember looking at that and thinking, \u2018I\u2019m in the right place and with the right person. I\u2019m in good hands.\u2019\u201dKnown for explaining his diagnoses and surgical plans in creative ways to increase patient understanding and comfortability, Dr. Lin did nothing less for David.\u201cIt was something very archaic, with all of this technology, but that is how he needed to communicate it to me,\u201d David said.Dr. Lin recognized the extent of the damage in both of David\u2019s shoulders and, over the next few years, performed two surgeries to repair them \u2014 one on each shoulder.In 2013, Dr. Lin performed an arthroscopic rotator cuff repair on David\u2019s right shoulder, the more severe of the two. A year later, he performed the same surgery on his left shoulder, which was less severe but still seriously damaged.A third surgery repaired a torn tendon at the elbow. After two arthroscopic rotator cuff repairs and recoveries, Dr. Lin performed a distal biceps tendon repair at the elbow to fully restore the function of David\u2019s arm.David says Dr. Lin thoroughly prepared him for what was to come.Three Successful SurgeriesAfter his first surgery, David was eager to complete the post-op period, typically three to six months long, as quickly as possible.\u201cIn the back of my mind, I thought, \u2018I\u2019ll reduce the time by half.\u2019 That was just my ego talking,\u201d David says.In the end, he followed the post-op rehabilitation plan very closely with the encouragement of Dr. Lin and the persistence of his physical therapist.At the UPMC Rehabilitation Institute outpatient rehabilitation clinic in Monroeville, Tom O\u2019Malley, PT, MS, helped David make a full recovery. O’Malley developed a personalized rehabilitation plan and safely returned David to his active lifestyle.\u201cTo this day, I am so thankful for following the plan as it was outlined, because I believe that that was the key.\u201d David says. \u201cBeyond the surgical procedure, I think that following the post-op plan was the biggest part of my success with both operations.\u201d‘The Forrest Gump of Woodland Hills’After his surgeries, David\u2019s mental rehabilitation became just as important as the physical. To avoid becoming lazy as he recovered, David walked the roads of the Woodland Hills area twice a day.\u201cDuring this rehab time, it was very common to see me out there,\u201d David says. \u201cMy arm was in a sling with a pillow, so even if you didn\u2019t know who I was, people would be going by just beeping the horn. A lot of people who didn\u2019t know me came to know me just from seeing me on this regular walking routine for months. The community quickly came to know me as the \u2018Forrest Gump of Woodland Hills.\u2019\u201dHaving gone through three surgeries in about three years with Dr. Lin, David had nothing but great things to say about his experience. From providing David with his cell phone number, to truly exemplifying the patient-provider relationship, Dr. Lin made David feel at ease from day one; David says he\u2019d recommend him to \u201canyone and everyone.\u201dAdvice After RecoveryWhen asked what advice he\u2019d give to others suffering from rotator cuff pain, David stressed the importance of trusting the doctor and physical therapist in following the rehabilitation plan.He remains in touch with Dr. Lin and says he can\u2019t remember his right shoulder ever feeling better than it has been since that first surgery.\u201cMy shoulders are beyond 100 percent compared to the way they were,\u201d he said.Editor's Note: This article was originally published on August 21, 2019, and was last reviewed on December 6, 2022."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2019","item":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2019\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"08","item":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2019\/\/08\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"David\u2019s Story: Dual Rotator Cuff Recovery for Racquet Sports Businessman","item":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2019\/08\/davids-story-rotator-cuff\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]