It’s Saturday morning, and your son is already by the door with his hiking shoes on. You told him you’d go with him, but your knee was aching on the stairs last night. You picture the walk back down and tell him you’ll sit this one out.
Later that afternoon, he asks you to play catch. You grab your glove and head outside. A few throws in, your shoulder starts to ache, so you tell him, “Two more.”
That evening, the group text lights up. Your buddies got a Sunday tee time. You start typing “I’m in,” then remember how tight your back felt on the drive home after your last round. You delete it and send, “I’ll catch you guys next time.”
Each decision makes sense in the moment. But when “next time” starts to become your usual answer, it’s worth paying attention.
I want to know what you’ve been saying no to
When someone comes into Osborne Performance with knee, shoulder, or back pain, one of the first things I want to know is what they’ve stopped doing because of it.
If you tell me your knee hurts on hikes, I’ll ask when you first notice it. Is it on the way up, on the way down, or after you’ve been on your feet for an hour? If your shoulder hurts when you play catch, I’ll ask whether it’s the first throw or the tenth. And if your back feels good on the first tee but starts bothering you on the back nine, I want to know what the round looked like up to that point.
Those details help me decide what to look at during your evaluation. For the knee that hurts downhill, I might watch you step down on one leg and see how it feels over several reps. For the shoulder that aches during catch, I’ll look at your shoulder motion and strength and how you turn through your trunk when you throw. For the golfer whose back gets tired late in a round, I’ll ask about everything the round demands, from walking hills to swinging and bending down to pick up the ball.
The plan should look like the life you want to get back to
If your goal is to hike with your family, I want to know which trail you miss. How long is it? How steep is the way down? Do you sometimes end up carrying your kid for the last half mile?
That gives us something specific to work toward. We might start by building strength and control with step-downs in the clinic, then see how your knee responds to a shorter hike with a gentler descent. If golf is your priority, we might start with a shorter range session or nine holes and use how you feel during the outing and the next morning to plan the next one.
I want you to understand what we’re working on and how it connects to the things you care about. A stronger knee in the clinic is one sign of progress. Getting to the bottom of the trail with your family and hearing your kid ask if you can do it again next weekend is the kind of progress we’re working toward.
If you’ve started passing on hikes, keeping catch to a few throws, or turning down tee times because you’re worried about how you’ll feel afterward, let’s talk. On a discovery call, we’ll talk through what’s been bothering you, what you want to get back to, and whether working together at Osborne Performance in Villa Park is a good fit.
Dr. Ethan Osborne, PT, DPT
Osborne Performance
