Katelyn's Story - A Hip and Knee Pain Journey
Katelyn has been one of Align’s youngest clients. She came to Align when she was 14 years old and stayed with us for over 3 years until she moved to college. She came to us scared, confused, and frustrated. At 14, she was in immense pain and was staring down the barrel of double hip and double knee surgeries. Our hearts immediately went out to Katelyn and we wanted to do everything we could to help. She was biomechanically a mess. Her pelvis was unstable and tilted forward, her knees were rotated in, and her feet were rotated out. Her entire lower body was in an extremely unstable, twisted state. It was absolutely no surprise that she was in pain.
Before Align
“I was very active, playing basketball and volleyball year round. As I got older I started to notice knee pain which started getting worse and worse to the point where I couldn’t play sports. Doctors said I would grow out of it, but I never did. The pain continued to get worse so I continued to go to several doctors, physical therapists, and chiropractors. They all had something different to say and nothing worked. I tried different kinds of knee braces, new shoes, inserts, heat therapy, electroconvulsive therapy, and tape. I went to one doctor who gave me a diagnosis of ‘miserable malalignment syndrome, patella tendinitis, and mild hip dysplasia.’ The cure he recommended was surgery on both legs- the recovery would take a year. I knew I did not want to have surgery, but it seemed like my only choice.”
“That Sunday I went to church and a friend told me about this guy, Matthew, who helped change his life and he recommended that I meet with him. I went and it was awesome. What Mathew was saying was so different from everyone else, but seemed to make the most sense. He was determined to help me without having to get surgery... and he did! He was able to help me strengthen the right muscles to pull my knees into place when I move. I knew I needed to do something about my pain when it stopped me from playing the sports that I loved- Align was the answer.”
Why Do You Love Align?
“I love how it feels like a big family and everyone supports one another. I also love how the Align coaches look at every little detail of how your body is aligned to figure out the root cause of your pain. I’ve never been anywhere else that does that. It has helped me so much and their program makes so much sense to me.”
“Align has made a huge impact on my life. I was able to avoid two huge surgeries that would’ve put me out for a year. And I would’ve had to learn how to re-walk. It has helped me become completely pain-free as long as I stay strong. It has changed my life. I am able to be active without worrying about my knees hurting. It has made me more happy because I am able to do what I love pain-free.”
Pass It On…
“My advice would be to work hard and be persistent. For some of us, we have to work super hard to not feel pain and sometimes that can be discouraging or annoying. But if we try and stay positive we can see that waking up to workout is a lot easier than feeling pain everyday.”