Makenna’s Story - foot, heel, & calf pain
Before Align
A couple of years ago I injured my Achilles tendon playing hockey. After MRI’s, physical therapy, painkillers, shockwave therapy, and more the doctors told me that I would just have to deal with the pain for the rest of my life. I’ve always been active and enjoyed activities like hockey, biking, hiking, and swimming, but after my injury I couldn’t do almost anything.
It was awful. I was unable to walk, had to slowly limp along, and was very sad. I couldn’t even manage to go outside and play with my friends or walk through a store. When my family went to a Sharks game, my parents had to rent a wheelchair because it was too far for me to walk. I was very embarrassed.
My mom was trying everything she could think of to help me because she knew a 14-year-old shouldn’t have to live with pain for the rest of her life.
The Journey
When I first came to Align I was a little nervous and didn’t know if it would actually work, but within the first month I definitely started to feel improvement.
Align has taught me how to stretch properly before playing sports and how to listen to my body’s pain levels and know when to stop. I’ve learned the importance of hydration, daily stretching and exercise, and that proper shoes make a big difference.
Life After Align
Align has helped me get back to normal life and play hockey again. I’ve gone on backpacking trips, ridden my quad on the dunes, gone for long bike rides, been paddle boarding on the lake and done tons of other activities I wasn’t able to do before.
Now that I’m not in constant pain, I am so much happier. I feel like I missed out on so many activities over the last 2 years because of pain, so I’m keeping my family very busy trying to fit in everything that I missed.
Pass It On: What would you say to someone who is considering starting their Align journey?
For someone else starting their journey at Align, I’d say it’s important to listen to your coach and follow exactly what they say, even if it doesn’t make sense to you at the time.