Thanks to Rock Valley Physical Therapy’s Madison Davenport, PT, DPT, Norma Hruska is back to hitting the links.
Recently, Hruska injured her shoulder lifting a heavy box and sought the help of Davenport, who calls Regional Health Services Rock Valley’s Cresco, Iowa, clinic home.
After five weeks of therapy – and dedicating herself to getting better outside Rock Valley and Regional Health Services walls – Hruska is back in search of fairways and greens.
It must be noted that Hruska was an ideal patient.
According to Davenport, the ever-upbeat Hruska was inquisitive in the best possible way and was always seeking answers and solutions from Davenport regarding the anatomy and mechanics of her shoulder. All was done in hopes of improving her outcome and a better understanding what led to her injury.
“Norma was always pleasant and would get so excited when she started to gain more motion without pain,’’ Davenport said, sharing how great it was to help Hruska achieve her goals of returning to her active lifestyle. “She came to me with complaints of shoulder pain after lifting a heavy box. Her husband had been a patient with us in the past, so she came in as a self-referral.’’
Davenport, knowledgeable, compassionate, and dedicated to “Making Better Lives,’’
says she devised a comprehensive plan to rehabilitate the injured shoulder, put it in motion, and Hruska responded to all that was asked of her.
“We started with lots of active, assisted range of motion with pulleys and dowels,’’ Davenport said. “Norma also benefited from manual massage work to her shoulder so we found ways she could do that at home in order to progress quicker.’’
Hruska, Davenport boasted, even shined outside the Regional Health Services Rock Valley clinic.
“Norma was a great patient and was diligent about doing her homework at home, which could be seen during our sessions and allowed us to progress quickly,’’ Davenport noted. “Norma is a good example that when you put in the work, you can get better faster. I saw her for nine visits when we scheduled 14. She was able to get back to golfing and her normal activities faster than even she thought possible because of her efforts at home.’’
Hruska understood the landscape, having benefited from physical therapy before.
“I had a shoulder injury years ago and physical therapy gave me a program to follow at that time,’’ Hruska shared. “So naturally I sought out PT again.’’
Davenport, a Des Moines, Iowa native, who earned her undergraduate degree from Luther College in Exercise Science and her doctorate degree from Arcadia University, won the praise of Hruska.
“Madison treated my shoulder for five weeks,’’ Hruska said. “I was pleasantly surprised how accurately she diagnosed my injury on the first meeting, easing into some exercises, massaging the muscles, and using ice. As time went on, she increased exercises and gave me homework. I am golfing again without pain. I am so grateful to Madi for her expertise in guiding me through rehabilitation.’’
For Davenport, she has found the perfect career, surrounded by like-minded, dedicated people who care.
“I love what Rock Valley stands for, and that is what drew me into being a part of this community,’’ Davenport said. “The reason I wanted to be a therapist was to help make people better, which is Rock Valley’s motto “Making Better Lives”.
By: Johnny Marx, Rock Valley Storyteller