Shane Hunt - Beach Volleyball Athlete

I was 13 years old the first time I touched a volleyball, and ever since then, I have been hooked. I wanted to play as much as possible, whenever possible. Being a naïve young athlete, I was convinced that I was invincible and that my body would be fine no matter how hard I swung or how much I played. That attitude got me through most of my high school career. But once I began playing in college, the years of neglect started to catch up. After a match, I was barely able to raise my hand above my head. I saw other physical therapists and athletic trainers which often were able to slightly ease the pain, but never in such a way that lasted.

After moving to NYC and finding an awesome volleyball community and playing more than ever, the chronic pain started to come back. I told myself that it was just a part of being an athlete and that there was simply nothing that I could do about it. After a 2-day tournament and a very sore shoulder, I was approached by a friend who recommended ActiveCare Physical Therapy. I told her that I would consider it, but in my head I thought that painless playing just wasn’t possible.

My first day at ACPT, I met Kelly Picciurro. After a few days of coming in with pain of a 6 or a 7 (scale out of 10) upon raising my arm, she was able to bring my pain down to a 1 or a 2 in just 30 minutes of working on me. I was amazed. In all my experience with sports medicine, I had never felt so much relief so quickly. After 3 months of seeing Kelly two or three times a week, I was coming in with no pain, and feeling stronger than ever. She clearly explained to me exactly what was going on in my shoulder and what I needed to do to keep it strong and pain free. I have since ‘graduated’ from PT, and still have been playing pain free for months. Thanks to Kelly, I now have the tools to keep my body strong and healthy for a long time to come.

To all of the skeptics that think playing without pain is not possible, check out ActiveCare Physical Therapy!