Will’s Story - Shoulder and Hip Pain

Before Align

I’ve always lived a really active lifestyle. I’d spent years in Santa Cruz surfing, and more recently mountain biking and dirt biking, but major pain in my hip and both shoulders was keeping me from being able to live the lifestyle I wanted without major limitations. 

My hip pain was excruciating. If 10 is the worst, it was running really close to 10 often. It’s hard to know if there was a specific injury…It just progressively deteriorated over time, and had been happening for ten years. I'd had people try to work on it. I’d had myofascial release. I’d had deep tissue massage. I’d been doing yoga for 20 plus years. I tried to do what I knew to help it, but nothing I did seemed to work.

I couldn't even enjoy going on a walk with my wife. I clearly remember having to tell her, “I just can't go. It hurts too much.” There were years where I was coaching soccer and I clearly remember having to make the decision between participating in a drill or just trying to explain because it hurt too much to do the movements.

It didn't feel like it was ever getting better.

I also had left shoulder pain for years. I think all the years of surfing extended it. So it deteriorated for about five years and just kept getting worse. At times I couldn’t even close my truck door with my left arm because of the pain. I didn't think there was going to be a way to recover.

I was still riding my bike at least three days a week, coaching the mountain bike team, and then riding dirt bikes with my son, but the recovery times afterwards would be a lot longer. It could be a couple weeks of taking Advil, hot showers, ice, using the massage gun on it or, or anything to try and alleviate the pain. The pain levels were pretty high. I couldn't reach up above my head and washing my hair hurt. Everything in my life was really a compromise.

First Impression

Before I came to Align, I was actually planning to get surgery for my shoulder if I couldn’t find anything else. My wife really encouraged me that there had to be another way. She had heard of Align through a friend and told me to check it out.

I was immediately impressed at how they know the mechanics of the body at a deeper level than anyone I've ever seen, experienced, or talked to. And they also focused on the different connections in the body. They didn’t just look at my shoulder because they knew other other things, like my foot, could be affecting that. Their thoroughness of understanding of how it all plays together resonated with me instantly. I realized, “oh, it is all related and I need to listen to what they're saying and do what they tell me I need to.”

The Journey

The knowledge that the Align team has of the mechanics of the body is amazing–that ability to look at the way a person's walking and identify areas that need to be strengthened. The consistency of it was another big plus for me. Having somebody to hold me accountable helped immensely, and the exercises were diverse. Every session used different techniques to exercise similar areas, so it didn’t get boring. The camaraderie is great too. You start to develop a relationship with the other people, and everybody's holding everybody accountable. So that's really a good thing for someone like me who is super busy and struggles to follow through on their homework and do the exercises on their own time. I also really need someone to look at me and tell me if I’m exercising correctly. You just can't get that on your own or on an app or video. Align gave me that. 

I noticed as the first year went by here, as we were still working on the pain in my hip, that I was able to go do bike races and be more or less recovered within a couple of days, whereas before it would take a lot longer. After a lot of time and consistency, today I have zero restrictions in my shoulder. No restrictions, and no pain. My arms go up over my head no problem. I can stretch and I can wash my hair. Honestly, it's a miracle. I feel stronger, and the recovery after big exertions is nine times faster than it used to be.

Now for the most part, I have almost no pain in the hip. It will “talk to me” when I neglect to do my glute strengthening exercises and lateral band walks. When I remember to do those more regularly, I'm fine and there's no pain. Even so, there are no restrictions to my life and it feels great. I recently completed a three week long backpacking trip with 50 pound packs and big elevations gains. My hip stayed strong. 

Advice for Others Experiencing Pain

I tell people all the time to come to Align and get your free initial consultation. It doesn't cost you anything. Get in here and talk to them. You'll see what they know is valuable. And then the real advice would be to have patience. It's going to take time and you have to be consistent. It's not a quick fix or a pill that's going to fix you immediately. It’s about getting to the root of the problem, but once you work through it, you will be better instead of being back for the next surgery.

You got to get in here first. And once you’re here, you’ve got to have the patience to stick with it.