Multiple Surgeries Are No Match for Multi-Sport Athlete
When it comes to athletics in the DFW area, Allen High School is known for having a tradition of winning. It’s a place where student-athletes like Christian Fields have the opportunity to see their sports dreams play out. For Christian, that means a future that could include participation in sports well beyond the high school level. But long-term success as an athlete hasn’t always been in the picture for the junior.
During his freshman year of football, Christian had a shoulder dislocation and played through much of the season with pain. It was annoying, but not something that stopped the safety in his tracks. When it was time to move into basketball, however, the pain and repeated dislocations became difficult to ignore.
Christian and his family had no choice but to seek a solution. That’s when they found orthopedic surgeon and sport medicine physician Andrew Parker, M.D., at Texas Health Orthopedic Specialists, a Texas Health Physicians Group practice in Allen.
After meeting with Parker, Christian got the news that he had a torn labrum in his right shoulder. Parker provided Christian with treatment options that included physical therapy, but the young athlete and his family were ready to get the injury behind them. Instead, they chose minimally invasive arthroscopic surgery.
“Dr. Parker was great about letting us know what the reality of the situation was,” explains Christian’s mom, Samantha Fields. “He advised us that we could do PT, but with the tears [Christian had] that approach might not be sufficient. He kept us in the loop with information that wasn’t over our heads and we didn’t feel pushed or rushed into a decision. He explored options with us that made sense.”
A Pathway to Recovery
Arthroscopic labral repair is an orthopedic procedure that aims to restore strength and stability to the shoulder after a dislocation. The minimally invasive procedure provided a way for Parker to address Christian’s injury with the goal of stabilizing his shoulder joint with minimal discomfort and downtime.
During the procedure, small incisions were made around the shoulder through which an arthroscope (a small camera) was inserted to get a clear view inside the joint. The torn labrum was then reattached to the bone using specialized tools and sutures.
With surgery completed, Christian turned his focus to the rehabilitation process that would take place largely within the Athlete Complex at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Allen. The sports medicine complex offer athletes and others access to advanced rehab services with physician specialists and dedicated therapists. Christian worked for months to regain his strength and shoulder mobility under the guidance of orthopedic physical therapist Michelle Pietrowski, PT, DPT, OCS.
A Return to Play Interrupted
Although he missed much of his freshman basketball season, Christian was ready in time for his sophomore year of football. But just three games into the season, a tackle would do him in. As he was going down, a teammate’s foot got caught up with Christian’s, awkwardly turning his leg. He limped off the field unable to walk straight.
It was back to Parker at Texas Health Orthopedic Specialists. The diagnosis this time was a torn ACL and meniscus. The orthopedic surgeon again took a minimally invasive approach that combined ACL reconstructive surgery with a meniscus repair to promote less downtime for Christian.
Still, recovery from ACL and meniscus surgery involves a complex rehab process to gain back strength and mobility in the knee. Christian relied on Pietrowski for a second time to help him do just that.
“Physical therapy for his knee consisted of a large amount of strengthening exercises to the muscles around his knee to improve his strength to pre-injury levels,” Pietrowski says. “We then progressed to sprinting, jumping, cutting/pivoting, and contact drills to simulate the stresses that his knee would be under when he returned to football.”
Back to Being an Athlete
Now in his junior year at Allen High School, Christian just finished with football season — without injury. When spring track season rolls around, Christian will be there too, representing his school as a runner.
He and his family are so grateful for the care the athlete has received more than once from Texas Health that they don’t hesitate to refer to Parker and the team at Texas Health Orthopedic Specialists whenever possible.
“My husband had shoulder surgery done with Dr. Parker, which speaks to the trust we have in him and his professionalism,” Samantha says.
The Fields are not the only ones who came away with a lasting impression from the experience. Parker also found inspiration in the athlete’s health journey. “I was impressed with Christian’s mental toughness throughout his recovery. To go straight from one long surgical recovery to another can be devastating to young athletes, but he had a great attitude towards doing the work and it paid off for him.”
To find a sports medicine or orthopedic specialist near you, visit TexasHealth.org.
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