Back on the Trails After Knee Surgery
Rick has been active all his life. He served in the United States Marine Corps for several years. Then he worked in construction and at a manufacturing plant on the maintenance crew for decades.
In his free time, he enjoys long walks through the woods with his wife, friend, and dog.
When his knee pain started to slow him down, and various treatments failed to work, Rick opted for a total knee replacement. He consulted UPMC orthopaedic surgeon Craig Mauro, MD.
“He had done my shoulder surgery, and then I started seeing him for my knee,” says Rick, 61. “I got injections for many years, but the knee kept getting worse.”
Recovering from Surgery
Rick underwent a total knee replacement in February 2024. Shortly after surgery, he marveled at how easy it was to get up and walk.
“It was very easy, low pain,” he says. “I woke up in the recovery room and was able to walk. I walked to the desk and walked around and down the hallway.”
Rick and his wife are familiar with physical therapy and recovering from surgery. Rick had rotator cuff surgery and has suffered neck and back pain for years since his time in the service.
His wife has undergone several knee surgeries, including replacements and revisions, on both knees. Each time they require physical therapy to aid healing, pain, and mobility, they visit physical therapist Brian S. Caricato PT, DPT, OCS, FAAOMPT, PSP. Brian is also the facility director at UPMC Rehabilitation Institute: Allison Park.
“I knew exactly where to go. It’s right up the street,” Rick says. “At this place, they make you actually want to go to PT. They are all very friendly and make you feel welcome as soon as you walk in the door.”
Rick says the office runs like a well-oiled machine. Everyone is incredibly friendly and knowledgeable and works together to ensure every patient gets the most out of each visit.
“Brian, with his character and personality and the people he has working with him, all click as a big team unit,” Rick says. “They are all a good, well-working team together. If Brian was unavailable, other members of the team jumped in and were just as helpful.”
Personalized Treatment
When Rick began working with Brian again, this time for his knee, he had three specific goals. First, he wanted to return to long morning walks.
He also wanted to become more active throughout the day to shed extra pounds that had accumulated over the years. Lastly, he wanted to have good mobility to bend his knee.
“I walked right up to the day of surgery and would be dragging my knee behind me,” he says. “So, when I went in, I told Brian I wanted to be able to get back to my walks. I wanted to be able to take the dog, hook up with my buddy, and walk in the woods, up and down hills. That was my goal.”
Brian says that when he's treating patients after knee replacement surgery, the focus is reducing initial swelling, improving the range of motion, and enhancing strength. Then, they work on functional mobility, like comfortably and safely walking up stairs, squatting, hiking, and rebuilding a patient’s endurance.
When developing personalized treatment plans, they also consider each patient’s unique needs, lifestyle, goals, and activities they enjoy.
“During our first visit, we ask the patient what their goals are and what they want to get out of it,” Brian says. “We try to align our treatments to that. It’s all about them. It’s driven by the patient.”
Partners in Care
The team regularly measured how much Rick could bend his knee before and after therapy to track his progress. Brian and the Allison Park team ensured he safely pushed his body’s limits, and Rick used these measurements as motivation.
“Every time, I always wanted to try and beat my old number,” Rick says. “And I did; Brian was impressed.”
Brian says Rick’s motivation and drive were critical to his successful recovery.
“It’s like a partnership in care," he says. "We can only guide them and show them what to do, encourage them, and try to motivate them,” Brian says. “But ultimately, it is up to the patient. We help and guide, and they perform. I credit [Rick] for all his success. He had the drive and motivation and knew where he wanted to go.”
Rick says the team’s encouragement made all the difference.
“They worked with you and asked a bunch of questions. You felt like they were your friends. There wasn't a person in that place who seemed upset about anything. Everyone did whatever they could, and it was always a laughing, happy environment,” he says. “They didn’t push you but encouraged you to do things, and even if it hurt, they encouraged you to keep going.”
Every time Rick left the office after his session, he would say the same thing to Brian.
“I would tell him, 'I feel better walking out than I did walking in the door,'” he laughed.
Back on the Trails
Now, thanks to Dr. Mauro, Brian, and the therapy team at Allison Park, Rick is back on the walking trails most mornings. He says that his wife often joins him, thanks to the work she did at PT.
If Rick requires more physical therapy in the future for his troubled neck and back, he says he knows exactly where he’s going.
“All the goals that I set out to do — to get the knee replaced and make it feel good and get back to walking and back to some sort of normal life instead of sitting back in a chair all day, I have accomplished,” he says. “I’m walking, I'm doing things; I got my bend, everything feels good. And it’s all because of them.”
