Overcoming elbow injury and returning to wrestling with confidence

Each month, Iron Physical Therapy highlights a special patient to tell their inspiring story. We want to honor the people who go all in - body, mind and spirit. They show us what’s possible - that you can move on from a setback to do amazing things...to challenge your body, to chase your dreams, to address pain in a healthy way to #getbetterbebetter.

Check out Jake’s story below and then click here to read more inspiring patient stories.

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Meet Jake, a dedicated wrestler who came to PT after an elbow ligament tear. From day one, he showed up with a smile, worked hard every session, and stayed determined to get back on the mat for his senior season—and he did it! I even had the chance to watch him compete, and it was amazing! My son has been "wrestling like Jake" ever since.

Now, he is off to wrestle in college, and we couldn’t be more excited for him!

— Dr. Marnie Wortman, PT, DPT

In Jake’s Own Words…

Wrestling is a tough sport, and coming back from an injury like yours isn’t easy. What was your mindset when you first started PT?

When I first started PT, I knew that there was nothing that was going to stop me from stepping back on that mat. I took this motivation and used it, making sure I got the most out of each session.

You were determined to get back on the mat for your senior season—and you did it! What was that first match back like for you? What was it like having your PT there to watch you compete?

That first match back brought an incredible feeling of excitement and readiness with it, as I had waited many weeks to wrestle again. Having my PT there to watch me compete was simply an honor. It made me so glad that Iron was able to get me back on the mat and even see me compete.

PT takes a lot of patience and hard work. What kept you pushing through on the toughest days?

The thing that kept me going through the toughest days was, number one, my family, as they gave me constant and unwavering support. The second thing was knowing what I was doing this all for. I set serious goals and expectations for myself, and the injury was simply a setback.

Now that you're heading to wrestle in college, how has PT helped prepare you for that next level?

PT truly helped me to be healthier and more knowledgeable about how to keep my body going at peak performance. This is going to be incredibly important as I wrestle at the next level compared to high school, especially since I will be on my own with no one telling me what to do.

Looking back, what’s one piece of advice you’d give to another athlete going through rehab for a big injury?

The best piece of advice I could give to someone going through something similar is to be positive about your situation and realize that there is nothing you can do about what happened; you can only change what will come of it and how you respond.

If you could sum up your PT experience in one word, what would it be and why?

One word I would use to describe my PT experience is “growth.” Thanks to my PT experience, my knowledge of health and exercise grew, I grew as a person as I learned how to push through the challenges of recovering from a serious injury, and I grew my social life as I got to meet a bunch of awesome people who were either there to help me get better, joke around with me, or were going through a similar situation of trying to come back from an injury.