My Hinge Health Story: Shirley

“Hinge Health is a blessing in so many ways. The coaches are the nicest people who really care. If I hadn’t tried Hinge Health, I would still be in a lot of pain and really sad. I’m so grateful that the program was free, so I don’t owe thousands of dollars for physical therapy. All I had to do was to be dedicated, listen to my coach, and do what she recommended.”

Meet Shirley

Shirley is a middle-aged woman with an active lifestyle. She enjoys exercising, reading, and decorating her home. Over the years, she has experienced a series of musculoskeletal issues ranging from knee pain to a frozen shoulder and back pain.

How Pain Impacted Shirley’s Life

My knee pain started in the late 1990s when I did step aerobics at home. Unfortunately, that pain progressed over the years. It got to the point where I was afraid to walk up or down steps. That was a problem at work, since our office has multiple floors. I always had to take the elevator, rather than walking up the stairs.

About two years ago, I had frozen shoulder in my left arm. I’m not sure what caused it, but it was the most excruciating pain I’d ever experienced. I couldn’t raise my arm or carry anything. I was unable to close my car door, put on clothes, or do chores around the house. I used funds from my healthcare reimbursement account to pay for six weeks of physical therapy. When my physical therapy benefit ran out, my shoulder still wasn’t 100% better.

After working from home during the pandemic for nearly two years, I started having twinges in my back. Once we returned to work, I had trouble carrying my laptop and books back and forth. I had to purchase a little rolling cart to carry these things.

Shirley's Turning Point

If I hadn’t tried Hinge Health, I would still be in a lot of pain and really sad. I’m so grateful that the program was free, so I don’t owe thousands of dollars for physical therapy. All I had to do was to be dedicated, listen to my coach, and do what she recommended. I love doing the exercises. Even sitting here right now, I’m doing some stretches.

Hinge Health is a blessing in so many ways. The coaches are the nicest people who really care. Everybody needs to know about Hinge Health. I can’t say enough good things about the program.

How Hinge Health Helped

My first introduction to Hinge Health was with my knee pain. I was so impressed with the program. My coach was amazing. I loved that the Hinge Health app showed me how many times I’d done a playlist. That was really important to me. I wanted to keep up with the program, so if I missed a day, I worked extra hard the next time. Today, I can walk up stairs and no longer need to take the elevator at work.

When my physical therapy benefit ran out for my frozen shoulder, I still wasn’t fully recovered. I received an email saying that Hinge Health offered a shoulder program. I thought, “My prayers have been answered.” I enrolled in the program immediately and worked with a fantastic coach who encouraged me, helped me stay on track, and provided me with little rewards after reaching certain milestones.

My coach also sent me in-depth articles. Those were such a great help, enabling me to understand that motion is lotion for my joints. My shoulder is now 100% better. I can pick up heavy things and lift my arm. If I feel a twinge in my shoulder, I just go back to the stretches and the pain goes away.

Early in 2023, I started Hinge Health’s back program. One thing that really helped me was the Enso device that delivers pain relief through electrical impulses. I put the gel pack on and connected the device to my cell phone. It was like a massage for my back. Enso helped with the pain immensely and gave me the confidence to kickstart the exercise portion of the Hinge Health program. Today, I have no issues with my back. I can bend down and pick things up off the floor without holding on to a chair. And I don’t need to use my rolling cart to carry things anymore.

Shirley's Advice

Please just give Hinge Health a try for at least two weeks and see how things go. Stop putting it off because you feel like you don’t have the time. Look at me -- I can bend down now and I have full use of my arm.