For Jessie Contour, a 32-year-old competitive powerlifter living in Austin, Texas, virtual care at Vori Health was a game changer.
“At first I was nervous about telehealth,” says Jessie, who came to Vori Health for knee pain. “But I was really pleased with how easy it was to get an appointment when I needed it.”
Before coming to Vori, Jessie had been struggling with two months of nagging knee pain that had started after a challenging training session. The pain had sidelined her lifting. When she exhausted her personal knowledge of injuries, she knew she needed expert help. “I had done all the usual things. I backed off my training and did exercises to work around the pain, but the pain wasn’t improving and kept getting re-aggravated,” Jessie recalls. “So it was time to consult someone who knew how knees work more than I do.”
“At first I was nervous about telehealth,” says Jessie, who came to Vori Health for knee pain. “But I was really pleased with how easy it was to get an appointment when I needed it.”
A plan for progress
Jessie scheduled a video visit and met with a doctor-led Care Team at Vori Health. Her physician, David Woznica, MD, a specialist in non-operative care, diagnosed her with patellar tracking disorder (a condition in which the kneecap moves out of place when the leg bends or straightens). Dr. Woznica prescribed anti-inflammatories and a specialized brace to help with Jessie’s pain, as well as physical therapy to address underlying muscle imbalances.
In the same video visit, Jessie started working with her Vori physical therapist Jared Aguilar, PT. Jared prescribed a personalized playlist of targeted at-home exercises to progressively challenge and strengthen Jessie’s lower body. They met for several follow-up video visits, and within just a few weeks, Jessie had reduced her pain from 6 to zero and was back to her regular schedule of training and competing.
Convenience was key
For Jessie, who had just opened her own gym in Austin (Home Bar Bell Club)—in addition to teaching at the University of Texas—the convenience factor was critical to her fast turnaround. “During the time I was meeting with Jared, I was really busy,” Jessie explains. “Being able to schedule video visits from home was great. A couple times I was able to do a video visit with Jared while I was at the gym and could even use my own equipment.”
“Finding a PT who shares your philosophy is always important,” says Jessie.
Caring for what really matters
But even more than convenience, Jessie says it was Jared’s understanding of her goals that really moved the needle on her recovery. “I had bad experiences with physical therapists when I first started lifting,” Jessie explains. “I would run into situations where all the advice was ‘You have to stop doing what you’re doing to get better,’” Jessie says. “That’s not correct. The answer to every problem is not to stop training.”
At Vori Health, Jared, who is also an avid weight-lifter himself, addressed Jessie’s concerns and developed a plan to keep her moving—because that was what mattered to Jessie, Jared explains. “Finding out what matters to patients—not just what’s the matter with them—is fundamental to great care,” Jared says. Jessie couldn't agree more: “Finding a PT who shares your philosophy is always important.”
With Vori Health’s support, Jessie not only came back to baseline but exceeded it. Since recovering, she’s hit personal records in both her squat and deadlift. You can catch her at this year’s US Arnold competition.
