On the Field Again

Recovering from surgery, football players credit Summit Physical Therapy staff with return to the game for their senior year.

Varsity football players Daniel Moniz and Zane McElroy both suffered debilitating ­athletic injuries requiring ­surgery, and eventually ­physical therapy, to get them back in shape and on the field for their senior year. The two ­talented athletes play for ­different teams – Moniz for Claremore Sequoyah and McElroy for Collinsville – but their path to recovery led them to Summit Physical Therapy, where hard work, determination and a can-do attitude helped the two ­quarterbacks from missing their last year of high school football.

    Moniz, who also plays free safety for the Sequoyah Eagles, was playing defense in spring ball practice earlier this year when he says he turned the wrong way. “I heard a popping, snapping sound,” he says, “and I thought, ‘not again.’” Familiar with the sound – because it was not the first time Moniz had ­suffered this type of injury, he says, “I had completely torn my ACL and partially torn my meniscus on my left leg when I turned the wrong way that day. I had done the same thing on my right knee when I was in eighth grade, so I knew what it was.”

    Moniz found himself once again in surgery to repair the damage. Two weeks later, he was in physical ­therapy at Summit. “I spent almost four months getting therapy at Summit and doing daily exercises at home,” he adds. “I already knew the exercises and knew what I had to do. I was driven to be back out there on the field.”

    Returning to the field exactly one day shy of four months after his injury, Moniz was cautious because he didn’t want to reinjure the knee. “I had dealt with this before and I knew my limits,” he adds. “The hardest part was getting back in shape, ­getting my stamina back, because I had gained 10 pounds before I began ­physical therapy.”

    Moniz, who is being recruited by major college football teams, highly ­recommends Summit Physical Therapy. “Since they knew me, they pushed me to do more,” he says. “The staff is friendly and caring. They know what they’re doing and I am back to normal or ­better.”

    McElroy, who plays ­quarterback for the Collinsville Cardinals, began playing football during his ­elementary years. His ­shoulder injury, eventually leading to surgery and ­physical therapy, “actually was an accumulation over time,” he says. However, last fall, during the 3rd quarter of the last game of the season, McElroy fell on his right shoulder – his throwing arm. “I heard and felt it pop after the play,” he says.

    He didn’t seek medical help at first, but after the 2012 basketball and golf ­season, he was back in spring football practice when the shoulder popped out of place again. He had torn the labrum in half. Two weeks after surgery, McElroy was also in physical therapy to recover and get back on the field in time for his senior year. Like Moniz, he knew the secret to recovery was hard work and determination, requiring not only coming to Summit five days a week for therapy but also doing ­exercises at home. McElroy still comes to Summit two evenings a week for therapy but was able to play in his first game against Coweta ­during week seven of the ­season.

    “He even earned a ­nomination for the Tulsa World’s Player of the Week his first week back,” says Sean Cox, a registered physical therapist and co-owner of Summit. “Both of these young men are gifted athletes with good character. They are leaders and very focused on the field,” he adds.

    McElroy, who was referred to Summit Physical Therapy by an Oklahoma City PT, says, “Summit cares. They made me want to feel like I could excel and not just give me a bunch of exercises to do,” he says. “Sean even came to one of my football games to watch me play. That meant a lot to me.”

For more information, contact

Summit Physical Therapy

1071 W. Blue Starr Dr., Ste. 105

Claremore, OK 74017

(918) 342-3800

www.ptsummit.com