Conditions + Treatments
Shoulder/Labrum Tear
Hi, my name is Summer Moses, and I am from Alexandria, Alabama. I grew up active and played softball, basketball, volleyball, and participated in competitive cheer.
When I was younger, I had three knee surgeries with Dr. Steven Nichols (who retired from Andrews Sports Medicine a few years ago). All of the surgeries performed by Dr. Nichols were successful and had me back participating with my teammates in optimum time.
Fortunately, I had multiple sports scholarships offers during high school, but my softball passion prevailed. I continued my academic career to become a nurse and my athletic journey to play softball at Gadsden State Community College followed by the University of Northwest Florida. I thoroughly enjoyed playing college ball. It was a wonderful and adventurous time as softball was transitioning from slowpitch to fastpitch.
After college, I got married, and my husband and I have two sons. In my free time, I play recreational, adult softball, and coach girls' softball. For many years, I have coached in our local, girls' recreational league. Then, as the girls I coached got older, they aged out of the recreational ball, and that's when I decided to coach both recreational league and travel softball. I have now been coaching some of the same girls for almost ten years! I enjoy coaching rec ball because I love teaching the sport and seeing the girls’ confidence grow. Coaching travel ball provides me the opportunity to continue to develop the girls’ individual skills, talents and chase their dreams.
One day, during a gym workout session, I was doing overhead shoulder presses when I felt a burning sensation in my shoulders. I knew it did not feel right, so I took time off from the gym and did the RICE method for two weeks, hoping it would heal independently.
Two weeks came and went, and eventually, I knew something was seriously wrong, which is when I saw Dr. Daniel Smith, who was fantastic. He immediately knew I had torn my labrum and would likely require surgery. He referred me to Dr. Lyle Cain, who performed my surgery. Dr. Cain is humble and personable. He related to me, answered all my questions, and didn't set unrealistic expectations. The surgery went perfectly.
The day after surgery, I jumped straight into physical therapy, a long road. I could not lift anything more than three pounds for a challenging period. At PT, we focused on getting my mobility back, and slowly but surely, I regained flexibility and strength.
A few days following surgery I was back on the field coaching. Although I couldn't pitch or throw with my girls, I was back on the field, coaching and cheering them on with my arm in a sling. I wanted to set an example for my players that although we are strong, sometimes the strongest thing you can do is seek help from professionals to recover regardless of our gender, age, or occupation.
I love softball because of the long-term relationships that are made and the life lessons that can be learned. When coaching, I remind my girls that softball is more than just the game, that it instills life lessons on how to show up even when you don't feel like it and keep working because it will pay off.
My husband and I play on a co-ed softball team in our free time and thoroughly enjoy it. I pitch, catch and play in the infield. Once Dr. Cain released me to start playing, I focused on making short throws, and progressed to making longer throws. Recently, I not only played catcher, but made long-distance throws with absolutely no pain or discomfort. I am able to do this in less than 9 months from shoulder labrum, bicep tear and A/C joint repair.
I am thankful to Drs. Cain and Smith and the staff at Andrews Sports Medicine. I cannot recommend them enough. As a lifelong athlete, I always know who to call when I need sports medicine care.
