Steven Krzywda of Danielson: How an Army of One Cured My Debilitating Back Pain

Steven Krzywda is a lifetime resident of Northeast Connecticut with an obvious love for the Quiet Corner. He was born at Day Kimball Hospital, grew up in Danielson, and is now an English professor at the University of Connecticut. His passionate but matter-of-fact manner of speaking illustrates both his youthful energy (at 65 he could easily pass for 15 years younger) and his “can-do” attitude. So it came as quite a shock to him when, after his usual run with his dog went awry one day last summer, he suddenly… couldn’t.

“In June of last year, I injured my back in a freak accident. I was running with my dog on a leash. He saw a squirrel and just shot off after it so fast that he pulled me over, and I hit the ground so hard it knocked the wind out of me.”

Krzywda was left with a six-inch bruise on his chest and some soreness in his back from being wrenched to the ground. He thought that would be the worst of it and that it would eventually go away.

“Even at 65, I’m a ‘gym rat,’” he says. “I lift weights regularly, I run, I’m in pretty good shape.” But by the end of that autumn, he was suffering with debilitating pain. “I couldn’t sleep at night; I couldn’t walk six hundred feet without pausing for relief,” he says.

He was evaluated by his primary care physician, Dr. Wilterdink, who found that Krzywda had suffered no skeletal damage; his injuries were all muscular. So Dr. Wilterdink referred him to the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation office at the Day Kimball Healthcare Center in Danielson for physical therapy. 

“Inwardly, I was rolling my eyes,” Krzywda says. “I was quite cynical about rehab – sissy stuff! I’m really busy and I felt like it would be a waste of my time.”

Still, desperate for relief, Krzywda decided to at least give it a try.  

“I soon realized my assumptions were inaccurate,” he says. And that realization had a lot to do with his physical therapist, Aaron Woodman.

Though Woodman is young and relatively new to the profession, like Krzywda his demeanor and succinct but passionate manner when speaking about his work belie his age.

Krzywda says that when they first met, he joked with Woodman that while Woodman was evaluating him, he would be evaluating Woodman. The situation was one of a self-motivated but cynical patient versus a young but highly invested, knowledgeable and patient therapist – both with that similar type of determined can-do attitude.

It perhaps could have been described as a bit of a test of wills. But in the end, the results proved the winner: both of them.

“Aaron was notably well-versed, exhibiting near-encyclopedic recall of anatomy and the appropriate exercises,” Krzywda recalls of his early sessions with Woodman. “From the very first day, his maturity, instruction and acumen underscored his being top-notch. He was both articulate and uncannily observant about what I was doing correctly or incorrectly.”

“His dedication was itself therapeutic,” Krzywda continues. “He was totally immersed in my rehabilitation. Moreover, he demonstrated that, even relative to a single machine – the stand-up joystick – his view was evolving. He had figured out a better stance to improve its benefits for me, and other patients. Aaron wasn’t working – he was thinking his way through, analyzing and honing techniques.”

Woodman’s knowledge and approach won Krzywda over and that, he says, is what made the difference in his therapy and ultimate recovery.

“I was inspired by the integrity of his professionalism, and I decided to give as good as I got. You can’t be a passive patient if you want results, and you can’t expect to just come in for a few sessions, do nothing once you go home, and be cured. People have to think about, what are you doing to complement your care? You have to have some personal responsibility, take the recommendations given to you and make them part of your lifestyle.”

And that’s just what Krzywda did. In addition to his two sessions per week with Woodman, Krzywda was faithfully doing the therapeutic exercises he had prescribed once or even twice each day at home. And after sharing with Woodman all the various exercises he’d been doing as part of his free-weights training, Woodman advised him about how and why much of it was counter-productive and was actually exacerbating his pain. Krzywda took Woodman’s advice on how to modify his weight lifting regimen to be shorter, more constructive and more enjoyable.

From his perspective, Woodman says that Krzywda’s journey through physical therapy was pretty typical of the patient experience he usually sees.

“A lot of people who’ve never had physical therapy are terrified of being in pain,” Woodman says. “They’re wondering if therapy is going to make things worse. Steve wasn’t a believer, but as he progressed his pain lessened and he bought into it. When patients do that, that’s when they really see improvements and it makes all the difference. They feel empowered.”

“Physical therapy is more about education than actual hands-on treatment,” Woodman says. “You can only go so far without patient buy-in. But once they begin to feel relief, their initial fright or cynicism is replaced by a discovery of how much physical therapy can really help, and a dedication to learning and continuing to practice better ways to manage their condition.”

Such was the case for Krzywda.

“When I first came to this facility, I was, for want of a better term, crippled,” he says. “I am now markedly better. I got a reality check about what sort of activity is healthful for someone who is sixty-five, I had a series of epiphanies about arrant stupidity of my own workouts and I am now significantly on the mend.”

Krzywda credits not only Woodman but the entire staff at the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation practice for that.

“I deliberately studied the entire staff and was impressed with their competence. I never saw anyone waste a minute...The whole facility ran with military precision. I watched Kelly, Lilly, Regina, April, Julie, Jocelyn and Aaron’s performance during each session. They were always cordial with patients and with each other. On the two days when Jocelyn and April replaced Aaron at my therapy, the treatment progressed seamlessly. I never heard small talk, only shop talk.”

“As for Aaron,” Krzywda says, “for that half-hour during my therapy there was nobody else. He was totally immersed in my therapy and my recovery. For me, he was an army of one.”

And that’s what Krzywda says has been the defining experience for him across all of Day Kimball’s services.

“I was born at Day Kimball Hospital in 1949. I grew up in Danielson and have used Day Kimball services throughout my whole life. I’ve had two surgeries there, one with Dr. Baum and one with Dr. Reagan, and both were great. And as my primary care doctor, Dr. Wilterdink has provided me with exemplary care,” Krzywda says. “At the moments when I needed them, these people were all there to make me healthier and were dedicated to redirecting me to better behaviors. For me, they have all been an army of one.”

Related Resources

Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Physical Therapy