Rudy from Leicester had been dancing since he was seven years old, but aged 16 started to feel pain in his knee and worried that his dancing days could be over. However, thanks to knee surgery he’s been able to successfully return to the competitive dance scene. We share his private healthcare story below.
Steps before surgery
After realising the pain in his knee wasn’t going away, Rudy’s first step was to contact Nuffield Health Leicester to see whether physiotherapy and rehab could get him competing again.
“I had a lot of pain in my knee, and it affected me emotionally, so I wanted to get it seen to,” says Rudy. “The Physiotherapy Manager at Nuffield Health Leicester, Anton Horne, set up an exercise programme for me.”
The aim of the programme was avoid surgery, however, when there was no improvement after the course of physiotherapy, it was decided that Rudy would need to be referred to an orthopaedic consultant.
Having knee surgery
Rudy saw Mr Subash Tandon for a consultation and scan. Following the diagnosis of an osteochondral defect (a damaged area involving both the cartilage and a piece of the underlying bone), Mr Tandon conducted surgery to try to rectify the issue.
Surgery for a young person is not something to rush into, but Rudy was not alone in having an operation on his knee. PHIN data shows that over 4,000 people in the 11-17 age group had a knee procedure between 2019 and 2023.
Rehabilitation after his knee surgery
For his rehabilitation after the procedure, Rudy opted to return to Nuffield Health Leicester for a sense of continuity and because he had got on so well with Anton in the seven months leading up to his surgery.
“I was worried my knee wouldn’t be the same and I would struggle to get back to competing again. I trust Anton’s expertise and he informed me I would have to start slow and build my strength in my knee gradually,” he adds.
Rudy followed a structured programme of exercising at home and visited Nuffield Health Leicester for physiotherapy and rehabilitation.
“I worked on balance and strengthening my calf muscles with Anton, and enjoyed jumping over the step-bar and practising landing and taking off which was helpful for my knee’s recovery,” explained Rudy.
Going for gold
After working extremely hard to get back to dancing with our support – including load management, improving his explosive strength or controlled balance – Rudy returned to full activity with no complications and is competing at the highest levels of dancing.
“I was nervous in my first competition in April 2022,” says Rudy. “It was a strange experience as I had not competed since before COVID. I took part in regional All England dance competitions in May 2022 and then qualified for the National All England Finals, an ambition of mine,” he adds.
"I won the Gold medal for Modern Dance in the age of 15-19 category and then went on to come 2nd in the Young Modern Dancer of the Year category,” he added.
Disclaimer
We are very grateful to Rudy and Nuffield Health – one of the 600+ hospitals we collect data from – for allowing us to share this story to help other patients better understand what it can be like to be a private patient.
PHIN only provides information, we do not recommend individual hospitals, consultants or funding methods, and recommend you make sure you look into all your options before making your healthcare decisions.
Some patients will base their choice on the price (if they are self-pay) of the procedure, others will follow the recommendations of their private medical insurer. Other patients will focus on the consultant’s experience or something about the hospital, such as its regulator rating or location and facilities.
Photo credit
Credit to @mk10photography for the photographs of Rudy.
