Dr. Wendy Chorny, Physical Therapist

Dr. Wendy Chorny, Physical Therapist My passion in life is to help woman reach their full potential.

06/19/2026

How to treat tendinopathy: my recipe It’s a very simple recipe with the ingredients being: Isometrics in the beginning if painful. Progressively load the tendon, make the exercises harder over time to challenge the tendon so it can remodel. Exercise 3 times a week. Repeat until pain free or 9-12 months. Add a 12 months if you’re in perimenopause or menopause for good measure. The biggest problem people have: they give up too soon. Consistency and time is the key to this simple recipe.

You asked for exercises for a stiff shoulder with limited mobility. Frozen Shoulder is a condition also known as adhesiv...
06/19/2026

You asked for exercises for a stiff shoulder with limited mobility. Frozen Shoulder is a condition also known as adhesive capsulitis. It’s a common shoulder problem for women over 40, women in menopause, and it has underlying biochemical issues. It’s a systemic condition that involves myofibroblasts, cytokines and inflammation like you wouldn’t believe. Actually, if you have frozen shoulder, you believe it. Frozen shoulder is one of the most painful conditions and it has 3 stages.

1.) freezing (painful and very limiting)
2.) frozen (less painful and just no movement)
3.) thawing (pain again, but gaining motion)

These exercises are the most common exercises physical therapists use. We try to help patients find a mobility/range of motion exercise they can tolerate. You are the best person to move your shoulder.

Move your body side to side, the arm will swing because your body is moving.

Shift your weight front to back, same as before, your arm moves because of your body moving. Let your arm dangle.

This is best done in the shower when your shoulder is warm. It’s the most comfortable stretch next to the pendulum. Bloodflow helps it to feel a bit better.

This is an exercise we do with a cane, umbrella or a dowel rod. Gently move your arm side to side, keeping your elbows on the floor. This can also be done in your bed.

This is a pec stretch and isn’t always tolerated in the freezing stage. This does best during the frozen or thawing stage. 2-3 times holding 30 seconds.

This is an example of rotator cuff isometrics. We can do this exercise in multiple directions and even for the bicep. Gentle pushing into the wall, without movement. 5-8 reps.

Bicep curls - I really do use light weights with women during frozen shoulder. 2-5 pounds is usually the weight.

This is a bicep curl done with a resistance band.

These are the beginner exercises I use for my women with plantar fasciitis. I can’t tell you enough: you can’t rest your...
06/19/2026

These are the beginner exercises I use for my women with plantar fasciitis. I can’t tell you enough: you can’t rest your plantar fasciitis to make it go away.

You have to address the biomechanical and biochemical issues.

You need to address your habits, your shoes, your rest and recovery and any underlying biochemical issues. You need to address what is happening with your thyroid, your diabetes or your menopause symptoms. I’m not saying they caused your plantar fasciitis, but they are not helping it heal.

So let’s look at some exercises you could try.

Seriously, these are the favorites of my patients.

This is the funkiest and best exercise you never know. Holding your foot with your hand and getting between your toes helps to stretch, massage and get blood flow to your foot. Sometimes you have to be your own best friend. If this is too difficult, you can use yoga toes.

Did you know that your big toe needs to have extension? Having limited range of motion of your big toe is a big problem. Here I am stretching the back of my legs and working on lifting my big toes off the ground. Can you do it?

This is a mobility exercise to help with great toe extension.

Heel raises (calf raises) help to strengthen the lower leg. If this is too difficult, try it seated.

I used these Tune-Up Fitness balls to do a self-massage on my calf and Achilles.

I use one ball under the ball of my foot and do a self-massage.

This is a “short foot” exercise where I am using the intrinsic muscles of my feet to make an arch. I also like to just wiggle my toes and feet back and forth.

This is a slant board and it’s a calf stretch.

Everyone needs to find a good way to stretch their calves, whether it’s a slant board, off the step, against the wall. Stretching your calves daily is plantar fasciitis rehab 101. Everyone will need this.

Share this with your best friend and save this for later. Thanks for reading and watching.

Love you bye 😘

06/18/2026

Here are 12 exercises in 90 seconds, so you can pick which shoulder stabilization exercises will work for you. You don’t need to do all of them, but you do need to pick a few, stay consistent. It takes time to heal, make strength and make change.

06/17/2026

Your tendons heal through the right amount of load. It’s basically princess and the pea. Too much load and the tendon gets angry. Too little load and the tendon doesn't adapt. The goal is to find the exercise that challenges the tendon enough to stimulate healing without causing an increase in symptoms. Start here: • Reduce activities that significantly increase your pain (this is so important) • Begin a progressive loading program (physical therapists help) • Build strength gradually over time (be patient) • Prioritize sleep, protein, and recovery (stop driving it like you stole it) • Address intrinsic factors like perimenopause, thyroid dysfunction, glucose regulation, and metabolic health And remember: tendon healing is slow. SO SLOW. Most tendinopathies take months to recover. In my perimenopausal patients, I commonly see healing take 12–24 months because we're dealing with both the tendon and the underlying biochemical environment affecting that tendon. Tendons are incredibly adaptable tissues. Give them the right load, enough time, and the right environment, and they can improve. What tendon are you currently trying to heal?

06/16/2026

This is for my husband: you have a labral tear.

The shoulder pain, clicking, catching, feeling unstable - it’s your labrum.

The labrum helps deepen the shoulder socket and provides stability. When it’s injured, your rotator cuff and scapular muscles have to work even harder to keep the shoulder happy.

Things that help strengthen your shoulder and support this labrum situation:

• Rotator cuff strengthening
•Scapular stabilization
•Closed-chain loading exercises

Some of my favorite exercises include wall slides, quadruped exercises, carries, rows, and external rotation strengthening.

We are going to teach your shoulder how to have better control.

Save this for later and share this with someone you love whose shoulder feels loose, unstable, or painful.

Love you bye

Shoulder taps - it’s a great place start.

If modified plank is too easy, due a full plank.

The ever classic Y exercise.

This can also be done on an incline bench with weights.

The Y with a challenge.

Row with external rotation

Isometric Walk Outs

Banded Slided Discs

Sliding discs in all directions

Resistance Band Exercise for the rotator cuff

Banded Wall Slides for scapular control

Hammer Curls

Side planks with multiple variations

Waiter’s Carry

06/14/2026

So you hate exercise and you need to find some exercise to start with at home. This is a simple and fun way to get moving and get blood flowing. You don’t need a rebounder or mini-trampoline to exercise at home, but some women need more fun. Sometimes people need to be more whimsical. Movement matters, find something you enjoy and that you can do. I wearing shoes, you don’t have too. I also happen to have leg weights on because I was doing some leg lifts before this. The best exercise is the one you will do. ❤️

06/13/2026

In the series everyone asked for: How do I treat my tendinitis? How do I treat my tendinopathy? What are the most common tendon issues for women during perimenopause? Glut med tendinitis Poster tibialis tendinitis Achilles tendinitis Proximal Hamstring tendinitis Bicep tendinitis Rotator cuff tendinitis Lateral epicondylitis DeQuervain’s Plantar Fasciitis (not a tendon but we are putting it here for a reason)

06/13/2026

Tendinopathy isn’t just mechanical, there are biochemical reasons too. So yes Virgina, I do believe treating your thyroid, menopause symptoms and getting your glucose under control will help facilitate healing for your tendons. Did menopause give you tendonitis? Not exactly, but it didn’t help. As estrogen levels decline, changes occur in our tendons and connective tissue. Many women notice new tendon pain, slower recovery, and injuries that seem to come out of nowhere. This is because you have estrogen and progesterone receptors in your tendons.

Why does tendon pain seem to show up during menopause?As estrogen levels decline, changes occur in muscle, tendon, and c...
06/12/2026

Why does tendon pain seem to show up during menopause?

As estrogen levels decline, changes occur in muscle, tendon, and connective tissue. Many women notice new tendon pain, slower recovery, and injuries that seem to come out of nowhere.

The newest Achilles tendinopathy clinical practice guideline reinforces what tendon researchers have been telling us for years:

The answer isn’t complete rest.
The answer is progressive loading.
Tendons need the right amount of stress to adapt and become stronger.
Too much load can aggravate symptoms.
Too little load can reduce tendon capacity.
Your tendon is basically princess and the pea.
Finding the right balance is where rehabilitation matters.

Whether you’re dealing with Achilles tendinopathy, plantar fasciitis, tennis elbow, gluteal tendinopathy, or rotator cuff pain, the goal isn’t simply to reduce pain.

The goal is to improve the tendon’s ability to tolerate load.
And that takes time. MONTHS. 9-12 months and sometimes up to 24 months.

If you’re in perimenopause or menopause and suddenly struggling with tendon pain, don’t let someone tell you it’s just aging.

Hormones may be part of the story.

But so is how we load and strengthen our tissues.

Women deserve to understand both.

Want to read more? Check out this article:

Chimenti RL, et al. Achilles Pain, Stiffness, and Muscle Power Deficits: Midportion Achilles Tendinopathy Revision 2024. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2024;54(12).

PMID: 39611662

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