Maria Ackley of Mercer Island isn’t your typical 72-year-old. True, she injured her back, which isn’t uncommon at that age. But it wasn’t from spending too much time on the couch. The former Time magazine photojournalist and model pushed herself a little too hard at Pilates classes, resulting in a bulged disk in her spine. It’s the second time she injured her spine in the past five years; the first time was also from overexerting herself while exercising.

She says that this time, the pain was "punishing me for a year" and preventing her from doing many of the activities she loves – like standing on her head – a practice she says keeps her blood circulating and her mind sharp. She saw her primary care doctor, Dr. Marc Cordova of The Polyclinic’s Partnership in Health program, thinking he might recommend surgery. Instead, he referred her to The Polyclinic’s Physical Therapy department where she met Dechie Bello-Rapoport, PT, MBA.

"Dechie worked with me and recommended a technique called the McKenzie method for treating the pain. It was very different from what I’d tried before when I injured my back, and I couldn’t believe that something so simple would make such a difference. I made progress within two weeks, and every week that passes I get more improvement."

Maria takes this program seriously. "I’m on the mat every day doing the exercises and stretches she showed me." She’s also embraced the adjustments she needs to make in daily living, turning every day activities into an opportunity to strengthen her body. "If I’m on the phone, I’m using the balance ball, or if I’m on the mat I put on the headphones to talk and just keep going."

And while it wasn’t recommended as part of her treatment, she is once again able to stand on her head. "I think that by standing on my head, it makes my heart work harder and improves the circulation to my brain. That keeps it active, clear, and helps with my memory."

Getting old isn’t something that Maria intends to accept any time soon. She works out daily at the gym on the elliptical, and walks two miles a day. She says she also moves more carefully now. "I don’t ever want to go through that again, so I make sure to always be aware of my posture and how I’m moving. I just don’t want to be someone who, the older I get, the closer I get to the ground!"