Duane Covell has always been active in sports. He captained his varsity baseball team in college and for the last 40 years has made tennis his sport of choice. The 69-year-old thrives on playing tennis at a high level, participating in some of the pro leagues in the Dallas area. He has even spent time in the Top 10 ranking nationally for men’s doubles.

When not on the court competing, Duane is a full-time staff member at Highpoint Tennis Center in Plano. He splits his time between teaching regular classes, working with young adults to develop their skills, co-leading an adult weekend workout program, and providing individual and small-group private lessons. The tennis pro doesn’t have much down time, and he likes it that way.  

Although very rewarding, Duane’s active lifestyle has taken a toll on his body. He has turned to the physicians at Texas Health Orthopedic Specialists, a Texas Health Physicians Group practice in Allen, to help him work through his aches, pains and injuries over the years. He was especially thankful for their care in 2023 when he experienced a rotator cuff injury.   

“I was playing in a national tournament in Orlando, Fla. when I felt sudden pain upon serving,” Duane recalls. “I took some pain relievers to get through the tournament. Post play, I was teaching and awkwardly blocked a tennis ball. My arm went numb, and the pain was intense. I knew right away that something was very wrong.”

Back in Allen, an MRI was done that showed a rotator cuff tear in Duane’s left shoulder. Because of his desire for minimal downtime, a timely solution was important.   

Sports medicine physician Katherine Kester, M.D., used conservative measures for pain management that included steroid injections and physical therapy in an effort to avoid surgery for the 69-year-old. When the non-surgical approach failed to offer lasting relief or improvement, Duane was referred to Andrew Parker, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon with the practice.

“I was familiar with Dr. Parker from a prior biking accident that resulted in a broken collarbone,” Duane says. “I really like his honesty and how he lays out a treatment plan.”

Parker explained to Duane that surgery would offer the best chance for the tennis pro to regain full range of motion and strength in his shoulder. Not wanting to be away from his teaching job, Duane put off the surgery for several months thinking he could compensate by leading with his other arm. When demonstrating serves and overhead shots became a real problem, he ultimately made the decision to move forward with the minimally invasive arthroscopic procedure.

“Duane’s rotator cuff injury kept him from being able to do the things he wanted to do and keep the active life he desired, so we decided together to proceed with the surgery,” Parker says. “While we were repairing his rotator cuff tear, we were able to use the scope to help clean up some of the other injuries he had sustained over a lifetime of sports but had just been powering through.

Our goal was to get his shoulder feeling better than it had in years, not just since his most recent injury, so we also addressed a biceps tendon injury and removed some bone spurs and arthritis from the shoulder. Doing his surgery arthroscopically allowed us to address all of these things at once with fewer complications and a faster recovery.”

With surgery behind him, Duane was eager to get back to his pre-injury level of performance. He and Parker mapped out a thorough plan for physical therapy. Duane chose to do his rehab close to home at the Texas Health Sports Medicine facility in Melissa. There, he and physical therapist Robert Fox began working on rehabbing his shoulder just three days after surgery, and for the next six months.

With the faith he had in the doctor, Duane stuck to the plan. He returned to teaching tennis a little over three months post-surgery and started serving and playing more seriously by five months.

“The plan Dr. Parker laid out was to meet my objective of getting back out on the court, teaching and playing at a high level. His explanation of the surgery was very straightforward and included positivity. I always came away from my appointments feeling better by his subtle words of reassurance. I am so thankful to Dr. Parker, and his entire staff, for the surgical abilities and positive encouragement,” Duane says. 

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