A nine‑mile hike through Scotland’s misty Highlands should leave you breathless because of the views, not because every step feels like glass shattering in your ankle. Yet that was Ben Napier’s reality in early July, limping behind his daughters while trying to hide the pain from his wife and HGTV co‑star, Erin.
For fans of Home Town, Ben has always looked indestructible — the six‑foot‑six “Scotsman” who hoists porch beams like toothpicks. But longtime viewers also know the truth: a pickup‑basketball injury back in 2011 left his left ankle swollen, bruised, and, over time, “eaten up with arthritis,” as Erin puts it. Orthopedic surgeons have floated the grim solution of a total ankle replacement, an operation that could sideline the woodworker for months. Until now, Ben’s only relief came from grit, high‑top boots, and the occasional cortisone shot that never lasted long enough.
A Family Intervention
Enter Clark Rasberry, physical therapist, Laurel native, and Erin’s big brother. Fans first met Clark in 2023 when he prepped Ben for rotator‑cuff surgery, guiding him through painfully precise band‑pulls and shoulder raises. That rehab convinced Ben the Rasberry method bordered on sorcery — so when hiking the Highlands turned his pain dial to “12,” he called his brother‑in‑law.
Rasberry’s newest tool is a device called StemWave, a non‑invasive machine that uses focused electrohydraulic waves. According to its developers, those pulses stimulate connective tissue, increase localized blood flow, and jump‑start the body’s own healing. Translation? Think of it as a microscopic jackhammer gently waking up cells that have been dormant since the injury.
On July 29, Erin posted a video of Clark gliding the hockey‑puck‑sized applicator over Ben’s ankle inside Optimal Performance Physical Therapy, the clinic where Clark became a partner in 2021. Above the whirring device you can hear Ben’s surprised laugh: “It feels like tiny taps, but in a good way.” Erin’s caption was pure sisterly disbelief: “StemWave is a thing that exists and it’s somehow actually helping @scotsman.co’s ankle he destroyed playing basketball years ago … taken his pain from a 12 to a 4. WHAT IS THIS VOODOO?”
Erin Napier posted a video of Ben Napier’s leg injury update
From Skeptic to Spokesman
Despite Erin’s joke that the post was “not sponsored, just amazed,” her 1.3 million followers quickly turned the comment section into a crowdsourced medical forum. Some shared success stories about plantar‑fasciitis relief; others asked Clark for scheduling info. Erin responded to several questions, explaining that Ben’s treatment plan involves two sessions a week for six weeks. By the second visit, she reported, her husband could walk their girls to Laurel’s park without grimacing—a small victory, but one the couple savored.
Ben amplified the excitement by reposting the video to his Instagram Stories with a simple verdict: “It is amazing. I cannot brag enough.” Coming from a craftsman who usually lets his woodworking do the talking, the endorsement spoke volumes.
An Injury Decade in the Making
Photos Erin shared alongside the treatment clip remind viewers how far Ben has traveled on this painful road. Taken in 2011, they show his ankle ballooned to twice its normal size, tattooed in purple and yellow bruises. At the time, doctors warned of future arthritis; Ben, then in his late twenties, shrugged it off. A decade of renovation marathons later—carrying antique mantels and crouching on subfloors—proved the prognosis correct.
By 2024, swelling and stiffness limited him to a slow shuffle by day and ice packs by night. He even began timing takes on Home Town so camera crews could catch him before the limp set in. Fans noticed, and concern grew. The Scottish family vacation, ironically, became the final straw: after conquering castles and moors with daughters Helen and Mae, Ben admitted he was tired of surviving on willpower.
Erin Napier Shares Her Husband Ben was Injured back in 2023 too.
The Healing Hands Legacy
Clark’s role in Ben’s recovery is deeply personal for the Napier clan. Erin often tells followers that her brother followed in their father’s footsteps; their dad spent 44 years helping patients relearn to walk. When he retired in 2019, Erin wrote, “The men in my family know how to heal people with their hands.” Watching Clark treat her husband now feels, she says, “like seeing Daddy do his work as a young man all over again.”
StemWave isn’t a silver bullet; Ben’s orthopedist still believes an eventual replacement may be inevitable. But for the first time in years, the big carpenter has enough pain‑free daylight to swing a hammer without wincing. He’s also gained something less measurable: hope that modern tech, guided by family expertise, can postpone the operating room.
The Napiers will keep filming Season 9 of Home Town this fall, and Erin promises occasional ankle updates—“if my big brother will let me turn his clinic into a reality show,” she jokes. In the meantime, Ben has set himself a modest goal: a Thanksgiving Day turkey trot in Laurel, hand‑in‑hand with two little girls who believe their daddy can build anything—including, apparently, a new ankle out of sound waves and perseverance.
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