Rehabilitation Services
What can I expect from physical therapy?
Physical Therapy Home Page
All Physical Therapy patients receive an evaluation on their initial
visit. A treatment plan is then devised, based on this evaluation
and the attending physician's diagnosis. Changes in the treatment
plan may be made depending on the patient's response to the therapy
and changes in the physician's course of treatment.
Physical Therapy is available on an in-patient, out-patient or
in-home basis. The therapy staff also provides services to area
nursing homes and businesses. People of all ages utilize the skills
of the Physical Therapist. The Physical Therapy staff works closely
with other members of the health care team, including: Occupational
Therapists, Speech Therapists, Prosthetics Specialists, Occupational
Health Nurses, Social Workers and Counselors.
Physical Therapy attempts to provide care to the patient as a
whole, using all resources available to ensure quality care. In
addition, the Physical Therapy staff works in close conjunction
with physicians throughout Central Iowa to ensure continuity of
care and constant communications concerning the progress of the
patient.
What you could encounter at a Physical Therapy appointment?
- Therapeutic Exercise
- Specific training used to increase strength
and/or range of motion of a joint or of large muscle groups. This
is a broad term to describe all active movements performed by patients
as instructed by the therapist.
- Passive Range of Motion/Manual Stretching:
- Used when a patient
is unable to move a joint through its full range of motion. This
is performed by the therapist in order to stretch ligaments, tendons
and muscle tissues surrounding a joint in an effort to restore
normal mobility.
- Active Range of Motion:
- These skills are performed by the patient,
usually without weight or resistance. This is used in order to
re-establish normal movement and muscle sequence in and around
a specific joint.
- Active Assisted Range of Motion:
- Used when a patient is unable
to or is not allowed to move a joint through its full range of
motion. This requires some muscle activation from the patient along
with assistance from the therapist or the patient's unaffected
limb.
- Balance/Proproception Training:
- Skills used to re-establish a
sense of balance throughout the body or re-establish the balance
pertaining to a specific joint (knee or ankle). This is especially
important after a soft-tissue injury (to a ligament, joint capsule,
or tendon) in which a joint has lost stability and needs to be
reinforced by nerve endings that give the joint a sense of its
position in space.
- Postural Correction:
- Modified to an individual patient's current
postural abnormalities, may involve stretching, strengthening and
an awareness of the position of body parts relative to one another.
- Education on body mechanics/work ergonomics:
- Important for those
patients with physically demanding jobs in which they are more
vulnerable to injury. This is crucial to preventing work related
injuries and remaining pain-free. Education on work ergonomics
also includes instruction on proper work station set-up (computer
height, placement of keyboard, etc) which is necessary to prevent
injuries sustained from maintaining incorrect postures and work
habits.
- Cardiovascular exercise/conditioning:
- Specific training which
seeks to improve the condition of the heart and lungs. A strong
cardiovascular system is important to prevent disease and maintain
a higher quality of life. We use a variety of equipment to train
patients' cardiovascular systems including treadmill, stationary
bike, upper body ergometer and stair climber.
- Gait Training:
- Instruction by the therapist to re-establish a
normal pattern of walking, either with or without an assistive
device.
- Modalities:
- Techniques and machines used for a variety of purposes.
Some of these are to increase circulation, promote tissue healing,
calm muscle spasm, decrease muscle tightness, etc.
- Soft tissue mobilization/massage:
- Performed by the therapist to
increase circulation, improve tissue extensibility of soft tissues,
and decrease pain. This is a gentler form of massage that targets
more superficial muscles, tendons, etc. and may include myofascial
release.
- Deep tissue mobilization/massage:
- Performed by the therapist and
targets deeper tissues in order to improve tissue extensibility,
increase circulation, minimize muscle spasm, and decrease pain.
This is a more aggressive form of massage and is very effective
in restoring normal tissue length and function.
- Joint mobilization:
- Techniques performed by the therapist in order
to re-establish movement within a joint and its structures. Joint
mobilizations can range from gentle to forceful, depending on the
joint, precautions and long-term goals.
- Sport-Specific rehabilitation:
- Exercise programs designed specifically
for the athlete. This type of rehabilitation emphasizes those movements
and skills that are needed for each patient's sport and tends to
be more aggressive than the typical rehabilitation program.
- Job-specific rehabilitation/functional restoration:
- These terms
refer to exercises that strengthen the specific joints and muscles
that the patient will need to perform when he or she returns to
work. Focus is placed on proper movement patterns and enforcing
proper body mechanics with all movements in order to prevent re-injury.
- Home Exercise Program:
- Designed specifically for each patient
which allows the patient to continue with his or her rehabilitation
on their own. Written instructions with photos are issued to each
patient along with suggested number of repetitions, frequency,
etc. These home exercises are a vital aspect of almost every patient's
recovery.
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