Physical Therapy

If left untreated, injuries sustained after an auto accident can result in spinal and other musculoskeletal or nerve problems for years to come. That’s why it’s important to seek care immediately after an accident. At Total Orthopaedic Care, our physical therapists treat many common car accident injuries such as:

• Herniated discs and low back pain
• Whiplash and neck pain
• Concussions
• Headaches
• Knee injuries
• Fractures

Our therapists will create a comprehensive treatment plan to address any and all orthopedic injuries you may have experienced from an auto accident.

At Total Orthopaedic Care, our physical therapists understand how frustrating it is when an injury keeps you from the activities you love. Our team of highly trained therapists treats the full spectrum of sport-related injuries, including:

• Sprains and strains
• Rotator cuff tear
• Shoulder impingement
• ACL tear and other knee ligament injuries
• Meniscus tear
• Tennis elbow
• Golfer’s elbow
• Patellofemoral pain
• Shin splints
• Hamstring muscle strain
• Achilles tendon tear

With sports medicine rehabilitation, we can help you heal and get back to your game, as well as show you how to minimize the chance of re-injury with proper conditioning. Our carefully designed program will help alleviate your pain, correct biomechanical imbalances, improve range of motion, and restore function. Plus, we include sport-specific training to help you increase strength and build endurance.

When you’ve suffered an on-the-job injury, our experienced team of physical therapists will oversee your recovery. They will:

• Thoroughly evaluate your condition
• Design a customized return-to-work program that simulates job duties and increases your strength, mobility, and endurance
• Show you how to minimize your chance for re-injury on the job
• Work in close partnership with your doctor every step of the way

Our therapists also conduct functional capacity evaluations (FCE) to help your doctor determine when you can safely return to work.

Aging is a normal process. At Total Orthopaedic Care, we recognize that age-related physical changes can cause pain and limit your mobility. Our goal is to help minimize pain and maximize function so you can remain active and independent for as long as possible. Our physical therapists treat a number of age-related conditions, such as:

• Osteoarthritis
• Osteoporosis
• Stroke
• Coordination and balance disorders
• Sports and orthopedic injuries
• Hip fractures
• Knee, hip, and shoulder joint replacement

Our therapists will perform a comprehensive evaluation to assess your range of motion, strength, balance, and any physical limitations you might have. They will develop a rehabilitation treatment plan aimed at:

• Reducing pain
• Increasing, restoring, or maintaining range of motion, physical strength, flexibility, coordination, balance, and endurance
• Increasing overall fitness
• Preventing further decline in functional abilities

Our therapists can also recommend ways to make your home more accessible and safe, as well as recommend the use of assistive devices, such as canes or walkers, to promote independence.

At Total Orthopaedic Care, our skilled physical therapists are experts at treating all types of general orthopedic injuries and conditions affecting the neck, back, shoulder, arm, hand, wrist, hip, knee, foot and ankle, such as:

• Strains and sprains
• Fractures
• Tendonitis and bursitis
• Arthritis
• Osteoporosis
• Overuse injuries
• Sports injuries
• Work-related injuries

Treatment methods may include:

• Therapeutic exercise
• Manual therapy
• Astym®
• Instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization
• Modalities (ice, heat, electrical stimulation, ultrasound, etc.)

One of our physical therapists will evaluate your injury or condition and develop a customized treatment program to alleviate your pain, restore your range of motion, and increase your strength.

Following surgery, physical therapy is important in preventing and reducing stiffness, swelling, pain, and limited motion. Manual therapy and therapeutic exercises can help increase strength, endurance, motion, balance, and coordination so that you can perform your favorite activities as independently as possible. Our physical therapists focus on the functional goals that are important to you. Some of the most common post-operative procedures we treat include:

• Joint replacements: Knee, hip, and shoulder
• ACL and PCL reconstruction
• Arthroscopy
• Rotator cuff repair
• Achilles tendon repair
• Carpal tunnel release
• Spinal fusion
• Fracture surgery

Therapeutic exercises are a vital part of any rehabilitation treatment plan. Exercise therapy can help:

• Reduce pain
• Increase function
• Improve flexibility, strength, endurance, and posture
• Prevent injury

Your physical therapist will first assess your baseline skills and then create your individual exercise program. Depending on your diagnosis, exercises may focus on select muscle groups and/or the body as a whole. They may include strength training, stretching, and aerobic (cardio) exercise. To increase the effectiveness of treatment, your therapist may combine exercises with other therapy modalities. Your therapist will instruct you how to perform the specific exercises or techniques in your program. At periodic intervals, your exercise therapy program will be reassessed and changed as you meet goals.

Total Orthopaedic Care offers hand therapy services for the treatment of hand, wrist, and upper extremity (elbow, arm, and shoulder) injuries and disorders. The anatomy of the hand and wrist includes numerous small bones as well as an intricate network of tendons, ligaments, nerves, and blood vessels. Our therapists treat these delicate structures and provide post-operative care for the most complex surgical procedures. Treatments and services may include:

• Therapeutic exercises
• Manual techniques
• Astym®
• Instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization
• Modalities
• Splinting
• Progressive home exercise
• Training for activities of daily living and return to work
• Ergonomic assessments

At Total Orthopaedic Care, our physical therapists are highly skilled at manual therapy techniques. Manual therapy is the hands-on treatment of muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints. It includes techniques such as soft tissue and joint mobilization or manipulation, neuromuscular massage, and myofascial release. The benefits of manual therapy techniques include:

• Decrease pain
• Relax muscles and ease muscle spasms
• Increase range of motion and flexibility
• Improve circulation
• Increase function

The vestibular therapy program at Total Orthopaedic Care is designed to help eliminate or reduce the symptoms caused by balance disorders, such as dizziness, vertigo, nausea, blurred vision, and motion sensitivity. Our specially trained physical therapist will evaluate you to determine:

• Positions or movements that may cause dizziness
• Balance deficits that may interfere with your ability to perform daily activities such as dressing, bathing, walking, driving, or shopping
• Visual function as it relates to eye-head coordination required for reading, driving, or walking

Vestibular therapy may include:

• Special maneuvers to help you reduce or end symptoms of dizziness
• Balance training
• Techniques you can use to decrease symptoms of dizziness and imbalance while performing daily activities
• Home exercises to improve function and independence
• Eye reflex exercises
• Strengthening exercises
• Manual therapy to address neck problems

Athletes in contact sports such as football and soccer have a higher risk for experiencing a concussion. Getting a prompt diagnosis and receiving immediate medical care is essential for the best outcomes. That’s why Total Orthopaedic Care offers a comprehensive concussion management program that includes strict return to play protocols.

If an athlete has had baseline testing and post-concussion testing, our doctor will compare these analyses to confirm or rule out a concussion diagnosis. Concussion testing provides information regarding the severity of injury and a standard for evaluating recovery from concussion. Our doctor will then outline the return to play protocol for the athlete and supervise each step until the athlete is cleared to return to their sport.

Soft tissue injuries such as tendonitis may cause chronic pain or limited range of motion due to scarring, fibrosis, or improper healing of tissues.

Astym is a non-invasive treatment that decreases scar tissue and stimulates the regeneration of soft tissues such as muscles and tendons. Using specially designed instruments on top of the skin in the area of pain, our physical therapist will locate the damaged soft tissue and apply mild to moderate pressure to break up the scar tissue and trigger a healing response that will create new, healthy tissue. Most patients will need a course of 8-12 treatments for optimal results.

Astym has proven effective for chronic soft tissue injuries such as tendonitis, tendonosis, carpal tunnel syndrome, plantar fasciitis, shin splints, iliotibial band (IT) syndrome, and hamstring strain. It can also be used after trauma or surgery to facilitate healing.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 25% of all Americans over the age of 65 fall each year, and falls are the leading cause of serious injury and death among older adults. Dizziness and imbalance are typically the cause of these falls.

As you age, your body becomes less stable, increasing your risk of falling. At Total Orthopaedic Care, we offer a fall prevention program for older adults that focuses on balance, mobility, strength, and endurance. The goal is to improve your balance and reduce your risk of falling so that you can maintain your independence.

After conducting a comprehensive assessment, our therapists will develop a personalized plan of care that includes balance, gait training, and strengthening exercises. If you need the assistance of a cane or walker, our therapists will match you with the appropriate device and provide training for safety.

Instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization (IASTM) is a manual therapy technique that can help break up scar tissue, adhesions, and fascial restrictions resulting from chronic muscle, tendon, and ligament injuries. Our therapist uses specially designed stainless steel instruments to detect and treat dysfunctional soft tissue and inflammation.

This technique is helpful in improving mobility and relieving pain from chronic tendonitis, ligament sprains, muscle strains, plantar fasciitis, and IT band syndrome.

For athletes looking to improve performance and reduce the risk of injury, we offer the functional movement screen (FMS). During the FMS, the athlete will perform a series of 7 different movements to assess his or her ability to move efficiently without limitation. Athletes will naturally compensate for limited joint mobility and pain, which increases the risk of injury.

At Total Orthopaedic Care, our therapists use the FMS to identify left and right asymmetries, pain, and limitations in stability or mobility during movement. Based on the results, they will develop a treatment and training plan to establish correct movement patterns and mechanics and improve speed and power. If the FMS identifies any orthopedic conditions that need treatment, the therapist can refer the athlete to one of our doctors.

Your core muscles are composed of several muscle groups within your stomach and low back that work together to stabilize and protect your low back (lumbar) region. They also coordinate leg and arm movements.

Low back pain is often a result of lumbar instability. For patients experiencing low back pain, the physical therapists at Total Orthopaedic Care will develop a core stability training program featuring exercises that focus on stretching and strengthening the abdominal muscles. Core stability exercises can also be implemented as a preventive program for those who are at risk for low back pain and injury due to the demands of their job or sport.

Strong core muscles not only decrease back pain and help prevent injury, but also improve athletic performance and postural imbalances.

Physical therapists use the Kinesio Taping® technique to promote the body’s natural healing process and provide support and stability to muscles and joints. It is effective for swelling and inflammatory conditions, as well as neurological and orthopedic/sports injuries.

Kinesio® Tape works by targeting different receptors within the somatosensory system. These receptors respond to many different kinds of stimuli, such as touch, pressure, vibration, and temperature. They can also sense body position and movement.

Kinesio® Tape can be applied in hundreds of ways, and it can be used on virtually anyone of any age. Its benefits include:

• Alleviate pain and inflammation
• Facilitate lymphatic drainage
• Improve stability and biomechanics
• Prolong the benefits of manual therapy
• Optimize performance
• Prevent injury

No matter your age or physical ability, fitness training is beneficial for good overall health. Exercise is important in preventing disease and injury. It boosts your metabolism and energy level, and it can improve your mood and mentality.

If you are looking to safely start a fitness program or continue exercising after rehab, the physical therapists at Total Orthopaedic Care can help. Our therapists can assess your baseline cardiovascular, joint, and muscle performance while taking into consideration your weight and any existing medical conditions or physical limitations you may have. They will work with you to create an individualized exercise program that is specific to your needs.

Our PTs can teach you safe strength training techniques, recommend the appropriate amount and type of cardiovascular exercise, and modify your program as you progress or if your needs change (you become injured or ill). At all times they will ensure your safety. Our therapists can help you achieve your fitness and wellness goals with personal attention in a positive, supportive environment.