MADISONVILLE THERAPY SERVICES
What is Physical Therapy?
Physical Therapy is a conservative form of treatment for musculoskeletal disorders.
Each program is designed by a licensed Physical Therapist who works closely with your physician. Treatments may consist of joint specific treatments, soft tissue mobilization, an exercise program, modalities, and patient education. This means we help you feel better with hands-on treatments; and personal attention to your needs in a comfortable setting.
A referral from a physician, nurse practitioner, podiatrist, or chiropractor is required for treatment. Areas of expertise include but are not limited to the following:
Geriatrics
Neurology/Stroke rehab
Pediatrics
Orthopedics
Custom Splinting
Aquatic Therapy
Sports Injuries
Industrial Services
Patient Education
Life Skills/Daily Activities
Injury Prevention Programs
Functional Capacity Evaluations
Why would I see a therapist?
The conditions a Physical Therapist treat may vary from children with developmental delays, to sporting/work related injuries, to helping combat arthritis and degenerative changes.
A Physical Therapist is a specialist who works closely with your physician to reduce pain and help you return to regular activities. Pain may be a result of headaches, back pain, a sprained ankle, or a variety of other concerns. Physical Therapy is also useful to speed the recovery process after surgery.
Customized Physical Therapy Solutions
A Physical Therapy solution can be put together for your injury or specific area of pain including:
Back and neck pain
Shoulder and arm pain
Hand and wrist pain
Leg, hip, knee, ankle and foot pain
Postsurgical Rehabilitation
Pain Management
Modalities:
Modalities are procedures that the team perform to retrain a muscle and decrease pain and swelling. The following is a list of the many modalities that specializes in:
- Moist Heat/Ice
- Ultrasound
- Phonophoresis
- Combined EMS
- Fluidotherapy
- Iontophoresis
- EMS
- TENS
- Near Infrared Light Therapy
Ask your doctor for more information about Physical Therapy!!
Adult Aging is a normal process. Some age-related bodily changes may be misunderstood and unnecessarily limit daily activities. Normal aging need not result in pain and decrease in physical mobility. A Physical Therapist is a source of information to understand these changes and offer assistance for regaining lost abilities or develop new ones. A Physical Therapist, working with the older adult, understands the anatomical and physiological changes that occur with normal aging. The Physical Therapist will evaluate and develop a specially designed therapeutic exercise program. Physical therapy intervention may prevent life long disability and restore the highest level of functioning.Through the use of tests, evaluations, exercises, treatments with modalities, screening programs, as well as educational information, Physical Therapists:
- increase, restore or maintain range of motion, physical strength, flexibility, coordination, balance and endurance
- recommend adaptations to make the home accessible and safe
- teach positioning, transfers, and walking skills promote maximum function and independence within an individual's capability
- increase overall fitness through exercise programs
- prevent further decline in functional abilities through education, energy conservation techniques, joint protection, and use of assistive devices to promote independence
- improve sensation, joint proprioception
- reduce pain
Common Conditions. A vast number of conditions are treated effectively with physical therapy intervention. Examples of specific diseases and conditions that may affect older people and be improved with physical therapy include:
- Arthritis
- Osteoporosis
- Cerebral Vascular Accident (Stroke)
- Cancer
- Parkinson's Disease
- Urinary and Fecal Incontinence
- Amputations
- Cardiac and Pulmonary Diseases
- Dementias
- Alzheimer's Disease
- Coordination and Balance Disorders
- Functional Limitations related to mobility
- Sports/Orthopedic Injuries
- Joint Replacements
- Hip Fractures
For more information please see: http://www.geriatricspt.org/clients/resources.cfm
What is a Neurologic Physical Therapist and what do they do?
Neurologic Physical Therapists work with individuals with either congenital (from birth) or acquired neurologic disease, dysfunction, or trauma:
- Alzheimer's Disease
- Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
- Arterialvenous Malformation
- Cerebral Palsy
- Cerebellar Disorders
- Central Nervous System Tumors
- Dystonia
- Guillain-Barre Syndrome
- Huntington's Disease
- Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
- Muscular Dystrophy
- Myasthenia Gravis
- Parkinson's Disease
- Peripheral Nerve Injury
- Polio / Post-Polio Syndrome
- Radiculopathy
- Spinal Cord Injury
- Stroke
- Sub-arachnoid Hemorrhage
- Traumatic Brain Injury
- Vestibular Dysfunction
Many of these individuals can have certain types of problems:
- An inability to perform activities of daily living such as
- Getting in and out of bed
- Walking
- Going up and down stairs
- Carrying out life roles in a safe, independent and efficient manner
- An inability to return to work or recreational activities
- Loss of flexibility or strength
- Loss of sensation
- Reduced vision
- Difficulty swallowing
- Difficulty breathing
- Confusion or diminished mental capacity
- Difficulty speaking or understanding speech
- Dizziness
- Impaired coordination
- Decreased endurance
- Poor balance
- Falls
- Caregivers have difficulty or are unsafe assisting with patient mobility
- Home or Work is not accessible to the individual
Neurologic Physical Therapists
- Perform an examination and evaluation to establish
- A functional diagnosis - A prognosis for functional recovery
- The need for physical therapy services
- A plan of care
- Provide intervention which may consist of
- Direct intervention
- Coordination of services
- Discharge planning
- Interventions list
- Therapeutic exercise
- Strengthening
- Stretching
- Aerobic conditioning
- Sensory training
- Coordination of movement
- Balance training
- Functional skills training such as moving in bed, walking, wheelchair skills, shopping, and returning to work
- Prescribing orthoses and adaptive equipment
- Instructing patients in directing their own care
- Instructing caregivers in assisting with mobility
- Environmental evaluation
- Discharge planning
- Case management
- Referring to other professionals
- Aquatic exercise
See http://www.neuropt.org for more information
For more information go to: http://www.pediatricapta.org/
This area encompasses many of the various injuries seen by Physical Therapist on a day-to-day basis. Examples of the injuries/problems we care for include:
- Rotator cuff tear, tendonitis
- Dislocating shoulder
- Arthritis
- Cartilage tear
- Fractures
Elbow:
- Tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis)
- Golfer's elbow (medial epicondylitis)
- Cubital tunnel syndrome
- Arthritis
Hand/Wrist:
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Trigger finger
- Fractures
Hip:
- Arthritis
- Failed joint replacement
- Hip Fractures:
- Cartilage (labral) tears
- Loose bodies
- Hip Replacement
- Arthritis
- Failed joint replacement
- Meniscus tear
- ACL, PCL, MCL, LCL tears
- Bursitis
- Chondromalacia
- Recurrent dislocations
- Fractures
Ankle:
- Arthritis
- Recurrent sprains
- Pain
- Fractures
Aquatic Physical Therapy is the practice of physical therapy by a trained and licensed physical therapist or physical therapy assistant within the environment of a water-filled pool. The buoyancy, support and accommodating resistance of water enhance exercise and create a safe environment for progressive rehabilitation. The temperature of water (warm or cold) prompts muscle relaxation, facilitates stretching and generally reduces the sensation of pain.
Treatment sessions conducted by a trained and licensed physical therapist or physical therapy assistant are designed to: improve circulation, strength and endurance, balance and coordination; increase range of motion; decrease tissue swelling; normalize muscle tone; protect joints during exercise, and reduce stress.
Typical problems and conditions that can be treated effectively through aquatic physical therapy techniques are injuries to the neck, shoulder, low back, knee and ankle; chronic pain; arthritis; fibromyalgia; neurological disorders, and conditions limiting the body's ability to bear weight.
What is the difference between "aquatic physical therapy" and "aquatic exercise"?
The difference is that aquatic physical therapy requires the "skilled service" of a PT and/or PTA which may include:
- The clinical reasoning and decision making skills of a PT/PTA;
- The patient has impairments and/or disabilities which can be minimized or eliminated with aquatic physical therapy
- The patient has potential for reaching new functional goals/outcomes to improve quality of life and ease burden of care
What do I do if I am denied coverage for aquatic therapy?
First of all, one needs to understand why the denial occurred (i.e. Is documentation inadequate to justify the need, or does the third party payor globally deny aquatic physical therapy?). If the denial occurs because the third party payor denies this service, then one needs to actively educate the payor about why the physical therapist and/or doctor chose the aquatic venue for treatment
Aquatic therapy offers many advantages over land based therapy programs including:
- Buoyancy decreases stress on load-bearing joints.
- Water resistance is based on patient movement-thereby decreasing the possibility of injury since the patient controls the resistance.
- Patients feel more confident in water.
- Patients are more relaxed in water.
- An aquatic program can be combined with a land-based program to offer the patient the best rehabilitation available.
What can Aquatic Therapy do for you?
Aquatic Therapy can provide:
- Relief of compression for partial and non-weight bearing patients
- Dynamic stabilization training for patients with back pain
- Accommodating, variable and multidirectional resistance which adjusts to changing muscular capacity in any direction of movement
Aquatics is an ideal rehabilitation technique for the following diagnoses:
- Sprains / Strains / Contusions
- Fibromyalgia / CPS
- Tendonitis / Bursitis / Fractures
- Pregnant / Post-partum patients with lumber dysfunctions
- Proprioceptive deficits / Gail disturbances
- Sports specific injuries and early rehabilitation during limited weight bearing phases
- Degenerative Diseases
- Post-surgical patients
Facility Features:
- Indoor, depth of 3-1/2 to 8 feet
- 80-85 degrees
- The Aquatic Therapy team is at the pool with patients at all times
- Low steps for easy accessibility
- Individualized programs specific to your needs
- Private dressing area
- Independent aquatic programs available for post-therapy progression
What are sports injuries?
The term sports injury, in the broadest sense, refers to the kinds of injuries that most commonly occur during sports or exercise. Some sports injuries result from accidents; others are due to poor training practices, improper equipment, lack of conditioning, or insufficient warm-up and stretching.
Although virtually any part of your body can be injured during sports or exercise, the term is usually reserved for injuries that involve the musculoskeletal system, which includes the muscles, bones, and associated tissues like cartilage.
For more information go to: Handout on Sports Injuries
Therapists Provide:
- Aid in pain control
- Instruction of proper lifting and body mechanics
- Ergonomic assessments
- Instruction in injury prevention
- Communication with the employee, physician and employer as appropriate
- Activities that are focused on the patient being able to complete the essential functions of their job and return to work
- Assistance in determining appropriateness for return to work
- Work Hardening for those who need special care in returning to work.
Work Hardening focuses on:
- Simulating work activities
- Increasing endurance for work.
Functional Capacity Evaluations:
Functional capacity evaluations objectively quantify the physical capacity and vocational abilities of workers after they have incurred work-related injuries. FCE's can help determine the ability of injured workers to do their jobs safely by measuring such things as flexibility, strength, endurance and coordination. Functional Capacity Evaluations are performed by licensed physical or occupational therapists at the request of physicians, insurance companies, rehabilitation nurses, or attorneys.
When to request an FCE:
- Client who is nearing the end of a rehabilitation program.
- There is a question as to whether or not the individual can return to a previous job.
- Someone is returning to work, but needs to know what restrictions may be necessary.
- To determine the need for further treatment programs.
Who Should Be Referred for an FCE?
- Individuals who have achieved maximum medical improvement but continue to have issues related to re-injury and return to work.
- Individuals who need quantification of their physical capacities for determination of disability status.
- Individuals who need their function quantified prior to vocational job search and/or return to work
- Individuals who require quantification of their physical function for medical legal reasons.
What can I expect?
The functional capacity evaluation assesses the individual's flexibility, strength, balance, coordination, cardiovascular condition, and body mechanics. An effective FCE determines whether there is a match between the individual's functional capabilities, and the physical demands of work. Typically, an FCE focuses on a job goal rather than on individual aptitudes, interest, and temperaments. The individual's psychosocial behaviors are assessed in relation to appropriate worker traits.
There are two types of FCE:
- Baseline FCE - An objective assessment of the individual's physical abilities to perform a variety of tasks related to the physical demands of work
- Job specific FCE - An evaluation of the individual's physical abilities to function within the parameters of an identified job. The job specific FCE is based on critical physical demands of the essential functions of the job. Work simulation activities are often an integral component of the evaluation.
A physical or occupational therapist trained to administer FCE's will evaluate you. The session lasts between 2 and 6 hours depending on the individual's needs. The process involves filling out pain and function questionnaires and completing physical tasks that have been selected by the evaluator and that will best meet the individual's needs. The FCE evaluator will analyze the data collected from the session to reflect the specific objective information regarding functional work ability in the determination of occupational disability status.
How Can I Get an Appointment?
Case managers, physicians, nurse practitioners, state or local agencies, workers compensation, insurance companies, attorneys, or private payers can obtain a referral for an FCE. Once the referral has been made, an appointment can be scheduled.