Therapy Treatments

Cryotherapy can be administered via cold packs, ice massage, or vapor coolant sprays.  The effects of cryotherapy are Hemodynamic Effects, Neuromuscular Effects, and Metabolic Effects.  The Hemodynamic effects are initial decrease in blood flow and later increase in blood flow.  The Neuromuscular effects are decreased nerve conduction velocity, increased pain threshold, altered muscle strength, decreased spasticity, and facilitation of muscle contraction.  The Metabolic Effects is decreased metabolic rate.

Thermal Therapy can be administered via hot packs or paraffin. The effects of thermal therapy are Hemodynamic Effects, Neuromuscular Effects, Metabolic Effects, Altered Tissue Extensibility. The Hemodynamic effects are vasodilation. The Neuromuscular effects are changes in nerve conduction velocity and firing rate, increased pain threshold, and changes in muscle strength. The Metabolic effect is increased metabolic rate. The Altered tissue extensibility is increased collagen extensibility.

Electrical stimulation is an electrical current which is a flow of charged particles. The charged particles may be either electrons or ions. Electrical currents are applied to biological systems to change physiological processes. Electrical stimulation has a wide range of clinical applications in rehabilitation. These include muscle strengthening, pain control, and the resolution of edema and inflammatory reactions following injury or surgery. Types of electrical stimulation are Direct Current, Alternating Current, Pulsed Current, Interferential Current, Premodulated Current and Russian.

Ultrasound is a type of sound, and all forms of sound consist of waves that transmit energy by alternately compressing and rarefying material. Ultrasound has a variety of physical effects that can be classified as thermal or nonthermal.  Its ability to increase tissue temperature is its thermal effect, and its ability to cause acoustic streaming, microstreaming, and cavitation, which may alter cell membrane permeability, is its nonthermal effects.  The thermal effects of ultrasound, including acceleration of metabolic rate, reduction or control of pain and muscle spasm, alteration of nerve conduction velocity, increased circulation, and increased soft tissue extensibility.  Ultrasound reaches more deeply and heats smaller areas than most superficial heating agents.  Thus, ultrasound is particularly well-suited to heating tendons, ligaments, joint capsules, and fascia while not overheating the overlaying fat.

Phonophoresis (Phono) is the use of ultrasound to drive an anti-inflammatory cream to enhance the reduction of inflammation in the injured tissue.

Iontophoresis (Ionto) is the use of a low voltage DC for moving charge ions across the dermal barrier. Ionto is used to drive a medication called Dexamethasone into the tissues that are injured. It promotes transdermal drug penetration primarily by increasing the permeability of the stratum corneum, the main barrier to transdermal drug uptake.

Traction is the application of a mechanical force to the body in a way that separates, or attempts to separate, the joint surfaces and elongate the surrounding soft tissues. Traction can be applied manually by the clinician or mechanically by a machine. Traction can also be applied by the patient using body weight and the force of gravity to exert a force. Traction can be applied to the spinal or peripheral joints. The effects of spinal traction are joint distraction, reduction of disc protrusion, soft tissue stretching, muscle relaxation, joint mobilization, and patient immobilization.

Therapeutic Exercise consists of a regiment of exercises focusing on the area of impairment including strengthening, stretching, range of motion, and functional activities, to return to optimal functional levels.

The ASTYM System is a therapy approach that addresses problems such as scarring, fibrosis and degeneration that occur in soft tissues. These problems may develop as the result of trauma, surgery or overuse. The System is effective for new injuries as well as chronic, nagging conditions. The ASTYM System uses instruments along the surface of the skin to locate these problem areas and start the body’s healing process. As the body heals, exercise and activity help guide the healing which allows you to return to activities without pain and limitation. The success of the ASTYM System is documented for a wide variety of diagnoses and many times it helps patients where other treatments have failed.

“Cupping Therapy” is an ancient form of alternative medicine in which a therapist puts special cups on your skin for a few minutes to create suction. Cupping is performed on patients for pain relief, inflammation reduction, increased blood flow and relaxation.

Dry Needling involves inserting a monofilament needle into muscular trigger points of the body in order to cause a neuromusculoskeletal effect. It assists with the release of shortened bands of muscles and decreased trigger point activity. This can help reduce pain and muscle tension and will promote healing. Dry needling is not traditional Chinese Acupuncture, but is instead a physical therapy treatment that is based on western medical concepts.

Ultrasound is sound waves with frequencies which are higher than those audible to humans. Ultrasonic images, also known as sonograms, are made by sending pulses of ultrasound into tissue using a probe.
Medical ultrasound (also known as diagnostic sonography or ultrasonography) is a diagnostic imaging technique based on the application of ultrasound. It is used to create an image of internal body structures such as tendons, muscles, joints, blood vessels, and internal organs. Its aim is often to find a source of a disease or to exclude pathology. Musculo-skeletal Ultrasound is used by a Physical Therapist to identify conditions such as arthritis, tendinitis/tendinopathy, tendon tears, soft tissue damage, and/or bursitis among many other conditions.
Compared to other dominate methods of medical imaging, ultrasound has several advantages. It provides images in real-time and is portable. It is substantially lower in cost than other imaging modalities and does not use harmful ionizing radiation.

Specialty tape is used for specific injuries in order to support ligaments/joints, enhance tendon activity, and decrease swelling. Specialty taping includes Kinesio Taping and Leuko Taping.

Manual Therapy techniques are hands on manual skills provided by your therapist to facilitate pain relief, range of motion, and muscular contractions to restore normalcy of movement patterns.

Pediatric physical therapy involves patients ranging from 0-18 years old. Conditions requiring pediatric physical therapy can be congenital or acquired diseases and disorders. Some of these include Cerebral Palsy, Muscular Dystrophy, Torticollis, etc., as well as orthopedic injuries. The purpose of a physical therapist in a pediatric environment is to evaluate and provide treatment for the child to optimize his/her participate in school, extracurricular, and home activities.

Functional capacity evaluation also known as FCE is a one-on-one evaluation with the physical therapist in order to gauge a patient’s abilities to perform certain activities related to his or her employment. The patient performs a number of physical and cognitive tests, and the physical therapist compares the outcomes to the requirements demanded by his or her work activities. An overall conclusion is drawn by the physical therapist of whether the patient is able to participate at work.

Neurological Physical therapy involves diagnoses that are affiliated with the nervous system. These types of conditions can impact simple everyday activities. Physical therapy can aid in the recovery and treatment of these conditions by increasing strength, motor control, improving mobility, optimizing functional level and returning to independence. Conditions that can be treated with neurological physical therapy are Strokes, Spinal cord injuries, Brain injuries, Parkinson’s disease, Multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune diseases including Guillain-Barre Syndrome.