| A: Physical Therapy is a business in which a trained licensed professional evaluates a person to determine why they are weak, in pain, or having difficulty accomplishing activities they normally do. Through their assessment the therapist then determines an appropriate course of rehabilitation which can involve strengthening and flexibility exercises, postural strengthening and exercise, stretching by the patient and/or the therapist, joint mobilizations, modalities such as heat, ice, electrical stim, etc, therapeutic soft tissue massage, functional activity training, and education. |
| A: If your pain or injury is acute in nature, meaning it just happened within the last 48 to 72 hours, it is best to use cold to help control inflammation. The use of cold is also recommended if there are the following signs: redness, swelling, or increase in temperature on the affected area. A hot pack is best used on sub-acute to chronic pain or injury (greater than 3 days). It is also used for loosening up tight structures such as muscles and tendons. A hot pack should never be used in an acute injury as it will increase the swelling. |
| A: Occupational therapy is a health service that is concerned with an individual's ability to participate in desired daily life tasks, or "occupations," which give one's life meaning. If a person's ability to perform these tasks which include caring for one's self or others, working, going to school, playing, and living independently is impacted by an illness, disease, and/or disability, occupational therapy can be important. |
A: Pediatric PT looks at a child’s ability to get in and out of positions, sit, crawl, stand, and walk. Once they are walking we look at their ability to walk over different level surfaces and progress coordination skills such as hopping, skipping, jumping, catching, and throwing. Your physical therapist will look at what is causing the limitation in their ability to move and set up an individualized treatment plan to address any limitations in muscle strength, flexibility, motion of the joints, postural reactions, balance, and/or coordination.
Pediatric OT looks at a child’s ability to perform fine motor skills, visual-motor skills, and self care skills. OT also addresses the child’s sitting, crawling, and standing when related to helping develop upper extremity strength and postural control to perform fine and visual-motor tasks and self care activities like feeding, dressing, and grooming. |
| A: It is best to wear loose fitting clothes during evaluation and treatment sessions. If the problem joint is the shoulder, it is best to wear a sleeveless shirt or shirt with loose sleeves; if the problem joint is the knee, wear shorts or sweatpants. Just remember that the therapist will need to look, palpate, or possibly mobilize the joint during the session so avoid wearing restrictive clothing during evaluation or your treatment. |
| A: Normal protocol for this type of injury is to follow the RICE program, Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation. You should rest your ankle during the acute stages of the injury so that no further harm is done. Ice the involved ankle for 15 to 20 minutes at a minimum of 3 to 5 times a day. Ice will help control and decrease the swelling and help with pain control. Compression is also beneficial in aiding with the swelling and inflammation. You may use an ace wrap or a compression stocking around the ankle to help with this. Elevation is also beneficial in controlling the swelling. Keeping the involved limb elevated above the level of your heart will help keep the swelling out of the ankle. If you stand up all day with no elevation, gravity will force blood flow into your ankle thus resulting in increased inflammation. |
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