Joint Mobilization
Mobilizing joints throughout the body to restore full range of motion at the joint level. Joints include vertebral joints (Spine), sacroiliac, shoulders, elbows, wrists, fingers, hips, knees, ankles, and feet.
Soft Tissue / Myofascial Release
Through advanced massage techniques, the therapist can reduce or eliminate spasm, fibrotic soft tissue, and stretch tight muscles.
Therapeutic Exercises
Exercises that are prescribed by the therapist that are specific to your condition. The exercises are designed to increase strength, restore normal function, and reduce disability.
Sport / Occupational Specific Training
Training for athletes designed to return you back to your full potential in the sport and position that you play. Pre-employment screening for companies who are looking to reduce workers compensation claims by examining a possible new hire to see if they can actually perform the essential functions of the job being offered.
Gait Analysis and Training
The challenges Physical Therapists face when it comes to analyzing and retraining gait are numerous; gait training employs strength, coordination, and balance training to improve stability and body perception. This is usually needed with the presence of certain neurological conditions i.e Stroke. The overwhelming task is to coordinate musculoskeletal functioning and motor control with mental attentiveness and sensation.
Gait is uniform among patients in that it consists of the stance phase and swing phase, and incorporates the transfer of body weight from one foot to another, but cadence and speed can vary widely. Deviations from normal gait can be a result of numerous affected body parts, particularly the ankle, foot, knee, hip, or pelvis, or from conditions that cause muscle weakness, tightness, spasticity, loss of sensation, pain, or other alteration to function.
When a gait problem presents, PTs must first effectively and accurately analyze the situation, in terms of that specific patient and their definition of normal. After analysis, an appropriate training method must be developed and used to get patients back as close to “normal” as possible.
Coordination and Balance Training
Specturm Physical Therpay utilizes some of the most comprehensive clinical assessment tools available to assess for balance dificits. Sensory integration, gaze stability, static and dynamic balance, and gait tasks are rendered to simulate a wide variety of commonly encountered daily activities. Performance values, as well as diagnostic results, are analyzed to determine the most appropriate form of balance therapy. We use conventional balance therapy methods as well as incorporating the Wii Fitness program. We have found increased compliance, more interaction, and patients allowing longer treatment sessions with the Wii Fit.
TMJ Dysfunction
The temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is where the skull’s temporal bone connects to the lower jaw. This joint opens and closes like a hinge and slides forward, backward, and side to side. Temporomandibular joint dysfunction occurs as a result of anatomic problems within the joint or tension in the muscles surrounding the joint or in the neck area.Signs and symptoms of TMJ dysfunction include:
- Pain in the jaw that accompanies movement or clenching
- Decreased range of motion in the jaw
- Noise during jaw movement
- Headache
Spectrum Physical Therapy’s Approach to Treating TMJ dysfunction:
Manual therapy to increase joint mobility and range of motion in the TMJ region, recapture the displaced TMJ disc, decrease muscle tightness and trigger points around the joint and cervical region to restore pain-free mobility
Neuromuscular re-education in proper movement of the jaw that is progressed at an appropriate rate so that deviation, clicking, and painful movement is avoided.
Education and Home Exercise Program on proper posture and movement to reduce clicking and inflammation within the joint, improve function and range of motion, and stabilize the bite.
Maintenance Program
A maintenance program is provided to patients who have finished physical therapy and do not want to venture into a gym for exercise. It is designed for patients who would like to continue with an exercise program to maintain or further improve their strength, flexibility, endurance, and functional ability. The maintenance program is $70 per month.
Hand Therapy
At Spectrum, we can deliver physical therapy care for patients with injuries to the hand, wrist, forearm, elbow, and shoulder. Out of seven therapists currently, we have three that are very competent in treating hand dysfunctions.
Common hand dysfunctions that we treat include: Tendon repairs / tenolysis, tendinitis, arthroplasty, contractures, fractures, fusions, ligament / dislocation, nerve repairs, neural compression syndromes, replantation, pain and RSD.
Treatment options for your patients include: paraffin bath, moist heat, cryotherpay, ultrasound, manual soft tissue mobilization, myofascial release, Graston technique for scar mobilization, joint mobilization, tendon gliding, neural flossing and mobilization, prom/aarom, arom for contractured joints and tissue, splinting off premise, cryotherapy, neuromuscular re-education, therapeutic exercise specific for each patient.
Spectrum Occupational Health & Industrial Medicine:
Pre-employment/Post-offer screens, Return to Work Screens, Back education training, reducing strains & sprains injury training, Job site analysis, and return to work rehabilitation.
Dr. Welch is a certified functional capacity evaluator with many years of experience performing functional capacity evaluations, pre-employment screens, return to work screening, training to reduce the most common strain and sprain injuries, and job site analysis. Pre-employment screens are designed to simulate the essential tasks of a job. The screen helps determine if the potential new employee can in fact perform the job duties required of that position. If the potential new hire cannot perform the essential tasks then HR is notified of this. Retrun to work screens are similar, but performed when an employee is returning to work after an injury, whether the injury was on the job or not. The employer should know whether this employee is capable of performing the essential tasks of their job. The bottom line is that it reduces work related injuries and lowers workers compensation costs. If you are an employer and have any questions with regards to these servicesdon’t hesitate to contact Dr. Welch. A meeting can be set up at your office to discuss the services and potential to offer these services for your company.
