Therapy Solutions - Our Services and Specialties

Therapy Solutions
6631 East 2nd St.
Casper, WY 82609
ph: 307-268-9904
fax: 307-268-9907
therapysolutions@hotmail.com

Our Services and Specialties

Manual or "Hands-on" physical therapy

Many patients arrive at their first physical therapy appointment expecting to receive hot packs, ultrasound and instructions on how to complete a series of exercises. These modalities are warranted in many instances and most therapists would agree that exercise is needed to help restore muscle imbalances. However, many therapists now approach the restoration of function from a different perspective. These therapists are interested in why a muscle isn’t functioning properly and view exercise not as the driving mode of recovery but as a complement to manual therapy.

Manual physical therapy is a specialized form of physical therapy delivered with the hands as opposed to a device or machine. In manual therapy, practitioners use their hands to put pressure on muscle tissue and manipulate joints in an attempt to decrease pain caused by muscle spasm, muscle tension and joint dysfunction.

The following two treatments are examples of what your therapist might use during your treatment.

• Mobilization techniques, which uses measured movements of varying speed (slow and gentle), force (gentle to forceful), and distances (called 'amplitude') to twist, pull, or push bones and joints into position. This can help loosen tight tissues around a joint, reduce pain in a joint and surrounding tissue and help with flexibility and alignment.

• Soft tissue work, including massage, applies pressure to the soft tissues of the body such as the muscles. This pressure can help relax muscles, increase circulation, break up scar tissue, and ease pain in the soft tissues.

ORTHOPEDIC THERAPY

It is Therapy Solution's philosophy and practice that orthopedic conditions require a total body approach versus focus only on an isolated region. This is thought to be important due to the intricate connection of one area to the next and their influence on each other. "Pain is usually, if not always, generated by the parts of the body that are adapting, not by the parts with impaired function." (Mitchell, R, Jr.) Therapy Solutions not only wishes to treat an individual's symptoms, but also desires to address the person's primary dysfunction. We believe that a comprehensive one hour evaluation and treatment approach utilizing one on one care consisting of manual therapy techniques, modalities, therapeutic exercise, and patient education for self management is essential. This method is most beneficial to our patients, not only in the short term, but also in the long term outcome.

AQUATIC THERAPY

• Buoyancy and the natural resistance of water enhance exercise and create a safe
environment for progressive rehabilitation.

• Warm water temperature prompts muscle relaxation, facilitates stretching, reduces pain.

• Improves circulation and reduces stress.

• Improves strength, endurance and balance/coordination.

• Increases range of motion.

• Decreases tissue swelling.

• Protects joints during exercise.

• Helps reinforce lumbar stabilization with exercise.

Conditions that would benefit from aquatic therapy:

• Neck, Shoulder, Low Back Pain

• Acute and Chronic Pain

• Neurological Disorders

• Orthopedic Post Surgeries

• Balance and Endurance Problems

• Fibromyalgia

PAIN THERAPY

A frequent reason for referral to therapy is pain. Our goal as therapists is to determine which musculoskeletaI/fascial structures are contributing to the pain processes that result in such diagnoses as chronic HA's, neck/back pain, etc. With chronic pain, undoubtedly there are multiple structures and movement compensations that are contributing to the pain.

Initially therapists evaluate:

• Joint Mobility/Alignment

• Muscle Length

• Fascial Restrictions

This evalaution can determine normal joint and functional mobility. While treating dysfunctions in this area will usually decrease pain, it is necessary to go a step further.

Patients will be taught specific exercises to:

• Strengthen muscles

• Maintain muscle length

• Improve overall posture to keep their body in optimal alignment and prevent
future flare-ups.

Patients will be educated in :

• Proper Body Mechanics

• Proper ergonomic set-up at his or her place of employment

• Optimal sitting and driving postures

• The importance of lifelong exercise to enable successful pain management.

Each person has individual needs and pain patterns. Thus, each person is evaluated and their plan of care devised to meet these individual needs.

NEUROLOGICAL TREATMENT

Physical and Occupational Therapy for the treatment of any neurological disorder can improve normal patterns of movements, improve upper and lower extremity function, gait, balance, and strength.

Typical Diagnoses::

• Cerebral Vascular Accidents• Multiple Sclerosis

• Parkinson's Disease

• Head and Spinal Cord Injury

• Post Polio Syndrome

• Cerebral palsy

Peripheral Nerve Injuries:

• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

• Thoracic Outlet Syndrome

• Upper Extremity Nerve Injuries

• Complex Regional Pain Syndrome

Treatment:

• Neuromuscular Re-education to develop normal patterns of movement

• Balance and Gait Training

• Strengthening Programs

• Aquatic Therapy

• ADL retraining

• Home Exercise Programs

Our goal is to return the patient to the highest level of independent function possible.

POST SURGICAL TREATMENT

Following surgeries, flexibility of scar tissue is important to allow more complete return of motion and activity. This is accomplished in the following ways:

• Management of scar tissue

• Prophylaxis of post surgical fluids including inflammation

• Desensitization of the surgical sight

• Resolution of movement dysfuction

• Correct postural asymmetry of the spine, pelvis, sacrum, ribs, etc.

• Imbalances in muscle tension due to improper neurological input is addressed
Treatment Methods:

• Various manual therapies

• Aquatic therapy in a warm water pool

• Therapeutic exercise to provide strengthening and return of normal movement

• Neurological re-educatjon for proper sequencing during spinal stabilization

• Dynamic Lumbar Stabilization, which is often interrupted following surgery

• Swiss ball (physioball) programs

• Home exercise programs addressing the individual's weakness

• Education in pain management, scar management and postural feedback techniques that
the patient can use when not in therapy

Typical diagnoses:
• Mastectomy

• Spinal surgeries

• Joint replacements

• Abdominal surgeries

• Orthopedic surgeries

The primary goal of therapy is to return the patient to their previous level of function without restrictions.

FUNCTIONAL CAPACITY EVALUATIONS (FCE),

PRE-EMPLOYMENT SCREENINGS,

ERGONOMIC ASSESSMENTS.

**Therapy Solutions is the only ErgoScience certified center in Casper
and the surrounding areas.**

Functional capacity evaluations are utilized to obtain objective measures regarding an individual's functional abilities that will significantly affect the lives, livelihood and future of injured workers. The FCE provides performance based assessment regarding an individual's:

1) Capacity to safely return to work

2) Candidacy for disability

3) Employability

4) Necessity for treatment continuation

Most FCEs lack standardization and objectivity, lack evidence of reliability and validity, and are lengthy and expensive. In addition, they often deliver poorly organized and articulated reports and promote confusion between impairment, function, and disability information. The above reasons are why Therapy Solutions chose the ErgoScience FCE method and has had its therapists trained in its administration.

The ErgoScience method standardizes objectivity by utilizing a scoring s
ystem that has been studied and shown to be reliable and valid through empirical research (Lechner, et al: Journal of Occupational Medicine,1994 and Lechner, Page, Scheffield: (abstract) Physical Therapy, 1996). This scoring system has also been shown to extrapolate to an 8 hour work day. The time required to perform and complete the test is 4 to 6 hours and is cost competitive with other tests that promote the same findings. A computer generated report is produced following the test showing overall level of work, tolerance for the 8-hour work day, any self limiting behaviors, testing inconsistencies, job match and a complete, detailed summary and/or future recommendations.

Why is reliability and validity so important in an FCE? Without these 2 factors the quality of care may be compromised, the evaluation may not meet professional organization(s) standards and the results may be easily inadmissible in a court of law. The ErgoScience method is the only FCE that meets all of the following criteria: it complies with the American Physical Therapy Association Standards for Tests and Measures, it meets the APTA's guidelines for an FCE and it meets standards for admissible court testimony as established in the case of Daubert v. Merrill Dow Pharmaceuticals.

Therapy Solutions also offers pre-employment screenings and work place ergonomic evaluations.

A Work Conditioning program can also be specifically developed from the FCE findings to strengthen weakened areas and promote safe and proper lifting techniques so the injured worker can return to the work place without recurrent injuries.