In addition to stretching and physical movement, Ohio physical therapists at OAZ have additional treatments such as electrical stimulation and ultrasound.
Electrical stimulation is a therapy that passes an electrical current to an affected area. Nerve conduction within the region is altered, which can in turn alter muscle contractility. Blood flow to these tissues is also increased with electrical stimulation. Patients often experience diminished pain after this electrical stimulation of treatment.
Ultrasound uses high frequency sound waves to stimulate the deep tissues within the body. By passing an ultrasound probe over your body, deep tissues are stimulated by the vibration of the sound wave. This leads to warming and increased blood flow to these tissues.
Troy began his career as a physician assistant in 2003 upon graduating from the Cuyahoga Community College. He later earned his Masters of Physician Assistant Studies from the University of Nebraska in 2007. A licensed physician assistant, he also has served as a treatment supervisor and physician assistant for the U.S. Army since 1994, where he has significant experience in emergency and routine medical care.
The Ohio physical therapists of Orthopaedic Associates will be at the Day of Dance at Colony Squire Mall on February 27, 2010, between 8:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.
The event, sponsored by Genesis Healthcare System, welcomes the community to learn simple ways to stay healthy, enjoy music and participate in health screenings.
The Ohio physical therapists of Orthopaedic Associates provide information on proper stretching exercises and how physical therapy can help your life.
OAZ’s Ohio physical therapists can guide you in physical therapy or special hand exercises to relieve mild to moderate symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome.
• Gliding exercises: Moving your fingers in a specified pattern of exercises may help your tendons and nerves glide more smoothly through your carpal tunnel. While there’s some evidence that gliding exercises can help relieve carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms when used alone, these exercises appear to work better in combination with other treatments — such as splinting.
• Contrast baths: Alternating between warm water and cold water soaks helps reduce carpal tunnel symptoms in some people.
To talk to OAZ’s Ohio physical therapists about carpal tunnel syndrome, make an appointment today.
Stretching is the act of lengthening muscles in order to increase muscle flexibility and joint range of motion. OAZ specializes in Ohio physical therapy and reminds patients that stretching activities are an important part of any exercise or rehabilitation program.
The Mayo Clinic recently released a list of the top five benefits of stretching and OAZ agrees that these benefits are important for people of all ages to consider. Keep in mind that warming up the body prior to activity decreases the risk of injury as well as muscle soreness.
The top five benefits of stretching are:
Increased flexibility and joint range of motion:
Flexible muscles can improve your daily performance. Tasks such as lifting packages, bending to tie your shoes or hurrying to catch a bus become easier and less tiring. Flexibility tends to diminish as you get older, but you can regain and maintain it.
Improved circulation:
Stretching increases blood flow to your muscles. Blood flowing to your muscles brings nourishment and gets rid of waste byproducts in the muscle tissue. Improved circulation can help shorten your recovery time if you’ve had any muscle injuries.
Better posture:
Frequent stretching can help keep your muscles from getting tight, allowing you to maintain proper posture. Good posture can minimize discomfort and keep aches and pains at a minimum.
Stress relief:
Stretching relaxes tight, tense muscles that often accompany stress.
Enhanced coordination:
Maintaining the full range-of-motion through your joints keeps you in better balance. Coordination and balance will help keep you mobile and less prone to injury from falls, especially as you get older.
The Ohio physical therapy experts at OAZ remind patients that stretching is one of the most important parts of the rehabilitation process.
Often times caregivers do not realize that taking care of a spouse or family member at home can increase their risk of injury. In fact, certain activities put you at a greater risk for back pain, including:
Pulling a patient in bed up into a sitting position
Transferring a person from a bed to a chair
Leaning over a patient for long periods of time
Lifting or moving a person
The physicians at Orthopaedic Associates of Zanesville offer their patient caregivers the following lifting techniques to be sure that they, too, don’t suffer injury.
Maintain the proper alignment of your head and neck with your spine
Maintain the natural curve of your spine
Don’t bend at your waist
Avoid twisting your body when carrying a person
Keep the person who is being moved close to your body
Keep your feet shoulder-width apart, which will help maintain your balance
Use the muscles in your legs to lift, not your back
Don’t be afraid to ask for help
Patient caregivers can avoid back pain by keeping these simple tips in mind.
Orthopaedic Associates of Zanesville offers leading physical therapy in Ohio to treat neck strain and whiplash.
Symptoms such as pain, stiffness, headaches, dizziness, abnormal sensations such as burning or prickling are all symptoms of neck strain. In some serious cases, some people may even experience memory loss, concentration impairment, nervousness/irritability, sleep disturbances, fatigue or depression.
Neck strain is caused by an irritation to tendons, muscles and ligaments in the upper back and neck area. Whiplash is characterized by a collection of symptoms that occur following damage to the neck, usually because of sudden extension and flexion, such as in a car accident.
To treat neck strain at home, get plenty of bed rest to minimize movement. Over-the-counter pain medications like acetaminophen and ibuprofen and applying heat and ice packs intermittently can help ease the symptoms.
If symptoms persist, the physical therapy team at Ohio’s Orthopaedic Associates of Zanesville can help by guiding you through exercises or even provide ultra sound therapy
Back-to-school time means fall sports! The Orthopaedic Associates of Zanesville is ready to help athletes in southeast Ohio with our caring sports medicine team. We have board-certified physicians and physical therapists to treat the top ten sports injuries in Ohio.
Ankle Sprains: The most common of all ankle injuries, an ankle sprain occurs when there is a stretching and tearing of ligaments surrounding the ankle joint.
Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) Injuries: ACL partial or complete tears can occur when an athlete changes direction rapidly, twists without moving the feet, slows down abruptly, or misses a landing from a jump
Broken Shoulder: A shoulder fracture typically refers to a total or partial break to either the clavicle (collar bone) or the neck of the humerus (arm bone). It generally is from an impact injury, such as a fall or blow to the shoulder
Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness: Muscle pain, stiffness or soreness that occurs 24-48 hours after unaccustomed, or particularly intense exercise.
Hamstring Pull, Tear, or Strain: Hamstring injuries are common among runners. The hamstring muscles run down the back of the leg from the pelvis to the lower leg bones, and an injury can range from minor strains to total rupture of the muscle.
Knee Pain: Knee pain is extremely common in athletes. In order to treat the cause of the pain, it is important to have an evaluation and proper diagnosis.
Shoulder Tendonitis, Bursitis, and Impingement Syndrome: These conditions are similar and often occur together. If the rotator cuff and bursa are irritated, inflamed, and swollen, they may become squeezed between the head of the humerus and the acromion.
Stress Fracture: Stress fractures in the leg are often the result of overuse or repeated impacts on a hard surface
Tendonitis: Tendonitis is a common sports injury that often occurs from overuse. Tendonitis can cause deep, nagging pain that is caused by inflammation of tendons. Treating tendonitis consists of rest, medication, physical therapy or changes to equipment or technique
Tennis Elbow: The number one reason people see their doctor is for elbow pain. It is considered a cumulative trauma injury that occurs over time from repeated use of the muscles of the arm and forearm that lead to small tears of the tendons.
If you’re suffering from any of these sports injuries in Ohio, contact Orthopaedic Associates of Zanesville at 740-454-3273.
OAZ is known for their expertise in Ohio Physical Therapy and Ohio sports medicine and is the only facility of its kind in the Southeastern Ohio area. For treating strains and sprains, they recommend the RICE theory. RICE stands for Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation. It should be applied to an injury in the first 24 to 48 hours. Using the RICE method should reduce swelling and pain and speed the recovery and rehabilitation process.
Rest
When suffering from a strain or sprain, it is important to reduce regular exercise or other physical activities as much as you can. Sometimes your doctor will recommend that you put no strain on your injury for at least 48 hours. Tools like crutches or a sling can help you give your injury the rest it needs to get better.
Ice
It is important to apply a cold pack to injuries regularly during the first few days after it occurs. Do so for 20 minutes at a time, four to eight times a day. This will reduce swelling and help you heal faster. To avoid cold injury and frostbite, do not apply the ice for more than 20 minutes.
Compression
Compression of an injured ankle, knee or wrist may help reduce swelling as well. Your doctor can provide you with compression bandages, elastic wraps, special boots, air casts and splints to help you apply compression.
Elevation
If possible, keep the injured ankle, knee, elbow or wrist elevated. Ideally the injury should be above the level of the heart, to help decrease swelling.
If you have hurt yourself and think you may have a strain or sprain, call the Orthopaedic Associates of Zanesville at 740-454-3273. We specialize offering Physical Therapy in Ohio.
Dr. Steven Kimberly, who specializes in general orthopaedics and total joint replacements at OAZ, was recently featured on WHIZ-TV. In the story related to National Arthritis Month, Dr. Kimberly provides tips for arthritis prevention.
