The role of physical therapy is to enable the patient suffering the consequences of whiplash to return to normal or desired levels of activity.
Physical therapy enhances pain reduction and shortening of post-injury disability.
There are several fundamental goals in physical therapy to reduce or eliminate pain, restore movement/function, flexibility, and build strength/stability.
It can take some time to recover completely after an auto accident.
While it can be frustrating to wait, working with a physical therapist can substantially help speed up recovery time and help you get back to life faster, while also improving your overall strength and mobility.
It’s the best way to facilitate a safe recovery after you’ve been injured in an accident.
Physical Therapy & Rehabilitative Programs
Physical Therapy and a Rehabilitative Exercise Program after a motor vehicle crash can be the focal treatment or the first important step in addressing injuries sustained.
It promotes healing, restores function, improves strength/stability, and decreases pain for the affected areas of the body.
Our physical therapy department and rehabilitative exercise programs provide specialized one-on-one treatment programs tailored to help individual patients:
- Improve mobility, strength, stability and balance
- Maintain or regain everyday functional activity
- Decrease pain
Our caring and highly trained staff is experienced in working with patients injured in motor vehicle crashes. For patient convenience, we process all necessary insurance verifications for treatment.
Our Physical Therapy Experience
Apple Rehab physical therapists work with patients and the physician as a team to meet individual and progressive recovery goals.
We work to ensure that every visit is pleasant and comfortable. We will coordinate with Dr to answer all patient questions.
Our multi-disciplinary approach aims to restore functional movement, improve strength, increase stability, decrease pain and promote healing and recovery.
We put an emphasis on teaching injury prevention and healthy preventative therapies that help patients maintain their improvements and return rapidly to work and their activities of daily living.
Available Therapies
Our treatments are performed on a one-on-one basis and combine skilled hands-on physical therapy with extraordinary patient education and specific strengthening/stretching programs to condition patients, promote healing and avoid re-injury.
People have different types of bodies, different patterns of movement, different alignments, different habits and so respond differently to therapies.
Our physical therapists monitor each patient and works to minimize pain by improving habits, alignments and other factors.
Therapies can be both active and passive. Passive Therapies include moist heat, cryotherapy, ultrasound and interferential/TENS, which delivers painless low-voltage electrical current that stimulates nerves in the affected area and sends signals to the brain that “scramble” normal pain perception.
Active Therapies include manual hands-on therapy, stretching and strengthening exercises that may be done with weights and bands, core and work hardening, balance training, and cardiovascular conditioning.
Modalities
Most commonly utilized as a form of passive treatment in healing and reduction of inflammation and acute pain.
Our modalities’ include ultrasound, interferential, cervical/lumbar traction, iontophoresis and cold laser.
Stretching/Strengthening Exercises and Posture
Our clinic strongly encourages and uses exercise and postural awareness, which carries over to an individual home exercise program.
We adhere to protocols and guidelines for certain diagnoses, but customize each exercise program to the individual patient. Our clinic is fully equipped with exercise equipment, Thera-Band, weights/dumbbells, pulleys, stability balls/Bosu ball, recumbent bike, and upper body ergometer to meet all our patients therapy needs.
MedX Exercise Equipment
We utilize the state of the art Core Strength MedX Machines: Torso Rotation, Lumbar Strength, Ab Isolator, and 4-way Cervical. These machines have proven to gauge and improve function to injured and weakened areas by isolating muscle groups to improve function to muscle areas injured without causing further injury to other surrounding areas.
Vestibular Rehabilitation Therapy (VRT)
Vestibular Rehabilitation is a certified and exercise based program designed by our physical therapists to improve balance and reduce dizziness.
Manual Therapy
Manual therapy can promote healing in tissues by utilizing a hands-on approach increasing flexibility and restoring muscle mobility and function.
Techniques used in our clinic are Active Release Technique® (ART), trigger point therapy, soft tissue, myofacial release, joint mobilizations, muscle energy, strain counter-strain, and oscillations.
Active Release Technique® (ART) ART is a state of the art soft tissue system/movement based manual technique that treats problems with muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia and nerves.
Myofacial Release
Kinesio Taping®
The Kinesio Taping® method involves taping over and around muscles to assist and give muscle support, or to prevent over contraction of the muscles.
The first technique gives the opportunity to give support with full range of motion enabling the individual to participate in physical activity with functional assistance.
The second technique helps fight overuse/contraction and helps provide 24 hours/day facilitation of lymphatic fluid.
Kinesio Tape® can be best used in conjunction with other physical therapy treatments.