What is rehabilitation?

A. Rehabilitation helps people recover from surgery, an accident or injury. Rehab also helps when a person’s body is not functioning at what is considered normal for them—perhaps they had a heart attack, stroke or fall; or are dealing with a neurological disease; or even facing aging and incontinence. Rehabilitation helps when the body is changing in a way that is affecting function and quality of life. A healthcare provider evaluates a person from the standpoint of their mobility, balance and strength. What are they having difficulty doing? What do they want to get back to doing? The basic premise of rehab is that you’re looking at the person’s physical dysfunction and determining the steps to take to improve the person’s physical condition.

 

Do I really have to do home exercises?

A. Often times patients go to rehab only two or three times a week depending on their insurance and payment options. The responsibility for improvement falls on the individual, too. The stretching and strengthening exercises are really something that has to be done almost daily. You’re not going to get the progress or improvement you need just relying on going to your rehab visits, so you have to do exercises at home. And, by the way, we can always tell if someone is being good about doing his or her home exercise program or not.

 

How does rehabilitation differ for older adults?

A. The timeline of healing and recovery is going to be longer, because with the aging process, seniors don’t heal as quickly as someone younger. But at the same time, I still think seniors are not a population of people who should be discounted. I don’t want people to say, “You’re 90, who cares?” You look at the individual, what their life is like, how active they are and their motivation. You may not be as aggressive with some of the modalities and exercises for seniors, but you continue to treat them like you would anyone else. You just expect their physical recovery to take longer.

 

How can a rehabilitation help you?

A. Patients can benefit from rehabilitation for a variety of different reasons ranging from sports injuries to lower back pain, arthritis, vertigo and post stroke. They can treat patients who are recovering from fractures, joint replacements, amputations, or burns.

 

How many times a week do you usually attend rehabilitation?

Your treatment plan is dependent on what is found upon evaluation by the healthcare provider. Treatment plans can vary from 1x/week to 3x/week but the typical frequency would be 2 – 3x/week for 45 minute sessions.

 

Is rehabilitation covered by my health insurance?

A: In most cases, yes. We will verify all insurance coverages and discuss this with you are your Report of Findings (ROF) visit.
 

What is Neuropathy

Neuropathy is a condition in which you feel numbness, tingling, and even pain in the affected area. Neuropathy occurs when the nerves are damaged or destroyed, and cannot send signals to the brain correctly. Therefore, the brain interprets this as tingling or pain even if you are not touching anything.
Peripheral neuropathy is the most common type of neuropathy. In this type, the nerves in your extremities are damaged, and people experience sensations of tingling and pain in their hands, feet, and legs.

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What Causes Neuropathy?

Neuropathy is primarily caused by nerve damage. One of the main causes of peripheral neuropathy is nerve damage due to diabetes. Other causes include trauma, autoimmune diseases that attack the nerves like rheumatoid arthritis, and vascular diseases.

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What Is Red Light Therapy?

The red light therapy is a regenerative medicine treatment that uses different types of light to stimulate new growth of nerves and tissue and help relieve pain.

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How Does Red Light Therapy Relieve Pain?

The red light could stimulate mitochondria in your cells, which produce energy for your cells.  Studies have found that RLT could stimulate the re-growth of blood vessels, so those treated with RLT get more blood and oxygen, further promoting healing. Another study found that RLT may improve peripheral nerve regeneration, as well as improve function, decrease pain, and increase sensation in treated areas.

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Red Light Therapy Treatment

A red LED light is passed over the body area where the patient is experiencing neuropathy pain during the treatment. The amount of time your skin is exposed to the light is up to the clinician’s judgment, but there is no risk of being burned by the light because it is not UV light or the kind of light from tanning booths that can damage the skin.

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What is spinal decompression therapy?

Spinal decompression therapy is a non-surgical approach to rehabilitating the discs that cushion the bones of the spine. Spinal decompression therapy uses FDA-approved technology that gently stretches the spine in a way that decompresses, or relieves pressure, on those discs. The spine is made of many bones, known as vertebra, stacked upon one another like a deck of cards. Rubbery discs, filled with a gooey liquid, lie between each vertebra to prevent the bones from grinding against one another. Gravity and body weight on the spine presses against these discs, causing them to occasionally “slip” out of place or develop a tear that allows liquid to seep out. The misplaced disc or its leakage presses against nerves to cause pain. Spinal decompression relieves the pressure on the discs.

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How does spinal decompression therapy work?

Spinal decompression therapy works by gently stretching the spine, separating the vertebral bones of the spine to cause a vacuum inside the discs. This vacuum effect, known as negative intradiscal pressure, pulls the disc back into proper shape and position. Spinal decompression therapy also helps discs absorb the water, oxygen and nutrient-rich fluids they need to begin healing.

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What can I expect during spinal decompression therapy?

You will remain fully clothed during spinal decompression therapy, so treatment is never embarrassing. Our chiropractic team will fit you with two harnesses – one that wraps around your chest and another for your pelvis – and you will lie face up or face down on a computerized table. Your chiropractor uses a computer to operate the table, which gently decompresses the bones of the spine by applying a gentle pulling motion to each harness.

What conditions is spinal decompression treatment used for?
Degenerated discs, herniated discs, bulging discs, facet syndrome, failed spine surgery, or failure to respond to traditional chiropractic, physical therapy, steroid injections or pain medication.

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What is Durable Medical Equipment (DME)? 

Durable medical equipment is any medical equipment used in the home to aid in a better quality of life. DME is used to provide additional support and care to patients outside of the a healthcare setting and is designed to support both temporary and permanent conditions.