Physical Therapy
At Confident Living, our Physical Therapists work alongside our clients to develop an individualized, client-centered treatment plan to address any strength, range of motion, endurance, or balance impairment that may be limiting function or independence in the home. Our clinicians have extensive experience in treating clients with a wide range of neurological and orthopedic conditions such as cerebral palsy, spinal cord injury, post-stroke, brain injury, joint replacements, and amputations. We work with our clients to help them achieve their goals through individualized treatment sessions, detailed home-exercise programs, and family/caregiver training.
Decreased strength and endurance can lead to muscle imbalances and pain, decreased function, and decreased independence with activities of daily living (ADLs). Our clinicians can help tailor an individualized exercise program to help gain strength and endurance based on each client's individual needs. Modifications can be provided for decreased grip strength, range of motion (ROM) deficits, or spasticity. Detailed home exercise programs can be provided and progressed as needed for clients to continue their exercise outside of clinic time.
Range of motion (ROM) deficits and contractures can be common with a variety of neurological or orthopedic conditions that may limit a client's ability to perform functional tasks. Our clinicians can help provide individualized stretching/ROM programs to be performed at home by clients or caregivers, provide recommendations for splints and other bracing options, increase ROM through equipment and manual techniques in-clinic and make recommendations for equipment for use at home.
Your sense of balance allows you to stay upright and be stable as you perform mobility tasks throughout your day. Your balance relies on many different body systems and senses to function correctly. There are many medical conditions that can disrupt your sense of balance. Our clinicians can help assess why your balance has been affected and develop a plan to improve your balance so you can improve your function and independence. Some medical conditions that may affect your balance are:
- Sensory changes such as peripheral neuropathy
- Weakness in the hips and trunk
- Visual impairment
- Vestibular impairment
- Hemiparesis (weakness on one side of the body) from a stroke
- Orthostatic hypotension (low blood pressure related to positional changes)
- Progressive diseases such as Parkinson's Disease (PD), Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), etc
There are a variety of neurological conditions that may cause an abnormal increase in muscle tone or stiffness of muscle called spasticity. Our clinicians can help combat the effects of spasticity to increase function through a variety of non-pharmacological techniques including:
- Exercise
- Stretching
- Kinesiotaping
- Splints
- Weight bearing
- Functional training
Our ability to safely and independently walk can be affected by many things, including: weakness, sensory changes, impaired balance, spasticity, hemiparesis from a stroke, amputation, etc. Our clinicians are trained to provide gait training to help improve a client's ability to safely walk. Some interventions including:
- Gait training over a variety of surfaces
- Gait using an assistive device such as canes and walkers
- Physically assisted gait
- Prosthetic training
- Recommendations for bracing/orthotics
- Specific strength and ROM to improve gait
Our clinicians are specialized in wheeled mobility and can help train clients on how to use their wheelchairs effectively and independently. We can assist with a variety of wheelchair skills including:
- Driving with alternative drive controls (head array, eye gaze, sip and puff, etc)
- Wheelies in manual wheelchairs
- Ascending/descending ramps and curbs
- Transfers into/out of wheelchairs
- Breaking down and assembling wheelchairs for transport
