Treatments

We offer comprehensive occupational therapy services designed to help individuals regain independence, improve daily living skills, and enhance their overall quality of life. Our licensed occupational therapists work closely with patients to assess their unique challenges, whether they stem from an injury, illness, developmental condition, or surgery. Through personalized treatment plans, we focus on improving fine motor skills, strengthening muscles, enhancing coordination, and addressing cognitive or emotional barriers that may impact daily activities.

We provide targeted interventions, including adaptive techniques, assistive devices, and environmental modifications, to help patients perform essential tasks such as dressing, cooking, working, and engaging in hobbies. Our therapists also emphasize education and training, ensuring patients and their caregivers have the tools and strategies needed to achieve and maintain long-term success. By addressing the physical, mental, and environmental aspects of a patient’s recovery, we aim to empower individuals to live as independently and confidently as possible.

April is Occupational Therapy Month, Click here to learn more.

After orthopedic surgery, PT is needed to rehabilitate the body part affected. Some effects after surgery are stiffness, weakness, decreased ROM, and pain. We at Paradigm progress the patient appropriately to get them back to normal function. It is usually a progression from light exercise for ROM and pain relief to eventual functional exercise for return to full activity. Post operative surgeries that are very common are  low back , neck , rotator cuff, ACL repair, and total joint replacements for all body parts. There are also many more not mentioned that we treat.

This mode of treatment is to do physical therapy before surgery. This is to maximize all aspects that affect the body part being operated on. An example is for knee surgery. It is very useful to have as much range of motion and hip strength going into the surgery to help afterwards. Recovery time is decreased and better outcomes generally occur with this application. Ask your doctor for this.  

This treatment is implemented after a thorough evaluation to assess source of balance issues or vertigo. Vestibular treatment is treated for inner ear conditions that affect your balance and may cause vertigo. Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo is caused by inner ear dysfunction. Balance issues can be stemming from poor body awareness (kinesthesia) and poor joint awareness. (proprioception) These are usually due to inactivity, weakness, postural instability, and muscle imbalance. For this, balance exercise, core strengthening, and NmsReed are very helpful.

Neuromuscular reeducation represents a series of therapeutic techniques to restore normal function of nerves and muscles, to include movement, balance, coordination, decreased kinesthetic sense, and impaired proprioception. 

Exercise specific to the patient’s diagnosis. This includes range of motion exercises, strengthening exercise, neuromuscular reeducation, and stretching. In the clinic, we use multiple exercise machines to facilitate the aforementioned types of TE. A home exercise program is implemented to compliment what is done in the clinic.

You have probably seen athletes on TV with tape on their bodies. It is Kinesiotape. This type of taping is used to increase body awareness (proprioception) and activate receptors in the joint that inhibit pain. We use this to facilitate muscle function and it has been useful for pain relief. Ask your PT about this.

In treating older patients our approach is a bit different than younger patients. Our approach is based more on getting our elderly patients functional and for fall prevention. We still do our hands on treatment. The therapeutic exercise has higher repetition/low load activity to promote joint nutrition and more Nms Reed is emphasized. A home exercise program for long term care and prevention is, as always, emphasized, as is family education when needed.

Involves restoring mobility to stiff joints and reducing muscle tension in order to return the patient to more natural movement without pain.

This includes heat, cold, Ultra sound, functional dry needling, and electrical stimulation. These are all used for thermal effect, reduction of inflammation, pain control, muscle activation, and to facilitate soft tissue healing.

Functional Dry Needling (FDN) is a technique our physical therapists use for the management of neuromusculoskeletal pain, trigger points, and movement impairments. The technique uses a thin filiform needle, one without medication or injection, inserted through the skin into areas of the muscle. 

FDN is used with the goal of releasing or deactivating trigger points to relieve pain or improve range of motion. Preliminary research supports that dry needling improves pain control, reduces muscle tension, and normalizes dysfunctions of the motor end plates, the sites at which nerve impulses are transmitted to muscles. This can help speed up your return to normal activities. 

FDN is not acupuncture. The methodology, purpose, desired benefits, and treatment approach are vastly different to that of acupuncture. Acupuncture is steeped in Eastern medicine; FDN is based on Western medicine, physiology and knowledge of anatomy. 

Physical therapy for lymphedema takes a comprehensive approach to managing and reducing swelling caused by lymphatic system dysfunction. Treatment often includes manual lymphatic drainage, a gentle massage technique designed to stimulate the flow of lymphatic fluid and reduce fluid buildup in affected areas. Compression therapy, such as specialized bandaging or garments, is used to maintain fluid balance and prevent further swelling. Targeted exercises are incorporated to promote movement and improve circulation, helping the body naturally manage lymphedema. Additionally, patients receive education on proper skin care and self-management techniques to prevent complications and maintain progress. This holistic approach aims to enhance mobility, reduce discomfort, and improve overall quality of life.

To participate in sports, a higher level of stress is placed on the body and is more prone to injury. At Paradigm we work at preparing athletes with sport specific exercise. A runner’s program would be very different from a football offensive lineman. We tailor programs specific to the activity to maximize performance.