What We Do

Pre & Post Surgical Rehabilitation

Physical therapy is often recommended to facilitate the body’s healing, and to regain mobility and function following orthopedic surgeries such as arthroscopic or tendon repair, joint replacement, spinal surgery, and fracture repair, or after general surgery which may leave an individual weak and unable to handle daily activities. Physical therapists utilize a variety of manual techniques in combination with therapeutic exercises and physical agents such as moist heat, ultrasound and electrical stimulation to accelerate and enhance the healing process and help manage pain that can sometimes interfere with progress. The following are examples of some modalities and techniques that physical therapists at BodyWise utilize before and after surgery to help the body heal:

• Joint Mobilizations – Mobilization is a treatment technique that involves the clinician applying a force to mimic the gliding that occurs between bones when motion or mobility is lacking in a joint. It is a passive movement, the goal of which is to produce a slide or glide in the joint. Mobilizations are usually completed at slow speed, sometimes with oscillations, and even with a “hold” or stretch. Mobilizations are used to restore joint play that has been lost due to injury, disease or scar tissue formation after surgery. Furthermore, gentle oscillations within the available joint range of motion are a technique used to decrease pain.
• Myofascial Release – There are two types of myofascial release: direct and indirect. Direct myofascial release method works on the restricted fascia or adhesive scar tissue. Practitioners use their hands, knuckles, elbows, or other tools to slowly stretch the restricted fascia by applying a moderate force to the affected area. The practitioner moves slowly through the layers of the fascia and/or adhesive scar tissue until the deep tissues are reached. The indirect method involves a gentle stretch, with only minimal pressure, which allows the fascia to “unwind” itself. The gentle traction applied to the restricted fascia will result in heat and increased blood flow in the area. This allows the body’s inherent ability for self correction to return, thus eliminating pain and restoring the optimum performance of the body.
• Therapeutic Ultrasound – a method of stimulating the tissue beneath the skin’s surface using very high frequency sound waves, between 800,000 Hz and 2,000,000 Hz, which cannot be heard by humans. There are three primary benefits to ultrasound:
  • Speeds up the healing process from the increase in blood flow in the treated area.
  • Decreases the pain from the reduction of swelling and edema.
  • Massages the muscles, tendons, and/or ligaments in the treated area because no strain is added and any scar tissue is softened.
• Electrotherapy – the use of electric current produced by a device to stimulate the nerves for therapeutic purposes, including pain reduction, improving and maintaining range of motion, muscle strengthening, treatment of disuse muscle atrophy, reduction of spasticity and hypertonicity of muscle, increasing blood flow to tissues, and edema reduction. The unit is usually connected to the skin using two or more electrodes, and can be combined with moist heat, cold, or exercises to augment its effects.