Southwest Orthopaedic Physical Therapy Information Headquarters

When receiving therapy you will be initially evaluated by a physical therapist (PT) who will set up an individualized treatment and exercise program to meet your specific needs. Once established with a physical therapist, you will often also receive treatment from a physical therapy assistant (PTA) or guidance during your exercise program from a physical therapy technician.

When considering therapy after surgery or injury, or healing from aches and pains, one can choose between in-home physical therapy and out-patient physical therapy.

I know it's been a while since my last post, and I can't say that my dog at my post. hmmm?.."My dog ate my blog". Has a nice ring to it. Actually I am doing great. My PT and Docs say that I am  a few weeks ahead of schedule. In fact I am getting around quite nicely - thank you.

The human shoulder can do incredible things.It allows us to perform any and every overhead activity. It is the foundation of the upper limb that allows our hands to perform highly skilled activities such as paint, play a musical instrument, or accurately throw a ball.In this article, I would like to point out some characteristics that make the shoulder joint truly unique.

Are you considering a total knee replacement or recently have had a total knee replacement? An exercise program designed and guided by a physical therapist can help improve your motion, strength and functional abilities and decrease your pain and swelling.

The first goal of physical therapy after a total knee replacement is to decreased pain and swelling and increased range of motion. After this is achieved, therapy will then focus on strengthening and gait training.

There are 5 basic exercises that you can begin after your knee replacement to get you started down the road of recovery:

1. Heel Slides--While lying on your back, gently slide your foot towards your bottom, bending your knee. When you start to feel tightness in your knee stop for about 5 seconds and let the joint "stretch" before straighten the knee out. Repeat 10 times.
2. Gluteal Sets--While lying on your back with a pillow under your knees, squeeze your gluts together and hold for 5 seconds. Repeat 10 times.
3. Straight Leg Raise--While lying on your back with your operative knee straight and the other knee bent, raise your operative leg up keeping your leg stretch. Slowly lower your leg back down to resting position.
4. Heel Raises--Standing while holding onto a sturdy object, raises your heels by going up on and down on your toes. Repeat 10 times.
5. Hamstring stretch--While lying on your back and keeping your operative knee straight, raise your leg up into the air until you feel a stretch in the back of your leg.

As with any exercise program, it should be performed under the guidance of your health care provider.

If you would like to try these exercises at home, print out your free exercise spreadsheet.

If you have had a total knee replacement or are considering knee surgery and have questions or would like to schedule an appointment, please contact us.  

Today about 10 a.m. I had physical therapy “Holy ^#@>!”, When I stood up to walk, my knees felt like someone hit them with a baseball bat, then covered them with bees. That may seem a bit over-dramatic- but it is a pretty good description of how I felt at the time. (Keep in mind that I am Irish and we never let the truth get in the way of a good story). One curious thing kept happening through all of this physical therapy, I became extremely thirsty throughout my PT sessions. I mean “Lawrence of Arabia” parched (see what I mean about being Irish).

My physical therapist came into my room today and and said she brought me a present. "A present for me? Oh you shouldn't have". I was curious about what the present might be. But judging from the cheshire smile on her face I can only imagine. She then reached around the corner and brought "the present" into the room.

Today is January 5th. On my way to hospital to get both of my knee joints replaced. I am feeling pretty confident.

OK. Let's start at the beginning... My name is Pat and I have been a patient of Southwest Orthopaedic Physical Therapy (SWOPT) since they started their business in 2002. I have rheumatoid arthritis and type 1 diabetes, so to say my health challenges have been many would be an understatement.