Services

One way to think about your physical or occupational therapist's role is as a coach - a caregiver and mentor to lead you through a course of action toward achieving your goals for your comfort and lifestyle.
  • Manual Therapy
  • Rocobado Techniques for TMJ
  • Vestibular Rehabilitation
  • Traction and Joint Mobilization
  • Massage and Deep Tissue Work
  • Ultrasound, Phonophoresis, and Iontophoresis
  • Whirlpool Treatment
  • Fluidotherapy
  • Paraffin Treatment
  • Electrical Stimulation
  • Functional and Job Specific Activities
  • Therapeutic Exercise
  • Hand Therapy
  • Orthotics/ Custom Hand Splinting

Wellness and Fitness Program

Our Wellness Program consists of an exercise program that we design especially for you and your areas of concern. This program is designed for you as an individual to reach your fitness goals at your own pace. The therapist is available for any questions or concerns during your visits.

Comprehensive Industrial Program

Implementation of the WorkSTEPS Program has enabled hundreds of industries to realize significant work place injury incidence and injury cost reductions. The data generated by the WorkSTEPS Program has been used to successfully litigate fraudulent injury claims and to establish a basis for legitimate settlements of bonafide workplace injury claims.

In addition to the "essential function" component necessary to make hiring recommendations in accordance with the ADA, WorkSTEPS also performs a comprehensive battery of additional medical and functional performance tests on each employee. This medical and functional data cannot be used to withdraw an offer of employment tendered an employee, but it can be used to establish baseline capabilities of an employee. This facilitates detection of existing impairments and other medical and physical conditions of the employee.

Injuries & Conditions Treated

Neck and back injuries:
Your head, neck, and back region is vulnerable to many different stresses. The muscles of your back provide structure as well as mobility - they hold your spinal column together. Bad posture can cause misalignment of your neck, head, and spine. Car accidents can cause whiplash. Improper lifting techniques can cause both lumbar and cervical injuries. Even activities such as gum chewing and reading in bed can cause pain. That is why maintaining healthy back and cervical muscles is so important in avoiding or recovering from injury. After a diagnosis has been made, your physical therapist may choose from a range of treatment options, including exercises for flexibility, strength, and restoration of range of motion. Other options include ice, heat, electrical stimulation, traction or mobilization, and massage. Your physical therapist may also analyze your home and work environment in order to ensure that you are not re-injuring yourself.

Muscle and ligament sprains and strains:
People often minimize the seriousness of a sprain, using the word as a generic term for any minor injury to the extremities. An actual sprain can take weeks to heal properly, while most minor injuries heal quickly with little or no physical therapy. For a sprain, a physical therapist will focus on restoring full strength and mobility and on preventing the creation of adverse scar tissue, which can permanently affect the functioning of the hand or any joint.

Sports, Work, and Auto Injuries:
The foot and ankle region is subject to constant stresses and hazards, from the ill-fitting shoes to traumatic sports injuries. Some of the most commonly reported injuries in the foot/ankle region are ankle sprains, Achilles tendonitis, Plantar fasciitis, tarsal tunnel syndrome, and heel spurs. Most people associate repetitive motion injuries with the hand and wrist; however, people who are on their feet all day - salespeople, trial lawyers, teachers, nurses, athletes - are at risk for a variety of foot and ankle disorders.

While physical therapy is by definition tailored to the individuals' problems and needs, certain procedures are common in dealing with foot and ankle disorders. The physical therapist will start with a detailed history and evaluation consisting of a gait analysis, range of motion, and tests to assess the strength, sensation, and blood circulation. Special tests may be performed as needed, including assessments of individual joints and ligaments. These tools allow the physical therapist to create a program of rehabilitation that is custom-designed for your particular problem.

Post-Surgical Conditions:
The knee is a relatively simple joint that is required to do a complicated job...to provide flexible mobility while bearing considerable weight. While walking, our knees bear three to five times our body weight. When climbing stairs that force can multiply to seven times our body weight. That force is borne by compact structures of bone and cartilage, supported by muscles and ligaments.

When the knee is overstressed in sports or in everyday activities, those structures can break down - and knee injury occurs. Examples of injuries are: ruptured lateral collateral ligament, torn lateral meniscus, ruptured anterior cruciate ligament, strained patellar tendon and inflammation of the patella-femoral structures. There is, unfortunately, no quick cure for a knee injury. Physical therapy plays a key role in treating and rehabilitating both before and after surgery. But you and your attitude toward recovery are the biggest factor in achieving a successful outcome.

Orthopedic Conditions and Trauma:
Trauma comes in two varieties: microtrauma and macrotrauma.

Microtrauma is common in everyday life - it can occur while lugging an overstuffed suitcase or straining to reach a can of spaghetti sauce on the top shelf. In both cases we are inflicting microscopic tears to the soft tissue around our shoulders. Although a single episode of
microtrauma in itself is rarely serious, over time it can set the stage for shoulder ailments such as tendinitis, bursitis, and rotator cuff injuries.

Macrotrauma is the result of violent force, with falls and sports injuries being the most common causes. Depending on what position your arm is in when you fall or get hit, you can fracture your collarbone, dislocate your shoulder, or tear your rotator cuff.

Whether your condition requires a physician's care or not, a physical or occupational therapist will likely be involved in all phases of your shoulder's rehabilitation. If surgery is a possibility, the physical therapist will work with you before and after surgery to guide you through a program to help increase your strength and regain motion.

Hand Injuries:
The Hand Specialty Program at Daigle Himel Daigle Physical Therapy Center and Rehabilitation, Inc. offers a comprehensive program to evaluate and treat patients with hand and arm injuries. Services are provided by our occupational therapist, who is a board certified hand therapist, or by a manual physical therapist. The therapist works with each patient to gain maximum functional recovery in order to participate in desired self care, leisure, or work activities.

A diagnosis treated by using the Hand Specialty Program may be from a chronic disability, traumatic injury, or post surgical condition. Examples include the following:

  • Arthritis
  • Amputation
  • Burns
  • Complex Regional Pain Syndrome
  • Cumulative Trauma Disorder
  • Dupuytren's Release
  • Dislocations
  • Fractures
  • Infections
  • Joint Reconstruction/ Release
  • Nerve Entrapments/ Release
  • Paralysis from a Stroke or Spinal Cord Injury
  • Scar Revisions
  • Sprains/ Strains
  • Tendonitis
  • Tendon Injuries/ Repairs
  • Trigger Finger

Services specific to the Hand Specialty Program:

  • Evaluations
  • Activities of Daily Living Training
  • Adaptive Equipment Training
  • Computer Work Station Evaluation
  • Custom and Pre-fabricated Splint Fitting
  • Desensitization
  • Edema Control
  • Education/ Home Program/ Family Training
  • Ergonomic Assessment
  • Functional Activity
  • Joint Mobilization
  • Manual Therapy
  • Muscle Re-education
  • Pain Management
  • Scar Control
  • Sensory Retraining
  • Therapeutic Exercise
  • Therapeutic Modalities such as Paraffin, Fluidotherapy, Ultrasound, Electrical Stimulation, and Iontophoresis
  • Wound Care

Other Injuries and Conditions Treated Include:

  • Degenerative Joint Disease
  • TMJ and Headaches
  • Vertigo and BPPV