Physical therapy is often misunderstood by the public and healthcare professionals alike. It is so much more than exercise prescription and nowadays, physical therapists receive a doctorate level education. PTs are experts in movement who work to improve quality of life through prescribed movement, client education, and hands-on treatment, providing care across the lifespan to anyone of any ability.
PTs are able to maximize your functional movement through identifying, diagnosing and treating movement problems so that you are able to improve your quality of life while maximizing your independence. Here at Mountain Valley Regional Rehabilitation Hospital, our outpatient therapists work one-on-one with clients to develop specific treatment plans designed to fit your individual needs, challenges and goals. We are able to help improve mobility, manage pain and other chronic conditions, recover from injury, and even prevent future injury or dysfunction. Physical therapy may also help reduce reliance on opioids while avoiding surgery for some conditions such as meniscal tears, osteoarthritis, spinal stenosis and degenerative disk disease, all of which have been found to be treated effectively with PT rather than surgery.
In mid-August, I had the pleasure of meeting Kevin Kempton, an extremely pleasant and motivated 76-year-old. He is retired, having been in the Navy and then working as an airline controller for many years. Kevin was having worsening right leg and back pain, weakness and right foot drop, a condition where the front of your foot won’t raise up. He was diagnosed with lumbar stenosis, a narrowing of the spinal spaces in the low back, with a history of cauda equina syndrome, in which the bundles of nerves in the lower spinal cord are damaged. To treat this, on Aug. 10, he had a lumbar laminectomy with decompression surgery by Dr. Thomas to open the spaces in his lower back, after which he received a very short bout of therapy services in our inpatient facility, transitioning almost immediately to outpatient services. When I first evaluated Kevin, he had a lot of weakness, difficulty maintaining his balance, poor endurance, was relying on a walker to get around, and he couldn’t stand up without using his hands to help push himself out of the chair.
Kevin and I worked together, along with my student physical therapist McKenzie Carlisi, to address these issues. We worked on core stability, strengthening, balance, walking, endurance and pain management, with Kevin agreeing to use our Zero G body weight supported harness system to maximize outcomes without risk of falling. We worked together for nearly two months, during which time he progressed from simple standing exercises to agility ladder drills, obstacle navigation and balance on uneven surfaces. He purchased an ankle brace to help control his foot drop, and he was able to improve his balance, endurance, strength and walking, transitioning from the walker to a set of walking poles which really got him moving! He is no longer in the high fall risk category and in speaking with him recently, he’s returned to his work at the trap and skeet club, is more confident getting around throughout the day, and he’s back to baking a lot of bread.
With regard to his inpatient services, Kevin said, “Even in that short period, the different staff professionals were great to work with…they were very helpful in getting me started towards recovery.” Following his two months of outpatient therapy services, Kevin says that his experience was “extremely rewarding and pleasant. The gym at MVRRH is quite extensive and well equipped. During each session, I felt Dr. B and McKenzie were working specifically on my problems and setting challenging-but-obtainable goals…the help and encouragement from my therapists were great. I came away from the experience feeling my function was greatly improved because of it. I absolutely recommend therapy at MVRRH.” QCBN
By Dr. Jessica Baugh, P.T., DPT
Mountain Valley Regional Rehabilitation Hospital is a 44-bed, free-standing rehabilitation hospital that provides intensive physical rehabilitation services to patients recovering from strokes, brain and spinal cord injuries, orthopedic injuries, and other disabilities caused by injuries, illnesses, or chronic conditions. The hospital is consistently ranked in the top 10 percent of inpatient rehabilitation facilities nationally by the Uniform Data System for Medical Rehabilitation (UDSMR). Mountain Valley also provides in-home skilled nursing and therapy services through our home health agency, Mountain Valley Home for Health, and out-patient therapy services in our 10,000 square foot therapy gym that includes a therapeutic pool.
For more information, visit http://MVRRH.ernesthealth.comMVRRH.ernesthealth.com. 3700 N. Windsong Drive • Prescott Valley, AZ 86314 • 928-758-8800 • www.mvrrh.ernesthealth.com
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