Return to the Pre-Injury ‘You’ With Our Orthopedic Clinical Specialists

Surgery is always a big deal and is generally only recommended when non-operative treatments and therapies are no longer seen as viable ways to return to pre-injury mobility. Yet, if you are about to undergo or have undergone an operation on the hip, shoulder, knee, wrist, hand, neck, foot, ankle, spine or any other part of the musculoskeletal system, the surgery is but a very important step in the process that will restore you to your pre-injury self. The far longer bit that takes you from the moment in which the anesthesia wears off to you finally jogging, mountain biking or playing soccer like the pre-injury you again is the absolutely essential post-operative rehabilitation program through which your Mount Sinai Orthopedic Clinical Specialist (OCS) will guide you. 

After surgery, your ability to regain normal motion, strength and to return to your pre-injury self, is dependent on the restorative orthopedic rehabilitation plan your OCS will devise for you. Orthopedic rehabilitation will bring you through a range of exercises to strengthen the muscles around the affected joint(s). Strong muscles are not only necessary so your body functions as it once did, but they will lower the risk of the once-injured joint re-injuring or dislocating itself by protecting it and absorbing any force that might occur during physical activity. Orthopedic rehabilitation will also improve circulation and flexibility to the affected areas to aid and hasten the healing process, prevent the appearance of blood clots and to gradually increase your range of motion to its pre-injury level.

Your Mount Sinai OCS is your post-operative guide to returning to the pre-injury ‘you’. An OCS is specifically trained to restore your strength and range of motion without compensation and to help prevent re-injury during the recovery process. When you are working with an OCS, you are under the expert care of the most qualified and experienced physical therapists available. All OCSs are recognized by the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialists as clinicians with the highest levels of expertise and specialization in orthopedic physical therapy. What is more, to attain the celebrated distinction of OCS, a therapist must have a minimum of 2,000 hours of direct patient care in the area of orthopedics. 

Among the first people you will see when you wake up from your surgery will be your OCS who will first give you a thorough evaluation and then set you a structured post-operative physical therapy plan to minimize pain and swelling and to restore normal movement, flexibility and function as soon as possible. Your first session with your OCS will likely be in your hospital bed or in a chair. As you heal and progress, the exercises will become more dynamic and might include a medley of ankle pumps, squats, flexions, abductions, rotations, extensions, contractions, bends, raising exercises and stretching. As you move toward a full recovery, your OCS might recommend swimming or pool exercises, cycling or even low impact activities like golf and dancing. Sports like basketball, soccer, football and others that require high impact movements – as well as weight training – should be avoided until your OCS gives you the go-ahead. 

Are you interested in what your recovery from orthopedicsurgery might look like? Do you have any questions about our Orthopedic Clinical Specialists and their transformative rehabilitation programs? Please get in touch with us at (212) 241-6321.

Take Control of Your Pain with the McKenzie Method

When pain becomes so severe that it impedes or obstructs your life – and the quality thereof – it is time to take decisive action. For some of us, our backs hurt so much that it is virtually impossible to get out of bed. Others might experience a burning, stabbing pain in the legs from sciatica, which – aside from being deeply unpleasant – can severely reduce mobility. Still some people are affected by a throbbing, aching pain in elbow and knee joints, which often results in losing practical limb function for stretches of time. Indeed, if we are unable to simply get out of bed, walk from one place to another or achieve simple movements with our arms and legs, we are in a situation in which pain is utterly controlling, dominating and possibly even ruining our lives. Wouldn’t it be nice if there were a way to take back control of our pain – and therefore our lives – with an innovative and credible therapy that has a remarkable track record of success? 

Thankfully this isn’t a pipe dream – it’s called the McKenzie Method of Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy. It takes its name from its inventor, New Zealand Physiotherapist Robin McKenzie and it has been successfully used as an interactive way to treat, neck, spinal and extremity pain for more than 30 years throughout the world. Our McKenzie Method therapists at the Mount Sinai Department of Rehabilitation Medicine are trained to assess and diagnose our patients musculoskeletal systems to locate and subsequently treat any pain issues in or around joints and/or muscles.

Prospective patients who believe that the McKenzie Method might be a viable option to help them mitigate and hopefully eliminate their pain symptoms will begin with an initial assessment with one of our therapists. No expensive and potentially intimidating tests like an MRI are generally required. All we’ll want to do is conduct a safe and reliable screening of your musculoskeletal system by testing the mechanics of your body and seeing its responses to various positions and movements.

If our McKenzie Method clinicians believe this treatment is for you, you will be classified into one of three syndromes:

·     Posture Syndrome – When normal soft tissue becomes painful due to prolonged postural stress.

·     Dysfunction Syndrome – When pain is caused by mechanical deformation of structurally impaired soft tissue, usually from scarring or adaptively shortened tissue.

·     Derangement Syndrome – The most common classification and refers to pain caused by a disturbance in the normal resting position of joint surfaces. 

Based on your classification, Mount Sinai’s McKenzie Method therapists will tailor a treatment plans specifically for you that will involve a range of safe and effective exercises to do with your therapist at one of our Mount Sinai locations and some others for you to do on your own at home that will quickly set you on your way to a life of which you are in control, with less pain and greater bodily mobility and function. 

If you suffer from sciatica, arthritis or shooting pain in your shoulders, upper arms, hips or buttocks, intermittent pins and needles or numbness in your feet or hands, aching elbows or knees or you have difficulty bending down as a result of a stiff and painful lower back, the McKenzie Method might just be the treatment you have been looking for.

If you any of the pains or symptoms mentioned in this blog are similar to the ones you are experiencing, get in touch with us at (212) 241-6321 to see if the McKenzie Method is right for you.