Northern Physical Therapy

At Northern Physical Therapy we believe that your health and well-being impacts not only your life, but those who are close to you and the community at large. We offer professional, educational, personalized, premium-quality physical therapy intervention as well as performance programs. We embrace and believe there is more to a patient than their injury. We celebrate accomplishments and encourage healthy lifestyles.

The shoulder is the most complicated joint in the body and has to move through an incredible range of motion while maintaining strength and support. The shoulder actually has four joints that connect your humerus, collarbone and shoulder blade to function as one unit. Shoulder pain can occur for a variety of reasons, but is typically from poor posture, weakness of rotator cuff muscles or injury.

Since the shoulder motions are so complex, it takes experts in movement analysis to truly understand what is the root cause of your problem. Our expert physical therapists at Northern Physical Therapy Physical Therapy have years of medical training in movement analysis to determine exactly where your pain is coming from. We put together a comprehensive treatment plan that will quickly relieve your pain and return your shoulder’s full range of motion. The goal is to get you back to normal activities, as pain-free and as quickly as possible. Furthermore, we educate you on posture techniques and simple exercises you can do to maintain your shoulder health.

If you have had shoulder surgery, count us to work with you and your physician to achieve the best outcomes. With years of experience in helping patients fully recover from shoulder surgery, you are in good hands at Northern Physical Therapy.

The hand, wrist, and elbow are very complex, requiring special attention. If you suffer from an injury, arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome, or other painful conditions of the hand, wrist, or elbow, we can help.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

If you suffer from tingling or numbness to the thumb and first two fingers or have pain in this area, you may have carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is a collection of symptoms that affects people of all ages, but occurs more in women between the ages of 30-64 years old. In addition, women who are pregnant often suffer with CTS. If you type, write, or do repetitive lifting or gripping throughout the day you are at greater risk for developing CTS.

The good news is that our expert physical therapists have years of experience and training treating people with CTS. There are several therapeutic options for quickly relieving the symptoms, reducing the inflammation, and relieving the pressure on the median nerve. In addition, for long-term results our therapists know the right techniques to gently stretch the carpal ligament and show you how to prevent re-injury. For more information on our specialized programs, call us today to find out how we can help you live pain free.

Whether you suffered a sprained wrist or you’re recovering from a severe fracture, our skilled physical therapists are here to quickly get you back to pain-free activities. During physical therapy, we work closely with you and your doctor to provide the most efficient and effective treatment plan. The first step is to relieve your pain as quickly as possible, then care is taken to restore normal movement. Finally, muscles are strengthened to support and stabilize the area. Teaching you how to maintain your strength and independence once you leave physical therapy is our priority.

Hip pain

When you walk, run and move, your hip and knee work together to allow you to move fluidly and accurately. When one of these joints and the associated muscle groups that make them move are not working properly, pain can occur in different parts of the leg. Hip pain can leave you with very limited movement and make walking painful. This pain may radiate to the groin, buttock or thigh.

Our expert physical therapists at Northern Physical Therapy, understand the complexities of hip movement and function. We examine your walking, movement, range of motion, strength and coordination. Our evaluations enable us to pinpoint the source of your pain and to develop a series of manual therapies and exercises to reduce your pain and restore normal function.

Knee pain

Knee pain is a very common condition affecting millions of Americans. Many people experience knee pain as a result of knee arthritis or sports injuries. At Northern Physical Therapy, we work closely with you to evaluate the mechanics of your knees and the relationship to your physical condition and performance. Limitations in movement and strength can dramatically affect the way your knee functions, causing increased pressure and pain. Physical therapy restores the normal movement, strength and coordination and can help you quickly relieve pain and get back to normal activities.

We help patients of all ages recover from knee surgery and also prevent surgery if possible. If you had knee surgery, including total knee replacement, come in for treatments for a proper recovery that will get you back to peak performance quickly.

The foot and ankle are amazingly complex structures that take a huge amount of force with every step that you take. Following injuries or with age, ligaments and other structures in the foot can change, resulting in improper or aggravated forces on the foot and ankle. With ill-fitted shoes and residual effects from prior injuries, pain can occur from poor stability, lack of mobility or lack of strength in the stabilizing muscles.

The ankle is made up of the bones of the lower leg (tibia and fibula) forming an arch over the talus bone in the foot. This is actually a flexible arch that opens slightly when bending the ankle and closes when extending it. If this does not occur properly or the mechanics of the joint are not in good alignment, increased painful pressure occurs.

Just like the complexities of the hand, the foot and ankle is a very complex structure that can affect the functioning of your knee, hip, back and even posture. With ankle pain and foot pain, there is a lot that needs to be evaluated first before deciding on the appropriate treatment.

At Northern Physical Therapy, our expert physical therapists have years of training in evaluating the movement of your foot, ankle and legs. We perform an analysis of your foot and ankle joints as well as the muscles in your legs. Furthermore, we analyze your walking and running patterns to determine the root cause of your foot pain or ankle pain so it can be treated quickly and effectively.
Trust us to help you relieve your pain quickly and restore your normal walking/running activities.

Some of the Common Conditions We Treat:

• Post-surgical foot and ankle
• Ankle sprains
• Foot pain
• Ankle pain
• Collapsed arches
• Achilles tendonitis
• Plantar fasciitis
• Arthritis
• Sports Injuries
• Difficulty walking / poor balance

How is chronic pain different from other types of pain?

We’ve all had sprained ankles and pulled back muscles. And while those incidents are never pleasant, the pain rarely lasts more than a few weeks at most. Chronic pain, on the other hand, can go on for months or even years, especially when you can’t find the proper diagnosis or treatment for it.

Apart from the longer timeframe, chronic pain differs from the other main category of pain — acute pain — in that it doesn’t always have a cause you can pinpoint. In fact, while acute pain normally comes from a sudden illness or injury, chronic pain might stem from a wrenched back that happened so long ago that you don’t remember. Alternatively, your pain may have its origins from non-injury conditions, such as a degenerating disk, aging joints, or a pinched nerve.

Most importantly, chronic pain differs from acute pain in that it sometimes can’t be measured or even found through traditional testing like X-rays. Of course, sometimes inflammation can be detected with these diagnostic tools, but often it’s a physical therapist who is best able to determine the location and extent of the damage.

What are some common forms of chronic pain?

As you might imagine, there are many chronic pain-causing conditions that don’t go away on their own. Among the types which may be helped by physical therapy are:

• Sciatica
• Arthritis
• Headaches
• Pelvic joint pain
• Peripheral Neuropathy
• Frozen shoulder
• Foot pain
• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Tennis elbow

How can physical therapy help my chronic pain?

The type of chronic pain you have, as well as its underlying cause, will determine what sort of treatment your physical therapist will recommend. That might involve working as part of a medical team for cases such as diabetes-related pain, or when physical therapy is attempted in hopes of avoiding surgery.

Among the techniques a physical therapist will employ to help relieve pain, as well as improve range of motion, are manual therapy, in which your therapist will stretch and apply gentle pressure to target problem joints and muscles. Teaching you posture and movement techniques to reduce pain is often a key part of chronic pain therapy, as are exercises for improving strength and flexibility.

Arthritis is a debilitating disease for over 50 million Americans. The Centers for Disease Control has shown that 1 in 2 people will have knee arthritis by the time they are 85, and 1 in 4 will develop painful hip arthritis in their life. The good news is that you don’t have to live with arthritis pain or take constant medication. The right physical therapy can make all the difference.

Arthritis affects the cartilage of joints and most pain is due to wear and tear. However, the uneven wear and tear causes cartilage debris to shave off into the joint causing painful inflammation. This condition is made worse by a tightening of the tissue of the joint, loss of muscle strength supporting the joint and altered movement because of range of motion problems.

Physical therapy is one of the most important treatments for arthritis and makes a significant impact in your joint health. While arthritis can slow you, it doesn’t have to. If you are suffering with arthritis, PT can change your life.

In physical therapy we focus on the following:

• Restoring natural pain free range of motion in your joints
• Improving muscular support and strength around your joints
• Enhancing joint balance and function
• Teaching you what to do to protect your joints from further damage

While we cannot repair your cartilage, our unique treatments can reduce or completely alleviate your pain, swelling and improve your ability to walk, run, bend or reach.

Here are some of the different conditions we help:

• Osteoarthritis
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Psoriatic arthritis
• Joint pain
• Post-surgery recovery
• Joint replacement recovery

Do you suffer from headaches, grinding of your teeth, clicking of your jaw or even ear pain? These can all be signs of Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) syndrome, also known as the temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJD). This a disorder of the jaw muscles and nerves caused by injury to the TMJ, which is the joint between your jaw and skull. The injured temporomandibular joint leads to pain with chewing, clicking, and popping of the jaw; swelling on the sides of the face; nerve inflammation; headaches; tooth grinding; and sometimes dislocation of the temporomandibular joint.

What causes TMJ syndrome?

Multiple factors contribute to the muscle tightness and dysfunction that characterize this condition. Most often, poor posture and neck alignment change the pull of the muscles that make your jaw move. This causes painful grinding and irritation of the TMJ. Other causes may include:

• Poor alignment of or trauma to the teeth or jaw
• Teeth grinding
• Poor posture
• Stress
• Arthritis or other inflammatory musculoskeletal disorders
• Excessive gum chewing

A lot can be done to help TMJ, first starting with a thorough evaluation of your problem with our expert physical therapists. Once the root cause of your problem has been discovered, a comprehensive plan can be developed to quickly relieve your pain and restore natural movement to your TMJ. Furthermore, our physical therapists will teach you techniques for regaining normal jaw movement for long lasting results.
The focus of physical therapy for TMJ is relaxation, stretching, and releasing tight muscles and scar tissue. In most cases physical therapy can resolve TMJ and prevent the need for surgery. However, in cases where surgery is absolutely necessary, physical therapy is a vital part of the recovery process, as it helps minimize scar tissue formation, muscle tightness and allows for a complete recovery.

Diseases and injuries to the nervous system can have dramatic effects across the body affecting one’s ability to function. Simple tasks can become extremely difficult and one’s independence can be lost. The nervous system controls the muscles of the body, joint movements, balance, and coordination. It is important to note that with the right kind of therapy you can improve your level of function, relieve pain, improve your balance, enhance walking and safety.

Physical therapy plays a vital role in creating and maintaining function in individuals with neurological diseases or injuries. We treat a variety of different neurological conditions that affect the movement of the body. If you are having difficulty with coordination, strength, walking, balance, or function, then our physical therapy is right for you. Our PT’s are experts in treating neurological diseases and injuries, providing a comprehensive plan to help you reach your maximum level of function.

Relieving pain

Nerve pain can come from a variety of issues, but PT helps to soothe irritated nerve endings and provide feedback to the nervous system to calm nerves. This occurs through a variety of different available treatments such as gentle hands-on therapy and massage techniques, joint mobilization techniques, electrical stimulation, and specialized nerve exercises.

Improving function and safety

People suffering from neurological disease and injuries typically have a higher tendency for falls or injuring themselves. Imagine if you trip and fall. Can you react quickly enough to protect yourself? In addition, common actions such as getting up from a chair or low surface, kneeling to the floor, getting out of car, can become difficult and even dangerous.

These are common areas of concern we address and work closely with you to improve. Our treatments will help you move better, safer, and with greater strength.

Walking and balance

With many common neurological conditions such as stroke, Parkinson’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis and more, walking and balance are greatly affected. This dramatically affects one’s independence and greatly accelerates the risk of falling. Most patients don’t know that their balance or walking is affected until it is quite severe.

Our physical therapists have extensive training to analyze your walking, balance, and coordination. We use state of the art equipment to determine the best course of treatment and exercises to help you enhance your ability to walk and balance. Our number one priority is giving you the ability to move around safely and with the least effort possible. We also properly train you if you require an assistive device such as cane or walker to walk with.

Activities of daily living

Adapting one’s lifestyle due to a neurological disease or injury is important. Our focus is on working with you to determine appropriate modifications to your daily activities and routines that will allow you the greatest independence. Many common actions such as reaching, bending down, getting up from a low chair can all be improved upon with the right therapy.

Common conditions we help:

ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease)
Balance and difficulty walking
Nerve injuries
Multiple Sclerosis
Muscular Dystrophy
Nerve pain, neuropathy, and weakness
Paralysis or hemi-paralysis
Parkinson’s Disease
Spinal cord injury rehabilitation
Stroke (CVA)
And More

If you are an adult who likes to participate in weekend sports, an avid or student athlete, Northern Physical Therapy has you covered. Not only do we evaluate and treat most sports injuries effectively, we also do preventative screening and sports performance enhancement.

SPORTS INJURIES

Sports injuries can really set you back from your favorite activities and competitions. Furthermore, due to the high-speed nature of most sports injuries, the trauma to muscles, tissues, and joints can be severe. Common injuries include ligament sprains, muscle strains, and fractures. Do not wait until you are crippled with pain. The right physical therapy can effectively treat your sports injury to get you back to your activities pain-free and safely.

REHABILITATION AFTER SURGERY OR BRACING

In severe cases where surgery, bracing or casting is required, we can help you fully rehabilitate to your optimum level of performance. The objective is to work closely with your doctor to improve your joint range of motion, strength and create stability again around the joint. This is done safely and according to your physician’s protocol. We have helped thousands of avid sports lovers return to playing, running, cycling, throwing and more, quickly and pain-free.

Where does vertigo and dizziness come from?

Whether you experience them independently or at the same time, dizziness and vertigo both stem from similar issues involving your inner ear and your vision tracking systems. Dizziness stems from a “disconnect” between these systems and your joints and muscles. Vertigo is believed to happen if the tiny crystals that are located in your inner ear become dislodged. This displacement leads to bouts of extreme disorientation when you move your head.

The causes of the inner ear disruptions resulting in dizziness or vertigo aren’t always known. Sometimes a head injury is the obvious culprit, while other times migraines, prolonged periods of lying down or even medication may result in the conditions.

What are the main symptoms?

Almost everyone has experienced dizziness at some point. It’s a feeling of disorientation, combined with not being sure you can stay upright or think clearly. Vertigo tends to have all of those symptoms, with the added challenges of feeling as if you’re being spun around, or even shaken. Both sensations make it extremely difficult to even move slightly, let alone drive or perform routine tasks.

How does vestibular therapy help?

Vestibular therapy is a kind of physical therapy that is geared specifically to inner ear disorders. First, you’ll receive a complete evaluation. After all, dizziness and vertigo can impede people in many different ways, so it’s important to determine exactly how the problem is affecting your balance and movement.

Do you find that your balance is not what it used to be? Do you find that walking distances become tiresome and you may even be using an assistive device such as a cane or walker to get around? Your body’s ability to balance through the vestibular system allows you to walk without problems.

Your sense of balance enables you to negotiate uneven ground, correct for tripping over objects, and many other daily activities that often are taken for granted. Our ability to balance depends on three main components including sensation from joints and muscles, the inner ear, and vision. As we age, our reflexes slow down slightly. This makes it difficult to adapt to uneven terrains such as grass, cracked pavement, gravel, and stairs. In addition, poor posture, weakness in the hips, ankles, and poor eyesight can all contribute to poor balance.

Most people don’t understand that they have decreased balance until it is too late and they fall. Falls are the number one cause of death from injury in the US and also cause millions of fractures and injuries each year. Most of this can be prevented with the right physical therapy treatments.

Our treatments are uniquely designed to your needs. We evaluate your walking (gait) pattern to determine where you are compensating for weaknesses or poor muscle coordination. Furthermore, testing on your balance determines where we need to focus our attention on achieving the greatest results for you. Many of our patients no longer have to use canes or walkers to walk anymore, allowing them greater freedom of safe movement.

Every year over 719,000 total knee replacements and 330,000 hip replacements are performed in the United States. This procedure has become a routine way to keep our joints moving after advanced arthritis and joint degeneration. There are many factors that go into a successful surgery and the improved function afterward. A well-skilled surgeon can execute a perfect surgery, however, that doesn’t mean success. How you rehabilitate your joint and body afterward is critical to the outcomes of the surgery and maximizing your results.

IT’S YOUR CHOICE

Where you go for rehabilitation after your surgery makes a big difference in the outcomes. As with any type of service, not all physical therapy is the same. You always have the choice to go for physical therapy where you choose.

Typically, after surgery, you will have physical therapy in the hospital, then in your home or inpatient facility. After that it is vital you have outpatient physical therapy to achieve a complete outcome. This can make a big difference in your long-term abilities to walk, move, reach, and more.

We maximize your post-surgery results for:

• Total knee replacement
• Total hip replacement
• Total or partial shoulder replacement
• Total ankle replacement

WHAT TO EXPECT

When starting PT in our outpatient facility you will be progressed through a standard program according to the instructions of your surgeon. Our goal is your utmost safety and to obtain the highest results from your surgery. A normal progression in therapy will be as such:

• Reduce pain levels and swelling
• Education on joint protection according to doctor’s protocols
• Restore range of motion according to protocols
• Improve strength around the joint
• Increase the stability of the joint
• Restore balance and coordination
• Enhance endurance and prepare for lifestyle activities

We will be with you every step of the way towards a complete and full recovery. Whether you just love to go for walks or like to do sports, we can achieve your goals and maximize the outcome of your surgery.

Soft Tissue Issues

Have you ever had a pain that just wouldn’t go away? Or felt like your skin or a scar was just too tight for your body?

At Northern Physical Therapy, in addition to treating muscle and tendon issues, we also treat the tissue around the muscles (called “fascia”) with a therapy known as the Graston Technique.  This non-invasive, hands-on procedure uses stainless steel instruments to locate and treat restricted areas of scar tissue in the body.

WHAT IT DOES

• Decreases the overall time of treatment.
• Fosters faster rehabilitation/recovery
• Reduces the need for anti-inflammatory medication
• Resolves chronic conditions thought to be permanent

WHO CAN USE THE GRASTON TECHNIQUE?

When you have an injury or surgery, your body heals the affected area by laying down scar tissue, which is like internal glue. Your body doesn’t always put the “glue” in the right spots, and sometimes it puts down too much of it. If these areas of excess scar tissue (called “adhesions”) aren’t addressed, they can lead to chronic pain or even cause you to develop other injuries over time.

MORE THAN CAN BENEFIT BY GRASTON TECHNIQUE

The Graston Technique can be used on any part of the body, as well as for many injuries such as:

• Plantar fasciitis
• Chronic low back pain
• Rotator cuff injuries
• Total knee replacements
• Carpal tunnel syndrome

The Graston Technique incorporates a patented form of instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization that enables clinicians to effectively detect and treat scar tissue and restrictions that affect normal function.

WHY IS A PHYSICAL THERAPIST PLAYING WITH NEEDLES?

This is exactly the question Matt Breton, MPT, OCS, CSCS, asked himself as he entered his first day of the Functional Dry Needling (FDN) course that he attended in Atlanta, GA, in early June 2014. However, after 27 hours of intensive hands-on education (during which he was needled plenty himself), he understood its incredible effects on both acute and chronic conditions.

WHAT FUNCTIONAL DRY NEEDLING IS

Functional Dry Needling (FDN) is a hands-on, invasive therapy for treating myofascial trigger points. Myofascial trigger points are extremely irritated, small sections of muscle, located in a taut band that is painful to touch. If you’ve had a massage, you might have heard them referred to as “knots.

The tool is a sterile, disposable solid filament needle with no injectable solution and is typically very thin.  A patient will undergo an initial Physical Therapy exam and FDN will be considered as one possible treatment.  Functional Dry Needling is used primarily in the treatment of pain in muscles and connective tissue.  FDN addresses referred pain, meaning the pain is felt in a different region from where it originated.  During treatment, a solid filament needle is inserted into trigger points.

The result of FDN is a local twitch response which can cause positive local changes and increased blood flow.

WHAT FUNCTIONAL DRY NEEDLING IS NOT

FDN is not painful. Matt, who we mentioned has been needled a lot, describes FDN as “virtually painless” and “more interesting” than anything else. FDN is not acupuncture. Compared to acupuncture (a traditional, holistic medicine), FDN (specifically used to treat the musculoskeletal system) is considered a leading-edge practice. This is because FDN treatment involves not only a practitioner’s highly trained touch but also analysis, diagnosis, and monitoring.

This is a highly specialized service in which extensive physical and evaluative testing is done that will answer the following questions:

1. Can this person return to work safely?
2. How severe is the client’s pain?
3. What type of job can a person physically handle?
4. What are a candidates safe lifting tolerances?
5. What work accommodations could be made to allow this person back to work?
6. What is the next appropriate step in regards to rehabilitation?
7. What are the candidate’s cardiovascular and physical endurance limitations for working?
8. What are positional tolerances for standing, sitting, walking?

CEOs, presidents, VPs, and managers always have their eyes on the bottom line. But as linear as a line might be, there are hidden costs that essentially funnel money out of the company. One such hidden cost is employee health and injuries. What more and more businesses are learning is that the health of their employees, or really the lack thereof, can cost them thousands to millions of dollars a year, depending on the size of the company.

Our solution: Occupational and industrial services led by Certified Ergonomic Specialist, clinic P.T. and CEO, Benjamin McCormack. After receiving best-of-class training at Matheson Institute, Ben has spent over a decade saving employees pain, suffering, and repetitive injuries – and businesses a LOT of money. You might ask, “How has he saved businesses money?”  Simply by decreasing the time injured workers spend out of the office and increasing employees’ overall efficiency, not to mention job satisfaction.

GOOD-FOR-PEOPLE, GOOD-FOR-BUSINESS

Some examples of how we can save business/employers money are through:

• Pre-employment testing
• Ergonomic evaluations
• Job analysis
• Wellness programs

^{We proudly offer our Endless Pool for therapy, rehabilitation, training, and swimming. The Endless Pool features:}

• ^{A fully adjustable currentto provide resistance/swimming for every fitness level}
• ^{Underwater treadmillfor low-impact running/walking}
• ^{Low-chlorine purificationthat’s gentle on your skin}
• ^{Temperature control(up to 92° F) for your comfort}
• ^{Underwater videofor immediate feedback}

^{THE UNDERWATER TREADMILL}

^{Ask about the underwater treadmill in our Endless Pool®! Research shows that, compared to land-based treadmills, underwater treadmills let you:}

• ^{Burn as many calories}
• ^{Enjoy an increased range of motion}
• ^{Suffer less muscle soreness and joint impact}
• ^{Start rehabilitation exercises earlier so you can recover sooner}

^{And those rehab exercises can greatly benefit people who are unable to exercise on land, whether it’s because of injury, surgery, arthritis, or other medical conditions. Book an appointment for our Endless Pool treadmill today.}

^{WHO RECOMMENDS AQUATIC EXERCISE?}

^{For a safe, low-impact way to gain the benefits of physical activity, water exercise gets thumbs-up from:}

• ^AARP
• ^{American Diabetes Association}
• ^{Arthritis Foundation}
• ^{American Chronic Pain Association}
• ^{American Physical Therapy Association}
• ^{Muscular Sclerosis Association of America}

PILATES PRINCIPLES

Pilates is based on a set of principles, which exercise the whole body through a range of mat exercises. The core strength is at the foundation. By combining the coordination of deep postural and stability muscles, breathing, and arm and leg movements with postural correction and flexibility, Pilates works the entire body. Just a little practice and you’ll see the positive impact.

Principles:

• Centering
• Concentration
• Control
• Precision
• Breath
• Flow

 WHO BENEFITS FROM PILATES?

Who doesn’t? Pilates is perfect for physical therapy patients looking for a safe, low-impact way to improve:

• Core strength
• Torso stability
• Whole-body Strength
• Back pain & other pain
• Athletic performance
• Flexibility

 Among the non-patients who also use our private and group training services: 

• Dancers
• Athletes
• Post-pregnancy women
• Seniors