Physical Therapy

At the South Jersey Center, we provide comprehensive, in-house physical therapy services to all of our patients. Whether you are recovering from a knee or shoulder surgery or if you hurt your back while gardening, we are dedicated to helping you get back to health.

The South Jersey Center Physical Therapy department includes all of the traditional orthopedic, sports, and industrial outpatient therapies, as well as specialized programs to address the needs of the community. We place a strong emphasis on home exercise routines and patient education for better long-term results. All therapies provided are coordinated with our physicians, patient’s work schedules and insurance companies to improve treatment outcomes.  

Physical therapy is important at the South Jersey Center for two primary reasons:

First, orthopedic patients typically have a deficiency that needs to be addressed, but not the knowledge of how to address it. The South Jersey Center Physical Therapists specialize in orthopedic problems, and as a result, are well equipped to educate and supervise our patients with the proper program and techniques needed to aid them in recovery.  This is important with both surgical recovery and non-surgical therapy protocols.

Second, our physical therapists are intimately familiar with our physicians surgical procedures, rehab programs and treatment goals, and as a result, can tailor their efforts to improve the well-being of the patient.  In many cases, therapy is as important as the surgical procedure itself and no one provides better orthopedic care than the therapists who work with the operating surgeons on a daily basis. They have the ability to walk down the hall to discuss any area of concern or ask the doctor to visit the therapy suite for a quick consultation.  After a procedure such as a total joint replacement, rotator cuff repair or an ACL reconstruction, it is important that therapy is guided by the surgical procedure and the physician that performed it. A therapist that is knowledgeable of these protocols and has direct access to the physicians can help ensure a successful outcome.

What are some important things a therapist does?

Physical therapists have many rehabilitation tools available, some specific aspects of physical therapy which you may encounter include:

Stretching
Stretching is vital to maintain good range of motion around a joint. If a patient has stiff joints, normal activities such as opening a jar or climbing stairs can be severely affected. By proper stretching, these functions can be preserved. After an injury or surgery, scar tissue forms, and soft-tissue contracts; this is when stretching is most important.

Strengthening
Strengthening exercises are performed to help the patient improve the function of their muscles. The goal is to improve functional strength, increase endurance and maintain or improve range of motion.

Ice and Heat Therapy
Ice and heat are useful to warm up and cool off muscles. In addition, these modalities can stimulate blood flow and decrease swelling. These can be important aspects of the therapeutic process.

Ultrasound
Ultrasound uses high frequency sound waves to stimulate the deep tissues within the body. By passing an ultrasound probe over the body, deep tissues are stimulated by the vibration of the sound wave. This leads to warming and increased blood flow to these tissues.

Electrical Stimulation
Electrical stimulation is a therapy that is not well understood. By passing an electrical current to an affected area, nerve conduction within the region is altered, which can in turn alter muscle contractility. Patients often experience diminished pain after this type of treatment.

Aquatic Therapy
Aquatic therapy is a terrific way to regain mobility and maintain strength by doing exercises in a swimming pool. This has become very popular in recent years because many patients who have difficulty exercising can often do very well in the water. The added buoyancy helps support the body and the water provides gentle resistance to increase strength and endurance.

Biofeedback
Biofeedback is a useful tool for strengthening a weakened muscle or muscle group. Essentially, the machine allows you to monitor how well a particular muscle is functioning, so you can better understand how to help strengthen the affected muscles.

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