Women's & Men's Health
Apple Physical Therapy offers a wide variety of services designed to address the special heath care needs of women and men. Each service is provided by female therapists who have completed advanced training programs and have specialized equipment at their disposal.
Many of the diagnoses treated by our women's and men’s health therapists were thought to be untreatable; something patients just had to live with. Well, not anymore.
Physical Therapy Treatment of Urinary Incontinence
Apple Physical Therapy offers effective non-surgical solutions to urinary incontinence with or without use of medication prescribed by the physician. The goal is to strengthen the pelvic floor musculature, and through re-education, regain the ability to inhibit inappropriate bladder contractions and promote coordinated contractions of the pelvic floor. The program includes the use of specialized exercise, electrical stimulation and biofeedback. Most patients find significant improvement with as little as one (1) treatment per week, for six (6) weeks.
Incontinence: Sensitivity & Privacy issues in Physical Therapy
At Apple Physical Therapy we understand that incontinence is a very personal matter. Therefore, we have taken steps to insure that your rehabilitation is handled sensitively.
Here are a few things we would like you to know:
- Incontinence is very common. The volume of incontinence related products you can find in your local drug store is a good indication of its prevalence. You are not alone.
- Only female physical therapists who have completed advanced training and mentoring specific to pelvic floor rehabilitation treat this condition at Apple.
- Apple abides by the strictest of privacy rules to insure that your health care information remains a confidential matter.
- Our initial paperwork can be sent to your home (or downloaded from this website) so that you can complete this necessary step privately.
- All of Apple's clinics have private treatment rooms. All sensitive portions of your treatment will be delivered in complete privacy.
- One of the primary goals of treatment is to provide each patient with the information and training to complete a large portion of the treatment at home. This includes home exercise and advice regarding helpful behavioral changes.
- Because the physical therapy treatment of incontinence focuses on the muscles of the pelvis, your initial evaluation is much like an evaluation we might provide for a shoulder or back injury. Your therapist will check the muscle strength and coordination of your pelvic musculature. This is minimally invasive. A speculum or forceps are never used.
- All treatment is provided on a One-On-One basis. There are not assistants or other personnel in the room while patients are evaluated or treated for incontinence related problems. Patients may bring a significant other or family member into the treatment room.
Pregnancy Pain and the Physical Therapist
Apple Physical Therapy provides specialized care for patients who are pregnant or post-partum. The initial evaluation is designed to reveal soft-tissue laxity, weakness and tone, pelvic mal-alignment, neurological involvement, postural problems and activities that are exacerbating the condition. Treatment addresses the specific deficiencies through specialized exercise, manual therapy to correct spinal and pelvic alignment as well as soft-tissue pain, activity modifications and self-treatment strategies at home.
Physical Therapy for Pelvic Pain
Many painful pelvic conditions, such as interstitial cystitis, endometriosis, post-surgical abdominal adhesions and pelvic floor tension myalgia can be effectively addressed with the use of pelvic floor exercise, intra-vaginal biofeedback and electrical stimulation. Most important, however, are the manual therapies affecting the soft-tissue, including relaxation, facilitation flexibility and reducing adhesions.
Osteoporosis Treatment with Physical Therapy
Osteoporosis has long been treated by physical therapists, but never as it is today. While the program still focuses on strength, flexibility and postural control, therapists have not developed comprehensive, yet user-friendly regimens, which are easily translated to independent home use by these typically older patients. The program's goals are to minimize further bone loss, decrease pain, improve independent function, prevent injury and teach patients how to help themselves.
Fibromyalgia Treatment with Physical Therapy
Together with medication prescribed by the physician and efforts to improve sleep, physical therapy is an effective choice for the treatment of fibromyalgia. Treatment focuses on manual therapies that facilitate muscular relaxation, soft-tissue flexibility and improved circulation. As pain is reduced, a careful progression to gentle exercise is initiated. This instruction in activity modification, together with positional sleep strategies and other self-care procedures such as trigger-point massage, allows the patient to begin to assert independent control of the symptoms and resultant disability.
