Stone Clinic Podcasts
Physical Therapy
Description:
Kevin R. Stone, M.D., talks about about the importance of physical therapy. 4:33 minutes/4.5MB
Kevin R. Stone, M.D., talks about about the importance of physical therapy. 4:33 minutes/4.5MB
This is Kevin Stone, M.D. at The Stone Clinic in San Francisco, talking about the importance of physical therapy.
In general, we are huge fans of using physical therapy and smart physical therapists to help guide our patients to prevent injury; to recover more rapidly from injury; and, hopefully, to return to sport fitter, stronger, and faster than they were before they were injured. We have found that smart physical therapists look at a patient with an injury and help figure out why they got injured; help them learn exercises and techniques to recover from the injury; and help guide them in ways that are very motivating. We have found that most people are quite unaware of how they carry their posture, how they walk, how their feet hit the ground, how loose or stiff their hip joints, shoulder joints, knee joints, or backs are. We find that if we can teach people about the mechanics of their gait or the mechanics of their sport, then they leave a better educated patient and they leave with a more rapid recovery program.
Specifically, when we see people with a knee injury, we not only teach them how to diminish the pain and recover from that specific knee injury but how to train around the knee injury, so that, if it requires a period of relative immobilization for the knee, we can train their hip joints, back joints, core muscles, and upper body program. We can get them on a well-leg bicycle where they spin with one leg and rest the injured joint. We can come up with all kinds of creative ways to help them train while they are recovering from injury.
We also find that people, while they know about ice and elevation, do not know all the latest ways to do icing and elevation. The new ice compression machines that add both soft tissue compression and cold therapy to joints are far more effective than just using frozen peas. We also find that physical therapists that have great manual skills, meaning their hands are very good at both massaging injured tissues using cross friction techniques in injured tissues and mobilizing the fluid out of injured tissues, help patients recover very rapidly. So, the soft tissue skills of the physical therapist in addition to their exercise skills, and their ability to observe and comment on gait and to train people in better movement techniques really are what determine the base of what makes a great physical therapist.
We find that patients who undergo surgical procedures and do not have a great physical therapy program after surgery or who try to do all of the program on their own tend to recover slower, tend not to have as complete a recovery, and tend not to learn as much from the experience as those who go through a great physical therapy program.
In sum, we are huge fans of smart physical therapists. We encourage all of our patients to see the physical therapists before and after injuries, before and after surgery, and, at the end of the day, to help avoid injuries and to play sports with a higher level of satisfaction and enjoyment. Many of the physical therapy modalities that we are interested in are posted on our website at www.stoneclinic.com .
In general, we are huge fans of using physical therapy and smart physical therapists to help guide our patients to prevent injury; to recover more rapidly from injury; and, hopefully, to return to sport fitter, stronger, and faster than they were before they were injured. We have found that smart physical therapists look at a patient with an injury and help figure out why they got injured; help them learn exercises and techniques to recover from the injury; and help guide them in ways that are very motivating. We have found that most people are quite unaware of how they carry their posture, how they walk, how their feet hit the ground, how loose or stiff their hip joints, shoulder joints, knee joints, or backs are. We find that if we can teach people about the mechanics of their gait or the mechanics of their sport, then they leave a better educated patient and they leave with a more rapid recovery program.
Specifically, when we see people with a knee injury, we not only teach them how to diminish the pain and recover from that specific knee injury but how to train around the knee injury, so that, if it requires a period of relative immobilization for the knee, we can train their hip joints, back joints, core muscles, and upper body program. We can get them on a well-leg bicycle where they spin with one leg and rest the injured joint. We can come up with all kinds of creative ways to help them train while they are recovering from injury.
We also find that people, while they know about ice and elevation, do not know all the latest ways to do icing and elevation. The new ice compression machines that add both soft tissue compression and cold therapy to joints are far more effective than just using frozen peas. We also find that physical therapists that have great manual skills, meaning their hands are very good at both massaging injured tissues using cross friction techniques in injured tissues and mobilizing the fluid out of injured tissues, help patients recover very rapidly. So, the soft tissue skills of the physical therapist in addition to their exercise skills, and their ability to observe and comment on gait and to train people in better movement techniques really are what determine the base of what makes a great physical therapist.
We find that patients who undergo surgical procedures and do not have a great physical therapy program after surgery or who try to do all of the program on their own tend to recover slower, tend not to have as complete a recovery, and tend not to learn as much from the experience as those who go through a great physical therapy program.
In sum, we are huge fans of smart physical therapists. We encourage all of our patients to see the physical therapists before and after injuries, before and after surgery, and, at the end of the day, to help avoid injuries and to play sports with a higher level of satisfaction and enjoyment. Many of the physical therapy modalities that we are interested in are posted on our website at www.stoneclinic.com .
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The Stone Clinic in San Francisco concentrates on returning injured people to their active lives, fitter, faster, and stronger than they were before. The Stone Clinic includes Dr. Kevin Stone, physician and surgeon, a staff of physical therapists, and an x-ray and MRI facility. Our specialties include the treatment of joint injuries and arthritis with leading edge surgical and rehabilitation techniques. Elite athletes and everyday people alike come to The Stone Clinic from around the world for the best in orthopaedic care. The Stone Clinic is located at 3727 Buchanan St., San Francisco, CA 94123. For more information, please call us at (415) 563-3110 or visit us at www.stoneclinic.com