Services
- Pre & post-operative rehabilitation
- Work-related injury
- Spine injury & rehabilitation
- Manual therapy
- Functional Capacity Evaluation
- Work hardening & conditioning
- Running & cycling injury
- Biomechanical bike fit & pedal stroke assessment
- Foot & ankle rehabilitation
- Dry needling
- Functional movement / running analysis
Pre & post-operative rehabilitation
Physical therapy is a vital component to successfully returning to full activity level following an orthopedic surgery. Pre-operative physical therapy will reduce your post-operative rehabilitation duration. Our physical therapists will work with you and your physician to address your unique needs and goals in order to return to work and recreational function after surgery.
Effective treatment of a work related injury requires knowledge and understanding of your occupation and its physical demands. Sapphire Physical Therapy is a preferred provider for Montana State Fund and many other workers compensation carriers. We offer comprehensive services for Montana’s injured workers. Our physical therapists have advanced training in the treatment of work related injuries and utilize the latest evidence based techniques to facilitate effective and efficient treatment geared toward getting you back to work safely and efficiently.
Back and neck pain are common symptoms in individuals of all ages and demographics. Whether you are a competitive athlete, weekend warrior, perform a job involving heavy manual labor or repetition, or spend most of your day in a sedentary setting, back and neck pain is an ever-present risk. The most important component of effectively treating back and neck pain is a comprehensive physical therapy evaluation. It is vital to rule out serious injury, followed by accurately assessing your spinal mobility and the contractile (muscles) and non-contractile (tendons and ligaments) tissue health. Treatments include manual therapy to restore normal joint motion and mechanics, stretching and stabilization exercises, and core strengthening. Our physical therapists will provide you with the knowledge to keep your back and neck healthy and pain free once your physical therapy treatment has concluded. Don’t let back and neck pain keep you from doing the work, sports, and hobbies you are passionate about. Call or stop by to find out more about physical therapy for back and neck pain.
Manual therapy
Manual therapy includes many hands-on techniques utilized by trained physical therapists to restore and improve joint motion kinematics, decrease pain. Manual therapy utilizes an understanding of joint biomechanics and anatomy aimed at restoring function following an injury or chronic pain due to weakness or overcompensation. Manual physical therapy is defined as a clinical approach utilizing skilled, specific hands-on techniques, including but not limited to mobilization and manipulation. Manual therapy is used by physical therapists to recognize and treat joint, connective tissue, and muscular dysfunction to bring about long-term relief. Our physical therapists utilize manual therapy techniques safely and effectively for appropriate patients.
Functional Capacity Evaluation
As part of our injured worker services, Sapphire Physical Therapy utilizes The Matheson System of functional capacity evaluation (FCE) testing. The Matheson System is the industry leader for safe, reliable, and practical FCE testing. John Fiore, PT has been an FCE evaluator for eleven years. John reviews provided relevant patient information (including Job Analyses) prior to testing. Functional Capacity Evaluations are generally four to eight hours in duration over a one or two day period. The resulting FCE report is accurate, useful, and objective. workers’ physical abilities and impairments through the use of testing and examination tools which have been published and reviewed for validity in many clinical studies. We tailor the evaluation to each person’s abilities and limitations in order to address all necessary questions regarding vocational goals and options.
Work Conditioning programs are developed by your physical therapist to replicate job demands in order to prepare an individual for a safe return to work. Our philosophy is to provide patients and referral sources with the most efficient and effective tools to return to work as efficiently as possible. Your Work Hardening & Conditioning program will focus on restoring proper body mechanics, joint kinematics, strength, endurance, and physical ability/dexterity to prepare for an effective return to work without injury recurrence. Our Work Hardening & Conditioning program concentrates on frequent communication with your physician and workers compensation provider to facilitate return to work or modify the work demands if indicated to bring about a successful return to work. We utilize all recent research and functional outcome measures to document objective data related to functional improvement.
Our active physical therapists understand the treatment and rehabilitation of running and cycling injuries first hand. Our physical therapy staff includes competitive trail runners, competitive mountain, cyclocross, and road cyclists, nordic and alpine skiers, dancers, and softball palyers. Whether you are a competitive athlete or a weekend warrior, we will treat not only your symptoms, but address cause of your pain. Call us or stop by for a consultation or to talk to one of our physical therapists.
Biomechanical bike fit & pedal stroke assessment
A proper biomechanical bike fit will allow you to focus on your riding rather than the pain resulting from an incorrect fit on your bicycle. A properly fit bike allows for maximal biomechanical advantage, energy transfer and pedal stroke efficiency.
Once your bike is properly fit to you using biomechanical assessment tools, we may utilize Racemate’s Computrainer SpinScan Assessment to visualize your pedal stroke graphically. The real time computer display allows you to quickly make pedal stroke improvements that you can immediately see and feel -and translate to the road. A precision bike fit combined with a SpinScan Assessment results in a more efficient pedal stroke resulting in more enjoyment and speed on the bike.
Understanding the complex anatomy and movement of the foot and ankle requires extensive experience and training. Our physical therapists share an interest in foot and ankle rehabilitation. As a passionate trail runner, John Fiore, PT understands the importance of healthy, mobile, strong feet, ankles, and lower legs to withstand the impact placed upon our feet during athletic competition or static & dynamic work environments. A comprehensive lower extremity evaluation will enable your physical therapist to get to the root of your foot, ankle, or leg pain. Did you know that the average person travels over 100,000 miles on their feet in a lifetime? Maximize the pain free mileage of your feet. Call us or stop by for a physical therapy consultation.
Dry needling is a cutting edge soft tissue and musculoskeletal pain treatment rooted in ancient Chinese acupuncture philosophies paired with neuroanatomical knowledge of western medicine. Dry needling uses very fine needles inserted into tender points or trigger points to elicit healing on both cellular and systemic levels. It has been proven effective in treating athletic injuries, acute pain, tendonitis, tendonosis, joint pain, back and neck pain, muscular guarding, delayed onset muscle soreness, cumulative stress/overuse injuries, and joint stiffness. This method can be incorporated into your physical therapy exercise and manual therapy treatment to bring about more timely results and functional improvement.
Functional movement / running analysis
Observing natural movement in weight bearing is key to picking out faulty movement patterns and subtle weaknesses. That is why we are now utilizing video technology to capture your over-ground movements in order to fully analyze your technique. Other clinics and companies analyze running and walking gait on a treadmill, but studies show that treadmill and over-ground ambulation utilize very different muscle activation patterns. By video recording your over-ground gait pattern and utilizing UberSense, a new video app, we can now analyze movement frame by frame in order to detect joint angles, movement patterns, and subtle compensatory motions. With this information, we will develop a functional therapeutic exercise program to treat your specific movement impairments to return you to the most biomechanically efficient and functional running or walking form for your body. If you are interested in a one-on-one video over-ground running analysis, please call John today!
