Balance Therapy & Fall Prevention
We want you to enjoy your life as long as you live. We want you to be able to get out of the house and go and visit your family and friends without fear of falling or losing your balance. We want you to be able to play with your grandchildren and savor those special moments. We have come to understand and realize that loss of balance and recurrent falls is far more prevalent in our society than many people realize resulting in major injuries, loss of confidence, loss of function, disuse atrophy(weakness), depression, anxiety, and even embarrassment. Let us help you recover your life!!
We pride ourselves as being one of the leaders in our community for balance and fall prevention therapy. While many other clinics focus almost entirely on athletes – we focus on you – and desire to “get you up and going” again with better balance, increased strength, safer mobility, and better walking so you can feel confident to enjoy your life.
The owner and primary physical therapist, Todd Warner, has dedicated his time and further education towards developing a BALANCE AND FALL PREVENTION PROGRAM at Improve Physical Therapy & Hand Center, LLC. One of our goals as a physical therapy center is to become the number one outpatient clinic in our area to evaluate and treat this problem. Our therapists have successfully treated thousands of patients with balance dysfunction and recurrent falls over the past 24 years. Over the past year we have dedicated ourselves to further advancing our knowledge and treatment in these areas and plan to continue to do so moving forward.
Todd completed a two-day conference -August 2017 – in Nashville, Tennessee entitled “BUILDING BETTER BALANCE & PREVENTING FALLS.” This course was outstanding and provided us with many new and advanced evaluation and treatment techniques. It also allowed us to discover a plethora of patient resources available to prevent falls and create safer home environments. Mr. Warner also completed an excellent course focused on preventing dizziness and vertigo- April 2017 – “VESTIBULAR REHAB: FROM BPPV to CONCUSSION MANAGEMENT.” We can evaluate vertigo vs. dizziness caused by other factors and successfully treat it or appropriately refer you when necessary.
We have the skills and strategies to address the complex problems of balance dysfunction and falls. We can identify individuals at risk for falls, know the key risk factors, and conduct a comprehensive evaluation to guide intervention when appropriate. We use nationally-accepted standardized tests and measures during our evaluation and reassessments. We use evidence-based and best practice intervention strategies for our treatments.
Balance dysfunction is a complex problem. Therefore, we take a comprehensive and detailed history and evaluation upon your first visit. Loss of balance and recurrent falls can occur from neurological problems, vestibular problems, cardiovascular problems, musculoskeletal problems, environmental hazards, improper or inappropriately fitting gait devices (cane, walker, etc.), and a multitude of other factors.
We take objective measurements with specific values to insure your progress. We use the nationally certified standardized test: The Berg Balance Scale – which measures 16 different balance functions. We use the Romberg Test (eyes closed/eyes opened), Unilateral Balance, Tandem Stance, Tandem Gait, Heel-Toe, and 4-Square – among other balance tests. We perform a detailed gait analysis and determine appropriate devices if necessary. We assess your ability to perform functional movements such as forward walking, backward walking, side-stepping, step-ups, step-downs, squats, reaching to the floor, and others. ALL BALANCE TESTS AND FUNCTIONAL TESTS AND TREATMENTS ARE COMPLETED SAFELY WITH A GAIT BELT AND USUALLY DONE IN THE PARALLEL BARS (for added safety). We also assess strength and flexibility with detailed measurements for all applicable joints (usually the lower extremities) by doing manual muscle testing and goniometric measurements.
Once the evaluation is completed, we develop a comprehensive treatment plan and begin to implement it on the second visit. We take new measurements to show you your improvement on a routine basis and perform a complete re-evaluation with a typed report at least every 12 visits. This report is provided to your referring physician and you.
We consistently succeed in improving balance, gaining strength, improving gait, preventing falls, and achieving improved function.
CALL US TODAY – LET US HELP YOU GET YOUR LIFE BACK!!!