Was a clinical differential diagnosis (CDD) performed as part of an initial examination by your physical therapist? Is an ongoing causation assessment (CA)** included in your treatment plan? If the answer is no, you may want to consider a more thorough evaluation of your symptoms with Mary Hart, Doctor of Physical Therapy and specialist in movement disorders. At Hart Physical Therapy, both of these methodologies are important components in our healing programs and essential in identifying the root cause of your pain, movement impairment, and general dysfunction.
Why are the CDD and CA methodologies so vital in determining an appropriate treatment plan for you? Let’s suppose that you are diagnosed with a degenerative hip, knee or shoulder. You are informed that the cause of your pain is a bone on bone condition necessitating joint replacement surgery. Now, let’s look at this question from another angle. It may also be the case that your condition is due to spinal cord and/or nerve impingement. Using our tested therapy techniques, it has been our repeated experience that chronic muscle spasm, stiffness and pain can be lessened and even eliminated and normal movement recovered without the use of invasive measures. In many cases, even where joint damage and deformity are present, once the degenerative process is stabilized, patients are better equipped to decide whether or not to opt for surgery. When you consider the pros and cons of joint replacement, including the fact that many patients continue to experience pain after surgery, you have everything to gain in first seeking evaluation and treatment at Hart Physical Therapy.
Our 30 plus years of experience in the field have provided us with important insights into the complex interaction that exists between your movement patterns and postural habits and the debilitating symptoms you experience on a daily basis. To begin our evaluation process, we examine the unique ways in which you sit, stand and move through the world. In addition, we review your medical history, including lab tests and radiographic studies, and conduct patient and/or family interviews as a means of determining a treatment plan.
Your physical rehabilitation program will be fashioned to address your specific conditions and needs and will include exercises for posture and balance improvement, strength training and conditioning and functional mobility. Come join us at Hart Physical Therapy. Learn and incorporate the therapeutic methods that can stabilize or reverse your condition, get you pain-free, and give you a new lease on life.
* DEFINITION OF THE CLINICAL DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS (CDD)
At Hart Physical Therapy, we have developed a screening method to detect the presence of structural spasticity which we are able to confirm through MRI scanning and EMG, a type of neurological testing. Our team approach, utilizing primary doctors and neurologists to corroborate our clinical findings, helps ensure a rehab program tailored to your specific needs.
** DEFINITION OF CAUSATION ASSESSMENT (CA)
This is an oral and visual assessment to determine how the movements, postural positions, and activities that you perform on a daily basis are related to your pain and other symptoms. In other words, how you sit, stand, and move are essential ingredients in influencing the way you feel. Our ongoing, collaborative assessment also yields greater insights into how physical, mental, and emotional stress can manifest itself in the body. And it can provide important strategies for halting the degenerative process.