Physical and occupational therapy in Kansas

Get back in the game safely and quickly!

Sports physical therapy addresses the unique needs and challenges athletes face on a regular basis. Whether you are dealing with an overuse injury or a traumatic sports injury, a sports physical therapy can help. They can help you regain your function, decrease pain and reduce your risk of re-injury through education and focus on underlying issues that may have contributed to your initial injury.

Sports physical therapists work with athletes and physically active individuals of all ages and ability levels to:

• Recover from sports or non-sports related injuries.
• Speed up the recovery process.
• Gain the strength, stability, and flexibility needed to regain peak performance.
• Maximize speed, performance and agility.
• Learn effective ways to train and compete to minimize the risk of injury.

At Ascension Via Christi, our sports physical therapists are experts at helping you get back to performing your best as safely and quickly as possible.

Click the button below to request an evaluation and customized treatment program or for a no-cost phone consultation with one of our physical therapists.

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Specialized physical therapy care for your pelvic health

Every year, millions of men and women struggle with pelvic issues that can be minimized with proper treatment. Whether it’s a gynecological condition, aches and pains related to pregnancy, incontinence after prostate removal, or other issues, the pelvic rehabilitation experts at Ascension Via Christi can provide welcome relief.

Conditions treated include:

• Urinary incontinence, frequency, or night-time urination
• Musculoskeletal pain due to pregnancy, birth, caesarean section, hysterectomy or other gynecological surgery
• Pelvic muscle weakness or trauma
• Pelvic pain
• Constipation or bowel dysfunction
• Osteoporosis
• Pelvic prolapse
• Painful intercourse
• Interstitial cystitis and chronic prostatitis

Customized care for all ages

When you come for your first visit, we start with a comprehensive evaluation. Our therapists listen closely to your concerns, and then work with your doctor to create a plan specifically for you.

Treatment may include:

• Therapeutic exercise
• Neuromuscular re-education
• Manual therapies addressing soft tissue and joint structures
• Biomechanics and posture
• General conditioning

Don’t let a nagging issue hamper your everyday life. Schedule an appointment with our pelvic rehabilitation experts today.

Click the button below to request an appointment or request a complimentary phone consultation with one of our physical therapists.

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Using Aquatic Physical Therapy to ease the recovery process

Our specially trained physical therapists at Ascension Via Christi use aquatic therapy to help patients who are in pain or are weakened due to injury or disability gain strength and mobility while decreasing discomfort. The natural buoyancy of the water helps decrease the stress on joints allowing patients to exercise more easily with less pain. In addition, the natural pressure of water in therapy pools reduces joint and soft-tissue swelling and helps improve blood and lymphatic flow to promote healing. Aquatic therapy can also help patients gain strength as they perform exercises against the natural resistance of the water.

Common Conditions benefiting from Aquatic Therapy:

• Arthritis
• Chronic pain
• Fibromyalgia
• Balance conditions
• Joint Replacements
• Hip, knee and ankle pain
• Low Back Pain
• Neurological Disorders
• Post-surgical rehabilitation
• Difficulty with walking
• Shoulder pain

It is not necessary for you to be able to swim in order to receive aquatic therapy.

Aquatic therapy is available at the Ascension Via Christi Rehabilitation Hospital, and our Shannon Woods and Socora Therapy Centers. A Hydroworx underwater treadmill is available at our Shannon Woods Therapy Center.

To schedule an evaluation or to request a complimentary phone consultation to find out if aquatic therapy is right for you, please click the button below.

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Dry needling is a specific treatment technique where a solid filament needle is inserted through the skin and into muscular trigger points to decrease pain and improve function. It is called “dry” needling because no solution is injected into the tissue as with a typical injection. The needle itself, and the effects it produces within the tissue are the treatment.

The mechanical stimulation of the muscle by the needle produces a local twitch response or rapid depolarization of muscle fibers. This causes a relaxation of the tight muscle and decreased pain and dysfunction due to a reduction in muscular compression on joint, nerve, and vascular tissue. Dry needling also helps to decrease chemical irritation in an injured area and initiate a healing response in the affected tissue.

Dry needling is different than acupuncture. While dry needling uses the same tool as acupuncture — a thin sterile needle — it is for a different therapeutic purpose. Dry needling is based on Western medical principles and evidence-based research. It targets the painful area to restore normal muscular function and to decrease pain. Traditional acupuncture practitioners follow the Eastern Medicine principle of using the insertion of needles along pathways (meridians) to normalize the flow of energy (Chi) throughout the body to cure syndromes.

Common conditions that often respond well to dry needling:

• Sciatica
• Neck/back pain
• Plantar fasciitis
• Hip/Gluteal pain
• Headaches
• Muscular strains
• Tennis/ golfer’s elbow
• Shoulder pain
• Sports injuries

Improvements in flexibility and ease of movement as well as decreased symptoms, are often experienced from the first visit. However, it is also normal to experience soreness or fatigue in the areas treated for a few hours up to two days. This soreness following treatment typically lessens with subsequent treatments.

Dry needling is currently offered at Ascension Via Christi Therapy Center, 854 N. Socora, Wichita. To schedule an evaluation or to request a complimentary phone consultation to find out if dry needling is right for you, please click the button below.

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What is Astym therapy?

Astym therapy is an advanced form of rehab therapy that’s designed to restore soft tissues at a cellular level. It regenerates healthy soft tissues (muscles, tendons, etc.) and removes unwanted scar tissue that may be causing pain or movement restrictions. If you’re experiencing pain, restricted movement, or a chronic soft tissue condition, Astym therapy offers you a trusted treatment plan that’s proven to work fast and give you lasting results.

Astym therapy effectively treats the following conditions:

• Achilles Tendinopathy
• Anterior and Posterior Tibialis Tendinopathy
• Arthrofibrosis
• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
• Chronic Ankle Pain and Stiffness
• Chronic Wrist Pain and Stiffness
• DeQuervain’s Tenosynovitis
• Golfer’s Elbow (Medial Epicondylopathy)
• Hamstring Strain
• IT Band Syndrome
• Jumper’s Knee
• Low Back Pain (nonradicular)
• Patellar Tendinopathy
• Plantar Fasciitis (Plantar Fasciopathy)
• Post-Mastectomy Scarring
• Post-Surgical Scarring/Fibrosis
• Rotator Cuff Tendinopathy
• Scar Tissue/Fibrosis
• Tennis Elbow (Lateral Epicondylopathy)
• Trochanteric Bursitis

What To Expect During Your Visit:

After conducting a thorough evaluation to make sure Astym therapy is right for you, your certified therapist will walk you through a treatment plan tailored to your needs. Astym Certified therapists go through rigorous training to learn the treatment and techniques used in managing soft tissue damage and follow specific treatment parameters to initiate the healing process. They will glide instruments firmly along your skin, following the direction of the muscle, tendon or ligament. You will feel bumps as the instrument moves along your skin. These bumps are the defective soft tissue. After treatment, you stretch and strengthen. With Astym therapy, you’re an active participant in your recovery! Your therapist will give you a customized stretching and strengthening program designed to encourage your body to heal correctly.

The Benefits of Astym therapy:

Astym therapy helps you get better faster with a safe and effective approach to treating your pain. Astym Certified therapists treat the cause, not just the symptoms of your pain. Astym therapy can resolve tough injuries and conditions, even when other treatments have failed!

• Works quickly: typical course of treatment lasts only 4-5 weeks (8-10 visits)
• Immediate Results: rapid decrease in pain and increase in range of motion
• It's non-invasive: no needles, no incisions
• You Get To Stay Active: continue work, sports, and other daily activities during therapy as long as the activities do not aggravate your symptoms

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LSVT BIG is a standardized treatment protocol for Parkinson's. BIG techniques train individuals to use "bigger" movements in daily living. This empowers them to keep moving and stay active. BIG teaches how to keep your movements more coordinated during everyday activities. It will help you to stay involved and improve your quality of life.

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Outpatient oncology rehabilitation seeks to help those with cancer diagnoses who are experiencing physical impairments before, during, or after cancer treatment. Patients can experience muscle weakness, chronic fatigue, neuropathy, limitations in range of motion or mobility and balance impairments as a result of the disease process or sometimes the treatment itself. These impairments can significantly impact cancer survivors' daily lives as well as leisure activities and their ability to return to work. Oncology Rehabilitation can assist to renew their strength and mobility, as well as help improve their quality of life.

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Burn care therapists specialize in range of motion of all extremities and the neck. Physical and occupational therapists evaluate and treat all ages of patients and focus on preventing contractures and proper positioning of joints. Therapists promote independence with mobility and self care. Therapists provide education to patients regarding home exercise programs, splinting needs, scar massage, edema control, and compression needs. Patients may also benefit from being measured for custom garments to assist with scar control and prevention. Ascension Via Christi provides a continuum of care to meet patient needs such as inpatient rehab, outpatient therapy and the burn clinic.

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Speech-Language Pathologists who are certified in LSVT LOUD train people with Parkinson's disease to use their voice at a more normal loudness level while speaking at home, work, or in the community.

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Speech-Language Pathologists who are skilled at treating Vocal Cord Dysfunction (VCD) can help people who have chronic cough, or difficulty breathing in certain situations. VCD can occur with asthma or without asthma. People with VCD learn strategies to breathe more easily or reduce or stop coughing.

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• Modified Barium Swallow Studies: Barium is used to evaluate the swallow from the lips to the top of the esophagus. The Speech-Language Pathologist conducts this exam, and various consistencies of barium are administered to fully evaluate the swallow, including barium liquid, barium pudding, and graham cracker with barium paste, as well as a barium pill. Patients have the option of bringing their own food, and barium can be put on that food to evaluate the swallow. Results are given immediately at the end of the exam. This exam can view the area just below the top of the esophagus.
• Flexible Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing: A small scope is inserted into the nose to watch the swallow "from the inside." Various foods and liquid are given while the camera is in place. Swallow function is assessed, but also the vocal folds' ability to protect the airway is assessed. Nothing below the top of the esophagus can be viewed.
• Videostroboscopy - vocal cord assessment: When there have been changes to the voice, or the voice is not performing satisfactorily, a Speech-Language Pathologist conducts this exam. A small scope is inserted into the nose to view the vocal folds' function. A strobe light is used to allow analysis of the vocal folds with various vocal tasks, including singing, if a singer is having difficulty. The exam is most often ordered by an otolaryngologist (Ear, Nose and Throat) physician, but sometimes is ordered by a pulmonologist. The ordering physician receives the recorded exam so that the structure can be assessed, and the Speech-Language Pathologist reports on the function of the vocal folds.

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