Physical Therapy Treatments

●      Functional Applied Science

●      Functional movements

●      Functional manual therapy (FMR- functional manual reaction)

●      ART- Active Release Technique (myofascial release)

●      Lower Back Pain Education

●      Running/Walking Video Analysis

●      Injury Prevention

At Superior Physical Therapy we offer physical therapy treatments for individuals ranging from geriatrics, neurological, orthopeadic injuries, surgical rehabilitation, injury prevention, sport specific training as we work with all people from all walks of life and all levels of ability.  We use a functional approach in everything we do in order to find the cause of your dysfunction and offer real solutions.

Functional Applied Science

This is a unique approach that combines biomechanics, kinesiology, anatomy, and exercise science  to create physical therapy assessment and treatment that addresses the body as a whole and finds solutions to problems.  This style of physical therapy has been the cumulation of over 35 years of research by Gary Gray, PT who now educates physical therapist through fellowships at the Gray Institute.

Traditional physical therapy when treating knee pain would for example analyze the knee itself and address the swelling and pain using ice, rest, compression, electrical stimulation, and possibly some manual therapy and exercise at the knee joint itself.

Functional physical therapy looks at the knee pain as a symptom not the cause.  Analysis would take place that would look at the joints above and below and maybe even further away from the knee joint in order to figure out what movement dysfunction is causing irritation at the knee joint.  It may be a foot or ankle dysfunction or a hip dysfunction that is causing the knee to move improperly and thus creating inflammation and pain. We than educate you on what things you can do on your own to fix the dysfunction and return to a pain free life.

It is often difficult to understand when people tell us exactly what motions cause them pain. In these cases we use video analysis to help find the cause and solution.  For example a gymnast may state that she has pain in her lower back when performing a standing hand spring.  In this case it would be beneficial for us to video tape her exact movement in order to analyze the movement and decide which motions are either occurring to much or not enough and then make a clinical decision on what areas of her body are dysfunctional.

Sports Performance Training

Superior Physical Therapy has skilled physical therapists that have experience working with semi- professional athletes including Traverse City North Stars hockey and Traverse City Wolves football.  We have also had the opportunity to participate in the 2010 Red Wings Hockey Training camp that included fitness assessments of the Red Wings players.  Not to mention the many high school and collegiate athletes around the Traverse City area that have benefited from such a unique approach.

We offer services to athletes that includes individualized sport specific training that uses our functional approach to train your body to get not only faster and stronger but translate that into improved functional performance.  When training for sport and performance your training should mimic the actual movements you perform in that sport in order to improve performance.  With the guidance of our physical therapists you will gain a specific functional performance training program that will completely change the way you train for sport.

This program is completely different than any other sport specific training program offered in our area.  It is open to anyone who wants to improve his or her fitness and performance either on the field or in everyday life.

We give you the option of working one-on-one or in groups or with your team along side our  trained staff.  It is our goal to combine mobility, stability, flexibility, strength, power, endurance, and balance in order to improve performance.

Manual Therapy

What is Manual Therapy?

Manual therapy uses hands on treatment with the main goal of improving tissue mobility whether that tissue is boney, ligamentous, or muscular.  This type of treatment requires extensive understanding of anatomy and biomechanics in order to understand what ways the human body should be able to move and techniques that restore that motion.  This includes myofascial release, joint mobilizations, stretching, functional manual reaction (FMR), Active release techniques (ART), etc.

How does manual therapy and functional applied science work together?

Often times when analyzing the entire body in order to find the problem it becomes evident that there is a part of the body that isn’t moving correctly.  Manual therapy allows a physical therapist to move the part of the body themselves in order to restore the proper motion.  This often is targeted at joints to improve range of motion, muscles and fascia to improve extensibility, or scar tissue to release adhesions.

Manual therapy can be applied to functional treatment using a techniques called functional manual reaction (FMR) which was created by physical therapist Gary Gray.  This techniques involves having the person move the body and the therapist then applies their hands to facilitate the proper motion.  This improves flexibility, neuro- motor patterns, and joint mechanics.  These techniques are controlled by the therapist and are safe effective ways to restore functional mobility.

Video Analysis

Often times it is difficult to see dysfunctions in clients or athletes movements yet the person will complain of pain.  It is then necessary to use video analysis to slow the motion down and gain a perspective that includes three dimensional views of the person performing the movement.  We can than gain an understanding of your unique movement and dysfunction which allows us to provide the best possible treatment.  Another advantage of video analysis is that it allows us to show you what we see so that you can gain understanding of the importance of treatment.

Some things we look at include:

●      3D views of specific motion

●      Posture

●      Gait analysis for runners

●      Golf swing, pitching analysis

●      How certain movements affect your whole body

●      How to prevent injury

●      Create a DVD so you can be sure to use the perfect form, even when your physical therapist can’t be with you

Medical Fitness

We offer individual and group fitness programs for people who have recently had surgery and have graduated from physical therapy.  These programs are perfect for individuals who aren’t yet comfortable with their abilities in the gym setting and would like the guidance of a physical therapist. The benefits of this type of program are that you can increase your health and wellness under the guidance of a physical therapist even if your insurance benefits are exceeded.  The group programs include:

●        Gentle Joints: arthritis

●        Gentle Joints: total joint replacements

●        Healthy Spine

●        Balance Training

Please call for more details.

Functional Capacity Evaluations

These are specifically for individuals who are in need of a health professional to determine their abilities as they pertain to the workforce.  This is a series of tests and measures designed to mimic your work environment and determine if you are safe within it.