Physical Therapy

Soft-tissue mobilization consists of manipulating soft tissues using various techniques to improve circulation, normalize muscle tone. and increase soft tissue extensibility. It’s a great treatment option after you sustain any type of injury to your soft tissues. Common injuries can include sprains, strains, contusions, tendonitis, bursitis, and stress injuries. At Eclipse, three of our favorite soft-tissue mobilization techniques are:

• Instrument-assisted soft-tissue massage – On top of using their hands, your physical therapist will use a variety of specially designed tools to assess and treat the soft tissue depending on the goals of the treatment.
• Cupping therapy – In this ancient practice of Eastern Medicine, your therapist will put special cups on your skin for a few minutes to create suction. By drawing blood and circulation to the treatment area, cupping helps decrease inflammation, pain, and muscle spasms.
• Active soft-tissue and trigger point release – Active soft-tissue release involves the active movement of the muscle being treated and is great for overuse injuries. Trigger point release provides progressive point pressure to a sore area until the pain is relieved. Both techniques reset the muscle’s ability to contract and relax normally resulting in decreased pain, improved mobility, range of motion, and function.

Joint mobilization is the careful use of skilled, graded forces to move a joint in the desired direction. Gliding the joint is used to improve motion, normalize joint function, and control pain. It works great for shoulder pain and stiffness, spine pain and stiffness, stiff ankles, and many others.

If joint mobilization is right for you, your licensed therapist will keep you in a comfortable position and discuss appropriate pain levels along the way. As you improve, your PT may progress to higher speed mobilizations, but this is not always necessary.

When an area of the body is injured through impact or overuse, the buildup of lymphatic fluid causes inflammation and swelling. This may cause increased pressure on muscles and tissue leading to significant discomfort, pain, and muscular dysfunction. By applying specially designed tape to your skin, your therapist will effectively pulling it away from your muscles, allowing blood and other fluids to circulate. This will reduce swelling and speed up recovery. AT Eclipse, two of our favorite taping techniques are:

• Kinesiology taping (i.e., kinesiotape, KT, or Roc tape) – This tape stretches in length but not in width. As a result, it provides stable support without restricting range of motion like traditional athletic tape.
• McConnel taping- This approach is primarily used for kneecap (patellofemoral) pain and dysfunction. However, it’s also used at the shoulder, hip, and ankle. McConnel tape is more supportive than KT tape as its goal is to facilitate proper movement by holding and promoting proper alignment.

Physical therapy modalities involve various methods of electrical, thermal, or mechanical energy treatments. They help relieve pain, decrease swelling, improve circulation, reduce muscle spasm, and deliver medication. Here are a few you can expect to see at Eclipse:

• H-Wave- This electrical modality generates a mild signal that produces comfortable, non-fatiguing muscle contractions to improve circulation and lymphatic drainage, which is the basis for recovery. Pain, swelling, spasms, and stiffness can block the path to recovery. H-Wave unblocks that path, allowing patients to focus on their active rehabilitation.
• Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) – This electrical PT modality is often used on the quadriceps muscle for knee pain or after surgery, though it can be used on other parts of the body. NMES uses electricity to stimulate muscles and to re-educate them on how to work normally.
• Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) – This electrical PT modality blocks the pain message from the brain to the area of the body that’s experiencing discomfort. It does this by delivering mild electric pulses across the nerves that deliver the pain message, effectively interrupting the signal. Special note: these units can often be ordered for you to use at home.
• Iontophoresis – If appropriate, your therapist may use this electrical modality with a prescription to deliver anti-inflammatory medication directly to the injured area. This requires a patch to which your medication is applied.
• Blood flow restriction training (BFR) – This modality works by using a cuff to decrease blood flow to working muscles. This promotes hypertrophy and prevents disuse atrophy of muscles. This treatment is typically used during exercise, but can also involve the use of compression devices alone.