Therapy & Treatments

Physical Therapy - Pain Management - Epidural Injections - Neurostimulation - Massage Therapy

IOS Physical Therapy Unit

The Physical Therapy Unit at the Institute for Orthopaedic Surgery has been expanded and is now housed in a 6,200 square-foot addition to the present OIO building.

Because of the demand for physical therapy, OIO effectively doubled the size of their physical therapy unit.

OIO has four full-time licensed physical therapists staffing this department and has added a substantial amount of new equipment.

The physical therapy unit treats nonoperative patients for back pain, ankle injuries, and athletic sprains. The staff works with post-operative patients for knee, shoulder, hand, and arm rehabilitation. They also provide rehabilitation for patients who have undergone total knee and hip replacements.

Pain Management and Therapeutic Epidural Blocks

An Epidural Block is an injection of a mixture of a local anesthetic (like "norocaine") medication and a strong anti-inflammatory (a steroid, like "cortisone") medication at a specific site in an attempt to control inflammation and pain. Block procedures involve placing a small needle into the area of your spine where the pain is located. The scientific community at large has performed tens of thousands of these procedures and they are very safe procedures when properly done.

There are basically two reasons for these injections: diagnostic and therapeutic. Diagnostic blocks are given to try and establish exactly what the structural abnormality is which is causing the symptoms. In therapeutic blocks, corticosteroid is injected to reduce the inflammation at the source of the problem which is producing your symptoms.

In general, there is about a 70 to 80 percent incidence of improvement or remission of symptoms for some period of time following the injection. In about 10 to 15 percent of the cases, the symptoms go away and never come back. Most of the time, however, the symptoms go away for a period of time and then return to some extent. This is frequently several months after the injection.

Lumbar Epidural Injections

A Lumbar Epidural Injection is one type of epidural block used to help relieve low back pain and leg pain by reducing inflammation, swelling, and irritation of a disk or nerve in your back. This injection can also help your doctor diagnose the source of your pain by decreasing inflammation in certain areas of your back.

A Lumbar Epidural Injection won’t stop all low back pain and leg pain but it can reduce pain in the back and leg region thereby breaking the pain cycle. This cycle begins when a disk or nerve becomes inflamed or irritated. The pain can produce muscle spasms and tightness in the low back region producing even greater irritation of the inflamed area. Lack of movement of the lower back can lead to weakening or deconditioning of the muscles that support the lower back over time.

Neurostimulation

Neurostimulation is the stimulation of the spinal cord by tiny electrical impulses. An implanted lead (a flexible insulated wire), which is powered by an implanted battery or receiver, is placed near your spinal cord. This lead and an implanted neurostimulator send electrical impulses that block the pain messages to your brain.

Click here to see our Neurostimulation brochure.

Massage Therapy

The Orthopaedic Institute has added massage therapy services at our Lima office. Appointments are available for our patients as well as anyone in the region. Whether you need a therapeutic massage for problem areas or a relaxation massage; contact Amy our Licensed Massage Therapist at extension 3400 to schedule your appointment. Amy is a graduate of Spencerville High School and Dayton School of Medical Massage. She is licensed by the State of Ohio and is a member of the American Massage Therapy Association.

Click here for Massage Therapy Information