Services and Treatments PMR of LI Offers
If you’re searching for amputee rehabilitation on Long Island, you need to consider PMRofLI’s gait training analysis program. Gait analysis has the uncanny ability to properly diagnose an individual’s walking/locomotion skills. If you’re a patient who has experienced limb loss, the program may be highly beneficial for you. This is due in large part to the analysis’ assessment of energy efficiency that your body is dissipating. Abnormalities such as limb loss can, unfortunately, be strenuous on the body when attempting to move/walk with them. But with gait training analysis, a realistic solution for pain relief is an astute possibility.
When taking gait training into consideration, it’s imperative that you and your physician understand the three primary goals at hand: improving quality of life, avoiding future complications, and assisting the patient in walking “normally.” In order to ensure the right method of training, a musculoskeletal analysis will potentially provide an accurate evaluation. This can allow your caregiver to better understand what specific techniques need to be administered for your development. Then upon reviewing the analysis and creating a specific plan of attack, you can get to work on your limb loss rehab in Suffolk County at Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation of Long Island.
For most amputees who have lost part of their lower extremities, a prosthetic device is a typical solution for the sudden complication. However, some individuals may struggle with learning how to properly utilize the prosthetic for their betterment. If you’re in this situation, then incorporating your prosthetic with gait training may be the combination you’ve been seeking. Your caregiver can use their assessment to provide improvements in movement and walking. This can include techniques such as the following:
- Prosthetic alignment – Finding the right positioning of a device can better improve posture and optimize the gait pattern.
- Safety training – Patients who are new to prosthetics may learn that finding balance is a rather arduous endeavor. Fortunately, gait training can improve coordination, which will help avoid slipping and falling.
- Tune-up training – Even individuals who are prosthetic veterans may find that occasional visits can be a great way of maintaining stability and improving gait-related techniques.
In the event that you’re dealing with an amputated extremity, amputee rehabilitation on Long Island at PMRofLI can be your alleviation. Their gait analysis program may be able to improve your motor skills and your overall quality of life. Contact our offices today for an appointment and consultation.
Phantom Limb Pain – Amputee Rehabilitation on Long Island
Phantom limb pain, or PLP, is the painful feeling coming from a limb that isn’t there anymore. Though the limb is gone permanently, the pain still remains in full. Usually occurring after the surgery, the pain varies from a burning sensation to an itch or a specific pressure. While it may sound like an odd phenomenon, it’s believed almost 80 percent of the amputee population experiences this pain. If you’re experiencing this kind of pain, amputee rehabilitation on Long Island can be the solution to reducing your discomfort.
This pain that you experience comes from mixed signals between the brain and the spinal cord. As a result, pain management is a very complex task when dealing with PLP. Luckily, proper treatment like amputee rehabilitation on Long Island by a trained professional can treat pain through:
- Local injection therapy – this treatment is the process where a physician injects a local pain-deterrent to the area of the amputation. This helps ease painful signals sent by the nerve endings to the brain.
- Mirror box therapy – this therapy involves the patient looking in a mirror while receiving treatment to let the brain register that the limb is no longer.
- Non-opiate analgesic – these are pain medications that will limit and slow down how the nerve signals from the amputated site will send messages to the brain.
- Nerve cuff stimulation – placing nerve stimulators on nerves of the amputation, this device sends pleasant signals to the brain, instead of totally blocking out all signals to the brain.
The pain of PLP is something that amputee rehabilitation on Long Island can help manage. Through various treatments, the discomfort you’re experiencing is something that the physicians at Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation of Long Island can handle.
For more information on how we can treat and help your injuries, contact us today for amputee rehabilitation on Long Island!
Wound Care – Amputee Rehabilitation on Long Island
After surgery, it is very important to care for your wound and maintenance of the residual limb. Any opened wound is vulnerable to infection. It is vital to prevent this from happening because an infection could lead to further complications, a second surgery, and in some cases death.
The best way to prevent an infection is by:
- Washing limb with mild soap and water, then rinse and pat dry
- Wash anything that comes into contact with your skin (socks, inner socket) with mild soap and water, then rinse and dry
- Do not use alcohol-based lotions on your skin, as they can dry out causing cracks, which can lead to infections
- Use only enough softening lotion to avoid flaky, peeling dry skin
- Maintain a good prosthetic fit; learn how to adjust your sock ply
- Eat a balanced diet and drink plenty of water
- If you have diabetes, monitor and maintain glucose levels
Amputee rehabilitation on Long Island will help prevent the following from occurring, but if circulation decreases; the extremity feels cool/cold, the wound area smells bad, you experience swollen glands in groin or armpits, the wound has thick, brown/gray discharge, or the skin around the wound turns black or gangrenous make sure to seek emergency attention.
The amputee rehabilitation on Long Island process after undergoing a loss of a limb can be a rigorous process. With Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation of Long Island, our knowledge of wound care for amputee rehabilitation on Long Island can make the process a little easier.
Not only do we provide wound care for amputees, but we are here to help you with amputee rehabilitation on Long Island post-operation. Our professionals help patients regain motor skills and relearn motioning. We want our patients to leave with the highest level of independence following the loss of a limb, whether it is returning to work, family-life, recreational sports or driving.
Peripheral Arterial Disease – Amputee Rehabilitation on Long Island
Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is a condition in which the peripheral arteries to the legs, stomach, arms, and head are greatly narrowed, resulting in poor circulation. This disease affects countless Americans and can have devastating effects if not treated properly. If left untreated gangrene can occur. Gangrene refers to the dead tissue resulting from a blood flow issue. If this occurs, amputation is often considered the safest treatment option in order to save your life. If you have PAD and are worried about your condition, amputee rehabilitation on Long Island will be able to provide you the treatment you need and to get you on the right path to recovery.
Causes
There are many ways PAD can occur. Here are some of the more common causes may give you an idea of how to properly treat it:
- Atherosclerosis – this disease occurs when plaque builds up in your body’s arteries and is thought to be one of the main reasons how PAD can occur.
- Smoking – because cigarettes contain a lot of chemicals, your blood cells become increasingly at risk of becoming harmed. This can result in failing heart health and blood vessel function.
- High fats/cholesterol – diets high in fat and cholesterol can also lead to plaque buildup in the arteries, which make the risk of heart failure and PAD even higher.
Treatment
The goal of stopping PAD is to reduce the symptoms of the disease and stop its progression as well. Here are some ways to make sure that your PAD stays under control:
- Physical activity – An effective treatment for PAD is some form of workout plan. Your therapist can put you under cardiac rehabilitation. This includes exercises that are for extreme cases of PAD, where there’s increased plaque buildup.
- Diet – changing your diet is an important treatment since many PAD patients have high cholesterol levels. A diet low in saturated fats and trans fat can help regulate your body’s blood cholesterol levels, but medication may be necessary in order to make sure the levels stay properly regulated
- Cut out smoking – smoking contributes to many heart-related diseases. Cutting the habit out completely can make a huge difference in reducing heart risks.
- Procedure – sometimes exercise and habit changes are not enough to treat PAD. An angioplasty or stent procedure can be done in order to open the artery and increase the blood flow. In extreme cases, amputation may be required due to poor circulation. Our Limb loss rehab on Long Island can help you with surgical plans if you’re suffering from PAD.
The Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation of Long Island will be able to assist you with limb loss rehabilitation needs. Our practice specializes in physical medicine and amputee rehabilitation on Long Island for those living with a limb loss. For more information, contact us today.
Types Of Prosthetics – Amputee Rehabilitation on Long Island
Losing a limb is a terrible, tragic experience for anyone who faces this, both physically and mentally. But there is a help. At Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation of Long Island, our limb loss doctor in Suffolk County and amputee rehabilitation on Long Island can inform you of the different types of prosthetics to help you find one that is right for you.
Before we can assist you with a prosthetic limb and amputee rehabilitation on Long Island, we can help you learn how to get adjusted, it is important to understand the different types of prosthetics:
- Transradial: arm below the elbow
- Transhumeral: arm above the elbow
- Transtibial: leg below the knee
- Transfemoral: leg above the knee
If you are looking for a place to undergo limb loss rehabilitation, to learn not only how to use your prosthetic but to also re-learn your daily tasks, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation is here to help. Dr. Paulinder Rai and his team will provide you with all the information and knowledge you need regarding how to deal with this difficult adjustment in your life. We will discuss with you the mental aspects associated with limb loss, the healing process, phantom limb sensation, and the diet and lifestyle alterations. Our team will provide you with the highest care and knowledge, in order to give you the independence you are seeking to achieve after limb loss.
Our amputee rehabilitation on Long Island can assure you that the feeling you may be feeling now is normal, and our therapy will help you deal with the mental and physical pain. We are here to help you get adjusted, feel more confident, and regain your independence back. We will show you how to regain your motor skills and perform the various daily tasks while using your prosthetic. We want to help you and your family get through this difficult time.
Looking for a limb loss doctor for amputee rehabilitation on Long Island? Contact Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation of Long Island to make an appointment today!
Pain Management – Amputee Rehabilitation on Long Island
With the help of our physiatrist in Suffolk County and amputee rehabilitation on Long Island, Dr. Rai, you will not have to live in constant fear of how significantly your chronic pain will affect your ability to succeed on a day-to-day basis. Physiatrists, also sometimes referred to as pain management doctors are those who specialize in diagnosing the root cause of a patient’s chronic pain in order to help teach them how to manage their pain so that they can live as comfortable a life as possible.
How A Pаin Mаnаgеmеnt Doctor Will Diagnose Your Pain
At Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation of Long Island, we believe that the treatment process begins with us taking the time to get a thorough understanding of your individual symptoms. That is why, when you first visit our facility in search of a physiatrist in Suffolk County and amputee rehabilitation on Long Island, we will ask you a lot of questions that will allow us to compile the most up-to-date medical history we possibly can. As soon as we have an accurate medical history, we may perform a series of diagnostic tests that would serve as the foundation in which we construct your treatment plan. What follows is a brief list of the on-site diagnostic tests that we perform on a regular basis:
- Electromyography (EMG) – A process by which we assess the health of a given muscle by lightly electrifying the cells within it, and analyzing the resulting activity.
- Nerve Conduction Study (NCS) – Similar to an EMG, NCS is used to assess the health of your motor and sensory nerves by way of mild electrical current, allowing us to get a complete understanding of the depth of the damage that could be causing your chronic pain.
- Gait Analysis – An assessment of how your musculoskeletal moves as you walk or run, which allows us to determine if your abnormal gate could be causing your pain.
Creating a Treatment Plan for Your Chronic Pain
Following the completion of any and all diagnostic tests, we will use the results to construct the most appropriate treatment plan for you. We offer a wide variety of treatment options that are specifically designed to help manage your chronic pain, such as:
- Physical Therapy
- Occupational Therapy
- Osteopathic Manipulation
- Trigger Point Injections
- Surgical Options
Get In Touch With Us
We at Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation of Long Island are committed to empowering our patients through health education and top-quality medical care. There is no reason to constantly be worried about how to live with chronic pain. Contact us today to get connected with our physiatrist in Suffolk County for amputee rehabilitation on Long Island who will get you the help you deserve.