Brooks Rehabilitation's new specialty clinic to provide advanced treatments for back and neck

Aug 19 2009

Brooks Rehabilitation's newest specialty clinic, the Brooks Center for Back & Neck Health, offers patients advanced treatments for both acute and chronic conditions of the spine, including whiplash, lumbar stenosis, cervical or lumbar radiculopathy, cervical or lumbar instability, sciatica, TMJ, osteoarthritis, degenerative disc disease, and more. According to the National Institutes of Health, back pain is the second most common reason Americans go to the doctor (headaches are the first), and among the most common reasons for surgery. Research has demonstrated the effectiveness of physical therapy for affecting outcomes in patients with spinal conditions.

"We believe specific patient education along with advanced physical therapy is the key to continued healing," said Ryan Reed PT, DPT, MTC, OCS, manager of the Brooks Center for Back & Neck Health. "We're able to provide patients with superior clinical reasoning, evidence-based interventions, manual therapy and the latest technology." Reed has extensive knowledge in evaluating and treating this patient population. He is certified in Manual Therapy with a spine specialty. He is also board certified in Orthopaedics through the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties.

At the Brooks Center for Back and Neck Health, patients are provided with powerful, new tools for education. The Brooks Health Tracker interactive software offers patients continuous online pain tracking and self-assessment tools throughout their treatment. These records also allow physicians and case managers to monitor their patients' progress, determine a patient's improvements/continued impairments and recommend future treatment options.

At each physical therapy appointment, the patient receives education about their diagnosis, prognosis, and plan. Using state-of-the-art animated models and video software, therapists can capture a patient's movement during routine activities from walking to lifting heavy objects. This motion analysis software lets patients see their actual physical movement and allows therapists to teach correct behavior in these daily activities. It can be made available as a DVD for the patient to take home.

Brooks therapists also use 3-D human anatomy software to venture inside the spine and help them better explain conditions, injuries and treatments. The software can also mirror a patient's MRI for comparison and explanation purposes.

All Brooks therapists have the power of the Brooks Physical Therapy (PT) Orthopaedic Residency program behind them. As the first nationally credentialed PT Orthopaedic Residency in the state of Florida, the courses within the residency ensure that Brooks staff is utilizing the most up-to-date and evidence-based information while managing their patients. The practice of evidence-based treatment means integrating individual clinical expertise with the best available external clinical research to improve the outcomes of patient therapy.

www.brookshealth.org.