physical therapy – Here for Life

Walk like a penguin

December 15, 2022

Winter weather can be beautiful, but it can also be dangerous. Just like adjusting to driving on the snow and ice, we need to remember how to walk on the snow and ice. A fall on snow or ice can be embarrassing, but also harmful. Falls are the number one reason for brain injuries, not to mention what a fall can do to your bones and the rest of your body.

Penguins are seasoned veterans walking on snow and ice. Maybe we could learn something from them. Spreading your feet out slightly— like a penguin— while walking on ice increases your stability. When we walk, our legs’ ability to support our weight is split mid-stride. To walk on ice, keep your center of gravity over your front leg. (more…)

Skull fracture causes frightening TBI — but nothing scary about seamless care

May 19, 20211

As a nurse at a local hospital, Jeanne Leach has worked with families caring for loved ones with a health emergency. On a Friday night in October, while leaving their daughter’s house, her husband, Jim, walked down the front steps, tripped over a pumpkin, and fell and hit the corner of a step and was knocked unconscious.

“He lost his footing and struck his head so hard that he was bleeding through every orifice in his head,” she recalls. “There was blood everywhere. It was awful.” (more…)

What is Integrative Physical Therapy? How is it different from just regular PT?

April 23, 20211

This is a question I hear almost daily in my work at Hennepin. And it’s a great question because right now Integrative PT is an emerging but nationally undefined specialty. Here at Hennepin we have four fabulous physical therapists who specialize in an integrative and holistic approach to healing and our team recently brainstormed on what distinguishes our work from that of a more traditional physical therapy approach. (more…)

Physical therapy after COVID

December 17, 2020

COVID-19 is hitting many specialties at Hennepin Healthcare. Physical therapists, especially those who specialize in neuro-therapy, are seeing a lot of patients who are recovering from this new and foul virus. Megan Meyer, a physical therapist who practices in our Clinic & Specialty Center, is one of those providers.

One assumption could be that most of Megan’s patients are elderly with pre-existing conditions, but that is not the case. Explains Megan, “Most of my patients are between the ages of 40 and 70, and yes, some do have pre-existing conditions, but many do not”. (more…)

Clinic & Specialty Center – Rehabilitation Department Video Tour

December 4, 2017

Join Dr. David Hilden on a video walking tour of the Rehabilitation Department within our beautiful new Clinic & Specialty Center. When the building opens on March 26, 2018, the rehabilitation spaces will offer patients an amazing healing environment, new equipment and enhanced capabilities. When you see the space, you’ll know why the rehabilitation staff is counting down the days until they can treat patients in the new facility.

Stay tuned for additional video walking tours with Dr. Hilden, and learn more about the Clinic & Specialty Center by visiting clinicbuilding.org.

Read Chris’s story

November 9, 2017

Chris Leatherdale has been through a lot, but you’d never know it if you met him. Chris was taken to HCMC after suffering burns while saving his horses that were trapped in a barn fire. After spending weeks in our burn unit, he became a patient at our Miland E. Knapp Rehabilitation Center, where patients take time recovering from trauma and begin the long process of rehabilitation. (more…)