Physical Therapy Services

Rehab Connections

• What can physical therapy do for me?
• Is the Aquatic Therapy Pool important?
• For pregnant women.
• Athletes! Both fit and injured.
• How easy is it to see someone?
• How to choose the right clinic.
• For physicians.
• For case managers or claims adjusters.
• For students.

What can physical therapy do for me?

For many people pain is an issue avoided by self-imposed limitations on daily activities. For example, although we might visit the dentist once a year or so, if we had a toothache we would be in there like a shot! Put that ache somewhere else in the body and we ignore it or suffer it with comments like, "I pulled a muscle" or "It's only when I do this".

Pain is also notoriously tricky to pin down: an ache in the shoulder or upper arm could be the result of a neck problem. Your lower back may have a twinge because of your foot; or your foot could be sore because of your posture! Physical therapists understand all of these possibilities and can eliminate distracting symptoms in order to get to the cause of a problem.

And this is for relatively healthy people! More serious health problems can result from sports injuries, both past and present. And arthritis and other movement limiting conditions, as a consequence of surgery or old age, contribute to a lowered quality of life. In all of these situations the physical therapist assists in a recovery process to make people stronger, relieve pain, or help to regain use of an affected limb.

Physical therapists also help in keeping people well in their daily lives by teaching the importance of fitness and showing people how to avoid hurting their bodies at work or play. By designing and supervising individualized exercise programs, physical therapists promote optimal physical performance and help health-conscious people to increase their fitness level, muscular strength and endurance.

Is the Aquatic Therapy Pool important?

Physical therapy can be started earlier in water than on land. For people with weight or age issues, restricted movement, or a recent and severe injury, an early start has enormous implications for pain relief, earlier joint movement and shorter healing times. The possibility of being lowered by hydraulic chair lift into the ozone cleansed, bath-warm water coupled with the intimate size (about 13 feet x 6 feet) of the pool itself makes one feel as if healing is starting straightaway!

Movement of afflicted joints is possible in water even if there is pain when the same movement is attempted on land. This is because water supports the body and reduces stress to joints so muscles can be strengthened and toned while the injury heals. The aim is to increase the blood flow to the affected area in order to speed up the healing process.

The ability of the water to provide gentle and even resistance to the exercises prescribed by the PT allows pre-injury movements and fitness levels to be maintained as healing occurs. This means a quicker return to pre-injury life.

Learn more about the SwimEx.

For pregnant women.

Supervised exercise in the Rehab Connections Aquatic Therapy Pool will be of particular benefit for the following reasons.

  •  The water supports the body all over;
  •  the water temperature ensures that neither mother nor fetus become too hot or too cold;
  •  and the cardio-vascular workout allied to specific muscular endurance goals is safe and efficient.

Undertaken regularly, exercise in the pool will ensure increased energy and stamina in the birth process; a quicker post-natal recovery time; and increased muscle strength in the months that follow.

Athletes! Both fit and injured.

Whether in training or in rehab, the Aquatic Therapy pool will improve physical condition. For example, sports moves can be played against the current, recruiting all relevant muscle groups with even resistance across the whole body; this almost eliminates the risk of injury.

With 30,000 gallons of water per minute coming at speeds up to 6.5 mph, it is no wonder dozens of professional and collegiate teams have their own pools!

Please telephone us to talk to an aquatic exercise specialist.

How easy is it to see someone?

In the state of Illinois all you have to do is walk in to either the Homer Glen or Mokena clinics. Or you can pick up the phone to make an appointment.

Physical therapists are allowed to evaluate physical conditions without a doctor's order; no referral is needed. If the condition will respond to physical therapy, Rehab Connections staff will be happy to explain how they can help, tell you how long treatment might take, and then write a note for your physician in order to assist with obtaining a prescription. All treatments are eligible for insurance.

Alternatively, you can ask your physician to provide you with a prescription for physical therapy.

How to choose the right clinic.

There are many physical therapy clinics in this area. However there are advantages to visiting us at Rehab Connections:

  •  You can be sure that we know our stuff! Over 50 years combined physical therapy experience. And we teach other licensed professionals, specifically physical therapists! They come to our continuing education courses on clinical topics, exercise and anatomy; these are very popular and well-respected with many "return students" boosting the 10-fold increase since 2002. Double assurance that we know what we are doing!

  •  Immediate access to the Aquatic Therapy Pool, if appropriate, will aid rehabilitation and potentially speed up recovery.

  •  Our investment in the therapy pool demonstrates a similar investment in the quality of our staff and a commitment to caring for our community.

Choosing Rehab Connections for your patient referrals.

  •  Sheryl Poremba and her colleagues have a deserved reputation built on the successful practice of physical therapy. This is evidenced by the ability to invest in a SwimEx pool and a second facility.
  •  The SwimEx Aquatic Therapy Pool offers a complete isokinetic aquatic therapy system. Patients in the initial stages of rehab can begin aquatic therapy sooner than regular therapy due to the buoyancy of water. The water counteracts gravity and supplies support, thus reducing pain, spasm and swelling.
  •  There are various levels of aquatic therapy activity available, even in acute stages of rehab. This helps to raise the morale of the patient.
  •  You can show your patient measured results as they graduate to progressive weight-bearing protocols using increasing water resistance. From there, aquatic therapy treatment can extend into a full range of training and conditioning progressing to land based rehab.
  •  Rehab Connections hold regular classes on clinical topics, exercise and anatomy for other licensed professionals demonstrating the confidence Sheryl Poremba and her colleagues inspire in their peers. Indeed this is evident in the fact that there is a very high rate of "students" returning for other classes.   

How is Rehab Connections more useful than other PT clinics?

Rehab Connections is probably unique in the region in that there is a certified case manager on staff. This combines the understanding for the progression of a case with the expertise of a tenured physical therapist in effective treatment

  •  Twin locations in Homer Glen and Mokena offer convenient access to all residents of Cook, Kane, Kendall, DuPage, and Will counties in Illinois as well as residents along the Indiana border. This will ensure better compliance.

  •  The Aquatic Therapy Pool allows an earlier start to treatment and faster results could mean an earlier return to work. This is good for the morale of the patient.

For students.

Rehab Connections has active affiliations with several colleges and universities. We offer clinical experiences between two and nine weeks, working both under the direction of, and close supervision by, one of our PTs. Please get in touch if you are interested; we would welcome your inquiry.