Keeping your brain fit is as important as keeping your body fit. From RVNAhealth Rehab team members Cheryl Rafferty and Theresa Swift, here are some ways to keep your brain “in the game.”Continue reading
Have You Trained Your Brain Lately?
Hop on the Posture BAND-Wagon — with RVNAhealth
October is Physical Therapy Month, so we asked our RVNAhealth PT team for easy stretches to help us right our posture and work out the kinks of our daily toil. Continue reading
When to Say When: Am I Ready for Joint Replacement Surgery?
Dr. John Dunleavy, M.D, Total Joint Specialist, Hip & Knee Surgeon, OrthoConnecticut, and Gigi Weiss, MSPT, RVNAhealth Director of Rehabilitative Services, recently led this virtual panel discussion co-hosted by the Ridgefield Library.Continue reading
RVNAhealth and OrthoConnecticut present a panel discussion on joint replacement surgeries
In 'When to Say When,' a virtual presentation, John Dunleavy, M.D., Total Joint Specialist, and Hip and Knee surgeon with OrthoConnecticut, and Gigi Weiss, MSPT, Director of Rehabilitation Services at RVNAhealth, highlight the decision-making process and what to expect from joint replacement surgeries.Continue reading
What’s the “Big” Deal? Physical Therapist Kris Greco Shares.
In this interview, Kris explains what brought her to RVNAhealth; why she finds it gratifying to share the LSVT Big therapy program with patients living with Parkinson’s disease; and why you might not want to get in a rhyming contest with her.Continue reading
5 Things You Need to Know about …
Learn all about the RVNAhealth Rehabilitation & Wellness Center, located at 27 Governor Street in Ridgefield, CT . Continue reading
Hip Hip …. delay … Hooray!
Terri Alexander was among those who were in need of surgery just as COVID-19 started to impact Connecticut. Learn how she got back in action!Continue reading
Speech Therapy: More Than Just Words
Our speech therapists help patients with medical conditions including ALS, stroke and Parkinson’s disease improve their speech, language and swallowing. A look at this rehabilitation specialty, in the words of two of our talented and thoughtful speech therapists.Continue reading
Seniors: Stuck Inside Doesn’t Have to Mean Sedentary
Being stuck inside without access to our normal fitness routines is a challenge, both mentally and physically. For seniors, many enjoy the socialization that fitness routines provide. But without the routines and motivation from group classes at gyms, senior centers, and other social gatherings such as group walks, many of us are left to self-motivate. Continue reading
Preparing for Joint Replacement Surgery
Let’s talk about that dreaded moment … when knee pain prevents you from getting into the car. Or your hips are so sore that putting on socks seems impossible.
If this sounds familiar, you’re in good company. By 2030, about 11 million Americans will have either a hip or knee replacement — making joint replacements one of our most common elective surgical procedures.
Being prepared in advance, and receiving the right care immediately following, is key to an excellent recovery, according to Crystal Madyda, PT, RVNAhealth Rehabilitation Services Team Lead.
“Patients used to spend days in the hospital, and then weeks in a short-term rehab facility,” Madyda says. “Now, most spend a maximum of two days in the hospital, followed by in-home therapy and then outpatient care. People tend to do better at home; hospitalization increases their risk of infection.”
Home Safety and Post-Surgery Therapy
RVNAhealth’s Motion Matters programs — designed for those getting joint replacements or other significant surgeries — include a home safety evaluation to ensure that your home is properly equipped for potential physical limitations and begin aftercare promptly after surgery (often within 24 hours of returning home).
Physicians rely on the home safety recommendations to determine if it’s safe for a patient to return home post-surgery, says Gigi Weiss, MSPT, director of RVNAhealth Rehabilitation Services.
Recommendations might include installing a shower chair, grab bar or elevated toilet seat in the bathroom. The therapist making the assessment will also note if a home has lots of stairs and the quality of handrails.
“We also look at factors including the height of your bed. Is it on the ground level. Do you have someone to help you?” she says.
“We want to keep you safe so that upon arrival home, recovery and recuperation can begin in earnest,” Weiss explains. “Within two weeks, eighty percent of our in-home therapy patients have recovered enough to begin outpatient therapy.”
To learn more, visit rvnahealth.org/services/get-well/rehabilitation-therapies.