Physical therapy can help anyone at any age.
Brett Grandon, manager of Franciscan Health’s Outpatient Physical Therapy office in Homewood, operated by METT Therapy Services, has treated young children, teens, adults and senior citizens. His oldest patient was 99.
Physical therapy (PT) is designed to help restore one’s function so the patient can return to a normal lifestyle. For many patients, doing repetitive exercises under the direction of a physical therapist or physical therapist assistant over a number of weeks can be enough to get the injured area back to a strength level that allows the patient to return to normal function.
But there are always those exceptions when an injury requires a bit more attention. Grandon recently treated a teenager who wanted to return to competitive roller skating after she had an ankle fracture when she landed wrong while doing a jump. After surgery she came to Grandon for help getting strong enough to be part of the team again.
“I saw her for most of the last year,” he said. “I got her back to doing a high level of activities, which is fun on my end because I had to think outside-the-box and come up with a lot of fun new activities for her every couple of sessions.”
In addition to physical therapy, Franciscan Health at Cherry Creek in Homewood also offers occupational therapy to help patients who need restorative care for elbow, wrist, hand and finger injuries.
Franciscan Health’s program can also help with repetitive motion injuries, sports-related injuries, spine rehabilitation, nerve injury rehabilitation and it offers a fall and balance program.
Physical therapy is an important segment of the medical profession. Grandon said everyone at Franciscan Health is highly trained to help every patient.
Today a physical therapist must earn a doctoral degree before he or she can be certified. With a bachelor’s degree, the student can be accepted into a PT program that generally is three years and includes classwork and rotations for hands-on training. In the South Suburbs, Governors State University offers a doctorate degree in physical therapy.
Franciscan Health offers physical therapy services at locations in Homewood’s Cherry Creek, in Frankfort, Beecher, at the Prairie State College Fitness Center and at Franciscan Health’s Olympia Fields Hospital.
Patients can choose a site that’s convenient for them. Staff offer sessions from early morning into the evening.
Staff are taking extra precautions due to COVID-19. Every piece of equipment is wiped down after each use. Before sessions, patients’ temperatures are taken and patients are asked to wash their hands.
Everyone in the facility wears a mask.