Tom Willemann Health Tips

"Almost Daily Health Tips From Physical Therapist Tom Willemann..."

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Back to Action After Knee Surgery

Back to Action After Knee Surgery

Tibial osteotomy is a surgical procedure that realigns the angle of the lower leg and changes the distribution of pressure within the knee.  Physicians most often recommend the surgery for people 40 to 60 years of age who have osteoarthritis on only one side of the knee. In the knee, the femur (thighbone) of the upperContinue Reading »

Why You Need Crutches After Meniscus Surgery

Why You Need Crutches After Meniscus Surgery

Why You Need Crutches After Meniscus Surgery If only surgical treatment worked so perfectly that the patient would hop off the operating table, cured, with no painful recovery required. For knee surgery, that is not the case. Today, most surgical procedures on the crescent-shaped, fibrous knee joint cartilage called the meniscus are performed with tinyContinue Reading »

“Cementing” and Knee Replacement Surgery

“Cementing” and Knee Replacement Surgery

More than 580,000 knee replacement surgeries—the vast majority of them successful—are performed in the United States each year. In this procedure, special acrylic bone cement is often employed to adhere the new artificial knee parts to your leg bones. Its technical name is polymethylmethacrylate, or PMMA. What is PMMA? In some situations, the surgeon canContinue Reading »

Regaining Full Range of Motion After Knee Surgery

Regaining Full Range of Motion After Knee Surgery

Regaining Full Range of Motion After Knee Surgery In order for you to walk, run, sit or kick comfortably, your knee—the largest joint in the body—must be able to move through an arc of about 130 degrees, from completely straight, or fully extended, to completely bent, or fully flexed. Two muscle groups control this motion:Continue Reading »

Should I have surgery?

Should I have surgery?

Should I have surgery? I always recommend friends, patients and family to get an physical therapy evaluation before they undergo an orthopedic surgery. The reason is twofold.  Evaluation ensures that loss of strength or range of motion is not the root cause of their problem.  Various studies have shown that osteoarthritis may be present butContinue Reading »

Putting Your ACL Back Together Again

The ACL—anterior cruciate ligament—provides stability to the knee by keeping the tibia (shinbone) from sliding in front of the femur (thighbone). About 250,000 ACL reconstructions are performed annually in the United States on individuals who experience the condition. ACL tears are not usually sutured together because the repairs do not fare well over time. Instead,Continue Reading »

Relieve Knee Pain with Support

Chances are you have seen runners and people in rehabilitation from serious knee injuries wearing straps or sleeves on their knees. While it might seem hard to believe, those devices can actually help relieve knee pain. Knee pain and injuries happen when you damage cartilage, muscles, tendons, ligaments and bones in your knee. A blowContinue Reading »