For thousands of clients, physical therapy is a proven way to get moving again, pain-free. Physical therapy is used to prevent and relieve pain from many conditions, whether neurological or sports-related. Our physical therapists commonly treat orthopedic, sports and neurological conditions and help to prevent and relieve pain from injuries, the aging process and chronic conditions.
Our physical therapists start by assessing your current condition. Based on your specific needs and symptoms, we may recommend water therapy, orthopedic rehab or targeted exercises you can do at home. Because physical therapy is often part of a post-surgery recovery plan, our therapists work in all settings: inpatient, outpatient and at home.
Community
Spectrum Health Medical Group Opens New Sparta Office
The Spectrum Health Medical Group is inviting the public to celebrate the completion of its new facility at 2111 12 Mile Road in Sparta.
The Spectrum Health Medical Group Family Medicine offices will welcome community members and patients at an open house on Wednesday, May 19, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Refreshments will be served.
The new building will open for patients on Monday, May 24. Two Spectrum Health Medical Group primary care offices formerly located in the community have been brought together in this larger facility.
As a result, Sparta Family Medicine, 25 Ida Red, will be closed on Friday, May 21. Applewood Family Medicine, 542 S State Street, will be closed on both Thursday, May 20 and Friday, May 21. Both offices will have 24-hour emergency answering services available during this time.
The new 13,000-square-foot facility includes six physician offices and 20 exam rooms. Services to existing and new patients will now include physical therapy, x-ray imaging and a blood draw laboratory.
“This beautiful new facility will help us provide the best health services possible to our patients in Sparta and the surrounding community,” said James M. Tucci, MD, MMM, president, Spectrum Health Medical Group. “By bringing our providers and staff together in one convenient location we are able to offer a broader array of services and better access to care for our patients.”
The Spectrum Health Medical Group employs more than 90 physicians and mid-level providers, including nurse practitioners and physician assistants.
Spectrum Health is a not-for-profit health system in West Michigan that offers a full continuum of care through the Spectrum Health Hospital Group, a collection of seven hospitals and more than 140 service sites; the Spectrum Health Medical Group, mmpc® and West Michigan Heart—physician groups totaling more than 400 providers; and Priority Health, a health plan with nearly 580,000 members. Spectrum Health’s 16,000 employees, 1,500 medical staff members and 2,000 volunteers are committed to delivering the highest quality care. The organization provided $79.4 million in community benefit during its 2009 fiscal year. As a system, Spectrum Health has earned more than 100 awards since it was formed in 1997.
‘I knew I was down and out’
When knee pain meant she had to give up walking her beloved dog, Elizabeth Winstanley realized the time had come for surgery.
The half-mile stroll left both of them tired but happy. “It was nice to be outside in the fresh air,” Elizabeth said. “I felt like I was getting a bit of my life back.” (Chris Clark | Spectrum Health Beat)
Soon Elizabeth felt strong enough to walk Bella for the first time in months. As soon as she said the word, “walk,” Bella sat eagerly and waited for her harness and leash. (Chris Clark | Spectrum Health Beat)
Physical therapist Mindy Meendering showed Elizabeth exercises to perform at home, to improve her recovery. “I think it went awesome,” Elizabeth said of the surgery. (Chris Clark | Spectrum Health Beat)
Two days after the surgery, Elizabeth visited the Spectrum Health Outpatient Rehabilitation Center in Sparta to begin therapy. (Chris Clark | Spectrum Health Beat)
Through a small incision, Dr. Hamilton used a tiny instrument with a motorized biter to trim the ragged edge of the meniscus. The surgery took 10 minutes. (Chris Clark | Spectrum Health Beat)
The damaged part of the meniscus would be removed, leaving healthy tissue behind. The procedure “is very, very successful at reducing pain,” Dr. Hamilton said. (Chris Clark | Spectrum Health Beat)
Dr. Hamilton performed the arthroscopic surgery, working through two small incisions in her right knee. The procedure is called a menisectomy. (Chris Clark | Spectrum Health Beat)
The torn cartilage becomes caught in the joint, causing pain. “If the tear is in a region that doesn’t have a good blood supply, it won’t heal on its own,” Dr. Hamilton said. (Chris Clark | Spectrum Health Beat)
On a late summer day, Elizabeth and her husband, Chris, arrived at the outpatient surgery center at Spectrum Health South Pavilion for the operation. (Chris Clark | Spectrum Health Beat)
When the meniscus becomes trapped between the bones and is unable to resist the pressure exerted on it, it tears. The torn cartilage becomes caught in the joint. (Chris Clark | Spectrum Health Beat)
Exercise made her knee irritated and swollen, Elizabeth said. She tried yoga but couldn’t kneel on the mat. “I couldn’t even put my knee down. That’s how sensitive it was,” she said. (Chris Clark | Spectrum Health Beat)
Meniscal tears are among the most common knee injuries, Dr. Hamilton said. About 850,000 cases occur each year—affecting 61 of every 100,000 Americans. (Chris Clark | Spectrum Health Beat)
Routine activities at work and home became uncomfortable, Elizabeth said. She couldn’t take daily walks with Bella, her 3-year-old golden retriever. (Chris Clark | Spectrum Health Beat)
Elizabeth Winstanley was tired of the knee pain. Looking for relief, she turned to Kendall Hamilton, MD, the Spectrum Health orthopedic surgeon who had fixed her rotator cuff. (Chris Clark | Spectrum Health Beat)
After a year of suffering with a painful knee, Elizabeth Winstanley decided she’d had enough.
Her treadmill routine often left her knee irritated and swollen. Ice and rest helped, but the pain returned as soon as she went back to the gym.
She tried yoga but couldn’t kneel on the mat.
“I couldn’t even put my knee down. That’s how sensitive it was,” she said.
Soon, even routine activities at work and home became uncomfortable for Elizabeth, a 42-year-old business systems analyst for Spectrum Health.
She stopped walking the dog every day. That was tough—for the dog and for Elizabeth. It broke her heart to say no to the pleading eyes of Bella, her 3-year-old golden retriever.
“I knew I was down and out,” she said.
Looking for relief, she turned to Kendall Hamilton, MD, the Spectrum Health orthopedic surgeon who repaired her rotator cuff several years earlier.
A physical exam, X-rays and ultimately an MRI led to her diagnosis: a tear in her meniscus, the C-shaped pad of cartilage that acts as a shock absorber in the knee.
Meniscal tears are among the most common knee injuries, Dr. Hamilton said. About 850,000 cases occur each year—affecting 61 of every 100,000 Americans.
“Over time, the meniscus can lose blood supply. It starts to degenerate after 35, making it more vulnerable to injury,” he said. “It is most commonly injured in activities that involve twisting and flexion of the knee.”
When the meniscus becomes trapped between the bones and is unable to resist the pressure exerted on it, it tears. The torn cartilage becomes caught in the joint, causing pain, inflammation and sometimes a locked knee.
“If the tear is in a region that doesn’t have a good blood supply, it won’t heal on its own,” Dr. Hamilton said.
That was the case with Elizabeth’s knee. Despite other treatments, such as anti-inflammatory medication and restricting activities, the pain increased steadily.
They scheduled surgery—a menisectomy—in which the surgeon removes the damaged part of the meniscus and leaves healthy tissue behind. The procedure “is very, very successful at reducing pain,” Dr. Hamilton said.
On a late summer day, Elizabeth arrived at the outpatient surgery center at Spectrum Health South Pavilion for the operation.
Dr. Hamilton performed the arthroscopic surgery, working through two small incisions in her right knee.
In one incision, he placed a thin tube containing a camera and light. It transmitted a real-time picture of the interior of her knee to a monitor over the operating table.
Trimming the cartilage
On the monitor, the inside of Elizabeth’s knee looked a bit like a snow globe, a watery space with tiny white flecks floating about.
Through a second incision, Dr. Hamilton placed an instrument with a tiny, cone-shaped tip and a motorized biter. He used it both to trim the ragged edge of the meniscus and suction out the small pieces of cartilage.
The surgery took 10 minutes.
“It’s a short but effective operation,” Dr. Hamilton said afterward. “Not all knee surgeries are like that.”
As Elizabeth recovered, Dr. Hamilton showed before and after pictures of her knee to her husband, Chris.
“The meniscus, as we described, is a torn pad in between the bones. You can see where it’s shredded,” he said. “Think of like a fingernail that’s hanging on still. It pulls when she walks, so that’s very painful.”
He removed about 50 percent of the back of the meniscus. The rest of her knee looked healthy, he added.
About an hour after the operation, Elizabeth stood—with help. She took her first steps, with full weight-bearing.
She went home that afternoon. Two days later, she visited a physical therapist at Spectrum Health’s Outpatient Rehabilitation Center in Sparta to begin therapy. She learned exercises to perform at home, to improve her recovery.
“You can tell it’s irritated in there, but there’s no swelling,” she said. “I think it went awesome.”
Three weeks later, Elizabeth returned to most activities at work and home. The site of the operation was barely noticeable. She saw only a tiny mark, which looked like a scratch on her knee.
She felt a tug in her knee sometimes when she moved it at a certain angle. But she felt strong enough to walk Bella for the first time in months.
As soon as she said the word, “walk,” Bella sat eagerly and waited for her harness and leash.
“She looked like a kid,” Elizabeth said. “She was ecstatic and she had her ears perked up.”
The half-mile stroll left both of them tired but happy.
“It was nice to be outside in the fresh air,” she said. “I felt like I was getting a bit of my life back.”
