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Homer Physical Therapy
Testimonials
After 12 years of working with MD's in Madison, WI (even at UW Hosp)
I had little to no relief from my Trigeminal Neuralgia - nor did
I have an accurate diagnosis. In 14 months of physical therapy
I've gone from having CONSTANT headache pain daily at levels of
5-9, on a 1-10 scale, to having intermittent pain; still daily
however at levels of 0-6, most often in the 2-4 range - when I
have pain.
I've weaned down from
* 60 mgs of MS contin 3X
daily +
* 60 mgs of Oxycodone 3-4X daily
to
* 15
mgs of MS contin 3X daily +
* 25 mgs of Oxycodone 3X daily
On the lesser dose - with physical therapy - I have more
pain-free hours than I ever
had at higher levels.
Through
education and resources available at Homer Physical Therapy, I've
come to
understand more about how my body works as a WHOLE
SYSTEM and that several things caused the Trigeminal Neuralgia -
these include a 2nd and 3rd degree burn scar on my right leg
from 1988; my hypermobility that causes my body to become out of
alignment, as well as the dysfunction in my pelvic area which
includes endometriosis, ovarian cysts and a surgery for their
removal in 1986.
I've learned that I can help decrease my
pain through diet choices (keeping a balanced PH level),
exercises that stretch muscles that need to be stretched versus
muscles that are already hypermobile, resting when I need to rest,
and coming to see my physical therapist weekly for manipulations
that continue to release the fascia that is binding my nerves.
The thing that surprised me the most was finding out how
connected my pelvis and head really are. As time went on I
developed terrible burning and stinging pain during intercourse
and annual exams. I did NOT relate this to my head pain at all.
However, through a technique called "skin rolling" that released the
fascia, my intercourse pain was much better and my head pain was
reduced as well!
I now understand so much more about my
condition and my body as a whole that I thank Goodness, God, or
the Universe each day for helping me to find Sallie and Homer
Physical Therapy. They have literally saved my life. - Name Withheld
for Privacy
For much of my adult life, I suffered from intermittent lower back pain. Occasionally,
the pain would immobilize me. It was on one of these occasions in 2003, when my physician,
Randy Wiest, x-rayed my back, and we found three discs to be completely degenerated. I
was discouraged, but Randy suggested that I see Sallie Rediske at Homer Physical Therapy.
I had little confidence it would help, but I gave it a try. She attentively analyzed situation,
gently realigned my back, started me on a stretching regime, and to my astonishment, the pain
disappeared. In the intervening years, I have gone to her with other pain issues. Chronic knee
pain due to surgery and injury, shoulder pain due to hip and back issues, and chronic face pain
due to a nerve severing injury. In every case, Sallie listened, applied her accumulated
knowledge, approached the problem with novel connections, and effectively resolved these issues.
Sallie has also staffed her business with superbly proficient therapists, who share in her
expertise, and has integrated a system of exercise and stretching classes taught by Fran Evarts,
to develop core stability and retrain bad movements. The goal of this clinic is to get people
well, rather than cultivate continuous customers. Sallie is truly one of the most remarkable
people I have encountered, and I have little doubt that she is among the most successful and
accomplished physical therapists anywhere. We are incredibly lucky to have access to her
skills in this little town, and she has my nomination for sainthood.
Allan Phelps, March 2011
After living with severe chronic pain for almost seven years I am
now completely pain free thanks to Life Changing Pain. The
turning point for me was learning and understanding what pain
truly is. I realized that I had the power within myself to create
new nerve circuits or pathways to break away from the ingrained
pain pattern. I achieved this through specific exercises. They
were challenging at first which was necessary because it enabled me
to totally focus on them instead of focusing on pain. Over the
course of seven months my pain got weaker and weaker. Eventually
the new circuits were stronger than the pain circuits and I did not
experience any more pain. - Gabriela Husmann 7/26/10
I cannot praise Sallie and Homer Physical Therapy enough. I recommend them with my
whole heart! After the birth of my first child I had pain for over two years and
didn't know what to do about it. Other doctors told me I was imagining it or that
it was nothing. I was always misdiagnosed and giving up hope. By some miracle, a
complete stranger recommended Homer Physical Therapy to me. Sallie took one look
at me and instantly knew my pelvis had come out of alignment. She was so incredibly
knowledgeable. With very few appointments she had it aligned again and I was doing
exercises at home. I can't imagine what my life would have been like if I hadn't
found Homer Physical Therapy. I hope that other women with similar problems will
take the time to make an appointment. The wealth of information and skill available
at Homer Physical Therapy is amazing! It has definitely changed my life! - Jessica
“Before physical therapy I couldn’t drive my
'58 Chevy that does not have power steering.
Look at me go now!” – Margaret
1) I have learned how to strengthen and engage my
core muscles in daily movement and to avoid injury.
2) I have
learned to focus my mind, as well as my body, when I stretch and
work muscles.
3) I know what neutral spine is for my body, how to
find it while laying down, sitting or standing. I know how to keep
my body in alignment while I exercise, work, or relax.
4) My body
is more flexible.
5) I am more aware of my body and how
to offset aches and pains by correct alignment.
- Geneil
Ballentine, 60, Homer
The
instructor for our Core Strengthening Class is highly skilled and is
very adept at modifying virtually all of the activities to meet
individual differences and needs. As a senior citizen with a
herniated disc, regular attendance in this class has meant the
difference between chronic, miserable pain and episodic pain due to
the numerous benefits that I have received from regular class
attendance where I have benefited from the postural, gait, balance,
flexibility and strength skills taught in the class. It is a class
that I would heartily recommend for adults of all ages who have
challenges with these and probably other problems
- Roger Clyne
This place makes me
feel like my "second home" - sweet smells, flowers, oils and just
wonderful people that heal in all facets. You are the
best.
Thank you.
Sharon Smith
"Walking through the doors of HPT
has been one of the best things I've ever done for myself. A back
injury motivated me to come, but with a teen history of anorexia (lost
muscle mass), a past injury to my sternum, and a serious childbirth
injury 30 years ago, Sallie found more that needed work.
The
commitment has involved exercises, retraining muscles, manual
therapy sessions, and lifestyle changes to accommodate all of
this, but it has been worth every minute, every dollar and every
change. I am not the same person, and this I find beyond exciting!
The changes I see and feel in myself motivate me to continue, as do
all the sweet staff gals at HPT, now my friends. They exhibit
just the right blend of highly skilled professionalism and
personal caring. They are efficient and able to think outside the
box, all the while keeping advice practical. They are a blast to
work with!
I have benefited and learned so much from physical
therapy, massage, and an exercise class offered by HPT, all of
it excellent. I appreciate the way the staff collaborates as
needed and thereby provides a unified approach to helping clients
reach their goals. I am so grateful to have discovered this
place, these people, and for all they are helping me to
accomplish. THANKS... you've changed my life."
Sally Fisher
Age 54
I have found ALL therapy at Homer Physical
Therapy to be excellent. Sallie's people skills are as
outstanding as her flexible and inventive physical therapy
skills.
Amy Bollenbach
March 17, 2009
Homer Physical Therapy Helps
" I had been living with chronic shoulder and elbow pain for at least
two years. It started out with a touch of tennis elbow in my right arm
(self diagnosed) after I threw a ball for the dog. The arm just didn't
get any better and at some point my right shoulder began to ache. I
didn't give the injury the respect or attention it needed until finally
it started to wake me up at night. There didn't seem to be a comfortable
way for me to lay that my arm and/or shoulder wouldn't ache. There was
no making peace with it. I needed help.
I made an appointment with our family doctor who ran me through some
tests in which he determined that there was no damage to my rotator
cuff. He recommended Homer Physical Therapy. Sallie met with me, listened
to my laundry list of aches and pains, examined the shoulder and arm
and gave me a few exercises to work on at home. I had three appointments
at HPT over the course of a month. What I found was that doing the exercises
or movements decreased the pain which motivated me to stay on the exercises.
Pain is a great motivator. I have been mostly pain free for about 6
months now, and sleep the night through.
Before Sallie, when I would shake hands with someone I would have to
control my face so as not to cringe because it would make my elbow hurt.
The help I received from HPT was excellent care, I felt that I was given
the time to learn and understand what was going on with my body. There
was a little deep massage but mostly that helped to rebuild the shoulder
support muscles.
Homer Physical Therapy was just what the doctor ordered. "
Bryan H
"I am
a music teacher and I always tell my students to practice, practice,
practice. Many people say, "I wish I could play the (fill in the blank)."
But wishing alone will not make an instrument play. Only daily, sustained,
committed practice creates a fine musician.
A few years ago I went to Homer Physical Therapy because I was in pain. I
had pains in my legs and my right rotator cuff. Sallie Rediske, PT diagnosed
the causes of my pain and together we set out to change the way I have
moved for decades. It was a slow, steady, often tedious but always enlightening
process. At every session with Sallie I learned specific exercises to
practice. For years I had said, "I wish I could get rid of this pain
in my (fill in the blank)." But wishing alone did not make my pain go
away. Only daily, sustained, committed practice of prescribed PT exercises
creates a pain free person.
Occasionally one of my former pains will return. That's when I hear Sallie's
instructive admonitions in my head. I have a marvelous repertoire stored
in my brain. Sallie teaches you how to correct your lazy habits all
by yourself. What a sense of autonomy that instills. My incredibly talented,
efficient, articulate and engaging PT taught me to self correct my movement
foibles FOR LIFE !"
"Thank you Homer Physical Therapy and staff."
Renda Horn
Homer, Alaska
Age: 60
"I thought the incontinence I was having was part of getting older and exacerbated
by being pregnant (at age 41). After giving birth, at which time
I sustained significant pelvic injury, I thought surgery was the only
way to get the problem fixed. While I did require surgery to fix the
tissue damage, before I went into surgery, I was incontinence free!
Sallie's expertise with bio-feedback and deep tissue physical therapy,
and the exercises she taught me, put me in control before the surgery.
Her help allowed me to lose very little muscle control post-op and I
continue to be without incontinence. It was not only Sallie's knowledge
but also her empathic nature and encouragement that helped make my experience
completely worthwhile. I highly recommend Sallie and PT for incontinence."
Lisa Zatz
Age: 43
"I am so excited about what Sallie
accomplishes!"
Barbara Petersen
"I personally
have never found anybody in the medical profession with a success rate
even close to what I have experienced with Sallie at Homer Physical
Therapy. She first cured my chronic ankle pain by modifying some of
my weight training. Then she fixed my knee by adding some new exercises
and stretching. After that I experienced shoulder pain due to improper
weight training motion, and Sallie waved her wand and cured it in two
weeks. I had my lower back fused in my thirties and then developed upper
back/rib pain due to tight muscles. Sallie gave me some really neat
stretches and said it would also help my lower back. Well, it completely
eliminated all upper back pain and most definitely helped my lower back.
I fully credit Sallie with keeping me in a condition where I can Alpine
ski all day long, seven days a week, compete in bike races and do most
anything else I desire. Hopefully Sallie will be in my corner when I
hit my 60’s and 70’s for I do not plan on giving up any of these activities
without one heck of a fight."
- Michael Warburton
"When I was 12
years old, in 1950, I was afflicted with polio. I was very sick, and
spent 10 months away from home recovering. I basically did recover and
lived a normal life. I married and had four children.
Around 1985 I started having problems with my back and leg muscles.
I was made aware of post polio syndrome, or the late effects of polio,
through articles I read in various publications. I went to a chiropractor
for several years and he helped me. But, there came a time when that
didn't help anymore. The medical profession was uneducated in the matter,
for the most part, and I was even told at one point that mental health
might help me. I had been sent to physical therapy where they employed
the "use it or lose it" theory.
In 2001 I found Sallie Rediske right here in Homer, Alaska! What a blessing!
She was actually trained in a post-polio clinic and knew how to approach
my problems. She taught me that I should
conserve what I had left and planned a routine of stretches and non-stressful
exercises that have been very beneficial for me. She has been very encouraging
and is interested in me and my physical problems. I feel truly fortunate
to have her as my physical therapist and friend."
- Ramona Bracht
"Wow! I've
had back pain for months and months. I went to the chiropractor twice
and had relief for two minutes. But Theresa (HPT massage therapist)
with just one session gave me lasting relief. I haven't had to use ice
or heat since. I want to make another appointment!"
Sue W July 2007
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