/EINPresswire.com/ Robert Klapper, M.D., Chief of Orthopedic Surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Group in Los Angeles, says that patients with knee problems can take to the pool for physical therapy in order to prevent surgery. Specifically, patients who are over forty years old with meniscus tears are likely never to need knee surgery if they perform two to three months of well-designed exercise in the non-weightbearing environment of water.
Dr. Klapper says, “Patients ask me all the time, how can a pool program help me with my knee? Here’s the theory: Imagine the torn meniscus is like a blister in the palm of your hand. If you clipped a hundred roses in your back yard, your hand would hurt and you would see that the skin is torn. What is the treatment? If you gently and carefully continue to clip roses, the blister will become a callus. That’s how the pool exercises work on a torn meniscus. What was sore, vulnerable tissue turns into protected, callus-like tissue.”
Doing a good pool physical therapy program allows you to unload your weight and take the stress off your knee joint while you strengthen your muscles in an environment of weightlessness. As your muscles surrounding the knee joint become stronger and more able to stabilize your sore knee, they become better shock absorbers in preventing the stress from going through the joint.
“Nothing on land duplicates this,” says Dr. Klapper, who also hosts a weekly radio show on ESPN 710 titled “Weekend Warrior.” “If you tried a muscle-strengthening program on land, you would be damaging the meniscus further, but in the pool, you’re unloading the joint at the same time you are placing resistance on the muscles.”
Klapper, who refers many patients to Lynda Huey’s CompletePT Pool & Land Physical Therapy in West Los Angeles and Woodland Hills, CA has found that after several months of the pool program, his patients realize that with every step, their muscles take more of the stress off the joint and fewer aggravating forces go through the knees.
Dr. Klapper sums up: “You may live happily-ever-after with an MRI that shows a meniscus not exactly the way it was before, just as your hand with a callus will look different from normal skin. But if it doesn’t hurt anymore, you’re not doing any damage. So consider doing the pool program, making your pain go away, and staying ahead of the game.”
About CompletePT Pool & Land Physical Therapy, Inc.
CompletePT Pool & Land Physical Therapy, Inc., of West Los Angeles, combines the best of pool therapy and traditional land physical therapy in one convenient place. Their attentive staff is committed to providing patients with the highest quality care, treating them with kindness and respect from the first appointment until full recovery. Since both their pool and land physical therapy programs are delivered by the same licensed physical therapists, there is unity of purpose and vision.
For more information on CompletePT, their services and locations, visit www.CompletePT.com
About Dr Klapper
Robert C. Klapper, MD, is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon at Cedars-Sinai Medical Group and Cedars-Sinai Health Associates. He also is Co-Director of the Joint Replacement Program at the Cedars-Sinai Orthopaedic Center.
Dr. Klapper is passionate about surfing and sculpting in marble. He travels to Hawaii and Fiji to surf the world’s finest waves. His prize-winning sculptures appear in his office waiting room as well as his home. Recently he gave a lecture at the Getty Center Museum titled, “Michaelangelo’s Sculptures: How He Manipulated Anatomy.” His other interests have expanded to include working with ESPN Radio as co-host of “The Weekend Warrior” radio show every Saturday morning, bringing information on how to help prevent surgery to knees, hips, shoulders, ankles, and backs. At the same time he offers knowledge of what to do if surgery ends up being needed. He has appeared on television working closely with the Los Angeles Lakers pre-game show, demystifying anatomy and orthopedics for the general population by offering clear analogies and metaphors to both his radio and TV audiences. He has written two books with Lynda Huey: Heal Your Hips and Heal Your Knees.
Media Contact:
James Cowan
CompletePT Pool & Land Physical Therapy
310-845-9690
http://www.CompletePT.com
PR courtesy of Online PR Media.