Physical, Speech and Occupational Therapies Expertise

Skagit Regional Health is one of the few providers in the region able to provide a multidisciplinary rehabilitation approach for patients across physical, speech and occupational therapies. Our certified therapists are committed to helping patients meet their own unique goals and reach their maximum level of function.

Promoting Mobility and Function with Physical Therapy

Physical therapists work to promote mobility, functional performance and improved quality of life through examination, evaluation and specialized therapeutic techniques.

From orthopedic and sports injuries to cancer and post-surgery therapy, Skagit Regional Health provides the following types of therapies:

• Cancer and Lymphedema Therapy: We work with individuals who have gone through cancer treatment or are currently receiving treatment. Care is also available for patients who have upper or lower extremity lymphedema. Treatment may include manual lymphatic drainage massage, compression bandaging, compression garments, therapeutic exercises, range of motion and strengthening, as well as education.
• Neurological Therapy: We work with individuals who have neurological disorders or disease. These include stroke, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and brain injury. Our therapists work with patients to improve areas of dysfunction to improve function and safe mobility.
• Orthopedic Therapy: We offer comprehensive assessment and treatment of any musculoskeletal injury, including muscles, bones or joints, that may result in pain and/or movement limitations. This may include everything from sprains or strains to rehabilitation following orthopedic surgery. The goal of physical therapy is to alleviate pain and restore function.
• Sports Therapy: We focus on sport-specific rehabilitation after an injury to return individuals to their sport or recreational activity, as well as providing educational information on injury prevention.
• Vestibular Therapy: Vestibular rehabilitation is for patients dealing with dizziness (vertigo) and other balance dysfunctions. This type of therapy may include habituation exercises with repeated motion, education for self-management as well as exercises to improve balance and stability.
• Women’s Health: Treatment is available for urinary incontinence, both stress and urge, pelvic pain and pelvic floor issues. Treatment may include therapeutic exercises, EMG (electromyogram) biofeedback, education, bladder fitness and bladder retraining. The goal is to decrease pain and restore function.

Improving Communication Skills with Speech Pathology

Our certified speech-language pathologists also work with a wide range of disorders related to strokes, head injuries and other neurological impairments. This may include problems related to speech, language and/or cognition. Speech deficits may include slurred or hard-to-understand speech. Language disorders may encompass reading, writing, word-finding and understanding information. Cognitive deficits include problems with memory, attention, problem-solving and executive functioning organization/planning/initiation. Therapy often focuses on retraining skills, learning compensatory techniques, home activities and education.

Our therapists work with a variety of impairments that involve voice and/or swallowing. Diagnoses may include, but are not limited to, head and neck cancer, vocal nodules, aspiration pneumonia or Parkinson’s disease. We can help with vocal hoarseness, gastroesophageal reflux, chronic throat clearing or coughing, vocal cord dysfunction, food or liquids getting "stuck" or going down the "wrong pipe". Therapy may consist of the following:

• Diet texture modification
• Electrical stimulation
• Instruction in compensatory strategies
• Ongoing education
• Therapeutic exercises

Occupational Therapy Helps Functioning in Activities of Daily Living

Occupational Therapists (OTs) focus on an individual’s ability to function effectively in a daily environment. Occupational Therapists utilize extensive activity analysis to determine a person’s deficits from trauma, disease or other cause. We work with patients to best incorporate a realistic recovery approach to help the person return to functioning in activities of daily living (ADLs) as normally as possible.

Certified Hand Therapy Services Available

Skagit Regional Health hand therapy rehabilitation services focus on traumatic, congenital/developmental, chronic, disease-based and repetitive stress-based disorders to help restore function and normal use of the upper extremity. Our therapists are certified hand therapists, achieving multi-year professional certification, to help ensure the highest quality of therapeutic intervention for upper extremity disorders.

For More Information About Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapy

To learn more about Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapy, please contact one of our team members at Skagit Regional Health rehabilitation services at 360-814-2184 to reach the Mount Vernon location and 360-435-2133 to reach the Arlington location. We can help you make an appointment with a therapist at one of our convenient locations.