Rehab with a plan and a scoreboard

Every visit is one-on-one with your therapist. We test where you start, set a goal with you, and retest as you go.

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Pick what you want to get back to

Back to work

We start with what your job actually asks of your body: lifting, reaching, sitting, standing.

  • Test the specific movements your job needs
  • Build strength and tolerance in steps
  • Retest before you return to full duty

How we rebuild

Load management and eccentric loading

Tendons and muscles adapt to load they can tolerate. We set the dose, then raise it as pain and strength testing allow. Eccentric work, where the muscle lengthens under load, and heavy slow resistance are two common ways to do this.

Neuromuscular re-education

After an injury or surgery, the nervous system often recruits muscles late or too little. We retrain timing, control and balance so strength shows up when you move, not only when you test it.

Joint mobilization and the kinematic chain

Hands-on techniques restore joint motion. We also look up and down the chain, from foot to hip to trunk, because a stiff ankle or weak hip can overload a knee or a tendon.

The science behind dosing load is explained in mechanotransduction and tendon repair. Tendon problems follow a staged plan, described in our guide to chronic tendinopathy treatment. Shoulder problems such as a rotator cuff tear are covered on their own page, with rehab first. Knee surgery rehab is covered in ACL rehab, which is run on tests rather than dates.

Progress you can measure

We test range, strength and movement at the start and at set points after, so you can see what is changing and we can adjust when it is not. Your therapist and physician share one chart when both are involved.

Therapy is one half of integrative orthopedic recovery, which pairs it with physician-led care. If back pain is what brought you in, start with five simple stretches to prevent lower back injuries at work. In refractory cases, cellular therapies may be evaluated by our medical team; see physician-led regenerative care for how that is coordinated. For injuries that start at work, our workplace health guides cover prevention and early care.

About the clinical team behind this page

Author

Dr. Angel Williams, PT, DPT, OCS, FAAOMPT

Director of Orthopaedic Rehabilitation & Biomechanical Recovery

Dr. Angel Williams is a board-certified Orthopaedic Clinical Specialist and a Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapists. Dr. Williams has served as a supervising physical therapist at Nova and designs rehabilitation programs built on progressive loading, manual therapy and dry needling for tendon, ligament and post-surgical recovery. Where a physician prescribes a cellular therapy alongside rehabilitation, Dr. Williams builds the loading program that goes with it.

Medical reviewer

Dr. Michael D. Schreiber, DO

Attending Physician & Regional Medical Advisor

Dr. Michael D. Schreiber is an osteopathic physician. He applies osteopathic principles to musculoskeletal diagnosis and rehabilitation, looking at the whole kinetic chain when judging how a joint or tendon problem developed, and advises on how physician care and physical therapy fit together. He is a graduate of the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine of Midwestern University, class of 1992.

Medical disclaimer: The information on this site is for education and does not replace a consultation, diagnosis or treatment. Full credentials are on our physicians and clinical governance page.

Keep reading

Mechanotransduction and tissue healingMechanotransduction explained for patients: how tendon cells sense load and convert it into tissue change, and why that sets the pace of rehabilitation.Chronic tendinopathyChronic tendinopathy starts with load. See how rehab and other treatments are sequenced, and what each has been shown to do.Workplace healthPractical guidance from Nova Medical Centers on workplace safety, emergency preparedness, testing, ergonomics and when work-related pain needs a physical therapist.Physical therapy with regenerative careHow physical therapy and physician-led regenerative care are timed across early, middle and late recovery, and what the evidence does and does not show.Workplace ergonomics and injury preventionPractical ergonomics for desk and physical work, how to spot early musculoskeletal symptoms, and when to see a physical therapist before pain becomes an injury.

Individual results vary and no outcome is guaranteed. This page is general information, not medical advice.

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