Physical therapists help clients develop skills to move through their homes and communities in a safe and pain free manner. Our therapists are trained to work with clients who are medically fragile or those who have multiple medical conditions. When working with children, physical therapists help the child work towards meeting motor milestones such as walking, running, stair climbing, or completing higher level coordination activities. For a child, the inability to physically keep up with his or her peers during school and play activities can be very limiting. Adults may come to St Croix Therapy seeking assistance with balance and coordination difficulties, such as regaining skills after a stroke or improving balance following a knee or ankle injury. Physical therapists also use manual techniques and muscle re-training to treat conditions such back or neck pain. Physical therapists assist adults and children with selecting and using adaptive equipment, such as wheelchairs or walkers, and treat a wide variety of conditions including:

• Pain – Most people experience pain from a muscle or orthopedic condition at some point in their lives. When pain reaches a level where it is interfering with daily life, physical therapy can help reduce pain and develop strategies to prevent re-injury. St Croix Therapy addresses pain related conditions using treatments such as craniosacral therapy, myofacisal release, muscle energy techniques, kinesiotaping, and lymphatic work to reduce swelling. Progressive home exercise programs are developed to help break the cycle of injury-pain-reinjury.
• Balance/ Postural Control – The human body uses many different systems to maintain balance. Postural control issues may be present in children or adults, and may be apparent in problems ranging from frequent tripping and falling to having difficulty sitting at desk without slumping. Our therapists can help determine which balance systems are limited in order to tailor a program to each client’s needs.
• Strength – Difficulties with muscular strength may be evident as general muscular weakness. Other people may have some muscles which are quite strong and others which are weak, creating a muscular imbalance. Muscular weakness can result in heightened risk of injury, less fluid movements, and decreased balance.
• Coordination/ Motor Planning – The ability to learn and effectively complete a new kind of movement is a skill which can be developed over time. People with decreased motor planning have difficulty learning new physical activities and may often trip or bump into things. For children who hope to keep pace with their peers during ball games, playground play, or sports, unaddressed  motor planning impairments can be very limiting.
• Movement Efficiency – A person with an underlying muscular or neurological condition develops inefficient methods of walking of completing other movements. When using inefficient movement patterns, people may find that they fatigue quickly, overuse certain muscles, or simply are unable to keep up with others doing the same activity.