Dr. Russell O’Connor has joined the
Cayman Physiotherapy and Rehab Clinic in Cayman and will be offering treatment
of nerve, muscle and bone issues.
Canadian Dr. O’Connor is a
physiatrist – a nerve, muscle, and bone specialist who treats injuries or illnesses
that affect how patients move and function.
Physiatrists treat problems ranging
from sore shoulders to spinal cord injuries and devise rehabilitation
programmes.
He joins Dr. Caroline Quartly, a
physiatrist who visits Cayman regularly, at Cayman Physiotherapy. Dr.
O’Connor’s relocation from Canada
to Cayman, with his wife and family, means he will be available to his patients
on Island full time.
“Having my office in a
physiotherapy clinic is the perfect environment for patients to maximise their
potential,” said Dr. O’Connor. “Working as an interdisciplinary team with other
rehab professionals maximises and speeds recovery. I can walk out and see how
my patients are coming along with their exercise and therapy.”
The doctor said he is looking
forward to working with patients and their doctors by adding a service that
does not currently exist on Cayman
Island full time.
Rehabilitations for patients who
have suffered strokes or other life-altering illnesses can often take months
and even years to recover. Being able to participate in rehab locally with the
support of friends and family is not only helpful, it also saves patients and
families time and money, Dr. O’Connor said.
Lindsay Bridgeman of Cayman
Physiotherapy said therapists at Cayman Physiotherapy have worked in the
hospital system and are trained to work with orthopaedic and neurological
patients.
What a physiatrist does
A physiatrist treats disabilities
resulting from disease or injury involving any organ system. The focus is not
on one part of the body, but on the development of a comprehensive programme
for putting the pieces of a person’s life back together – medically, socially,
emotionally, and vocationally – after injury or disease, Dr. O’Connor said.
Physiatrists are trained to manage
the most complicated multiple traumas to injury prevention for athletes.
Dr. O’Connor said his focus was on
assessment and testing of neurological conditions and symptoms of numbness,
tingling, weakness, muscle wasting, and pain, and subsequent treatment.
Common conditions include carpal
tunnel, ulnar neuropathy, wrist drop, tarsal tunnel, piriformis syndrome,
thoracic outlet syndrome, diabetes, peripheral neuropathy, radiculopathies,
ALS, multiple sclerosis, myopathies, and other neuromuscular conditions.
Dr. O’Connor also has specialty
training in preventing, diagnosing, and treating sports, motor vehicle and work
related injuries. Physiatrists aim to maximise patients’ functional abilities
after an injury and guide their return to sport, work, or activity as usual.
“Some of the tools I use as a
physiatrist may include trigger point injections, nerve blocks, prolotherapy
and Botulinum toxin injections to promote an overall improve level of
function,” he said.
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