Statement of my mission

My name is Mohamed Karim; I do have about 22 years of experience as a physical Therapist.

I started working in different sittings in Chicago metropolitan area as a PT in different hospitals, home health, nursing homes and outpatients clinics

I had several CEUs and seminars to stay up to date in my career. I finished my master of science degree in Rockery Mountain University of Provo Utah.

One of my specialties is rehabilitation of total joints replacements patients.

Complying with the exercises and activity level prescribed by a PT is one of the strongest predictors of how patients feel after surgery. Research shows that patients who adhere to a PT program walk on their own considerably sooner, suffer fewer complications during recovery and are significantly more satisfied with the surgery overall.

The main reason patients need PT after joint replacement is to return the function they lost when the joint(s) failed. Most patients have joint surgery because they are losing function in day-to-day activities. Primarily, I’m looking to return that function as quickly and safely as I can.

The time span from inpatient discharge to beginning outpatient is two to three days at most. As an outpatient PT I know what exercises the patients were instructed to work on at home during the lapse. I can take that program and add to it as appropriate for each patient in our outpatient setting,

In the outpatient setting, I work with patients on ambulation, balance and coordination skills and educate about how to deal with any swelling that may occur. The main focus, however, is on improving strength as quickly as possible so patients may begin working on more functional activities such as stair climbing.

I give them a variety of activities to try, such as riding the stationery bike and practicing on the stairs. It's a typical progression in terms of strengthening and range of motion.

Patient goals are always taken into consideration and become the forefront of the therapy program. My patients' main goal when they come to outpatient is walking independently and getting rid of their assistive device.

I observe how the patients walk and assess balance and coordination. Walking is part of our return to function. Patients usually begin therapy with a walker and I assess their gait and safety as they transition off of that and graduate as quickly as possible to a cane or walking independently.

As a PT, I work hard to restore range of motion soon after patients are discharged from the hospital which is a challenge for patients recovering from either hip or knee replacement. I tend to have a few more challenges with my knee patients just inherently from the surgery.

The PT approach varies for knee and hip patients. The hip patients generally do not require therapy for as long as knee patients because they regain their range of motion quicker and more easily. There are also a few precautions that PTs need to observe related to limited range of motion. On average, knee patients require six to 10 weeks of physical therapy, and hip patients generally require about four to six weeks.

"From an outpatient standpoint, the most rewarding thing is that I get to be the last point of contact before a patient is discharged and I usually get to see them at their best. When patients have returned to near-full function, it's exciting just to see them return to a life that they've wanted to get back to for quite some time.