Occupational Therapy

Injuries know no age, sex or occupation. Our practice treats all ages and all injuries or conditions occurring as a result of life at home, the work place, school or sports. Pee Dee Orthopaedic Associates has made the difference for thousands of patients, enabling them to return to full and productive lives, work, and sports participation.

Occupational Therapy Services Offered

Our services are exceptional and we promise quality one-on-one care with the following programs:

• A rehabilitation program customized specific to your injury or condition, whether it is pre-operative and/or post-operative care.

• State-of-the-art treatment techniques to optimize your motion and strength in a safe manner but a progressive fashion.

• Customized management of scars, swelling, pain, and touch hypersensitivity.

• Utilization of appropriate modalities and hands-on techniques to stimulate and normalize your injured tissues.

• Patient education essential to directing your own therapeutic control of the injury.

• Wound care management and dressing changes to facilitate the healthy progression of a healing wound.

• Customized splints fabricated for you, include static, static progressive and dynamic options. Splints are designed to meet your injury's specific needs of support while you heal or to facilitate motion of the injured joints.

• Manual Therapy: Manual therapy is a hands-on technique used to evaluate and treat soft tissue injuries and joint problems for the purpose of regulating pain, increasing range of motion, reducing or eliminating soft tissue inflammation or facilitating movement and improving function.

• Work Conditioning programs geared toward your specific job demands, physical conditioning and safe return to work.

• Ergonomic Work Station Assessments to determine possible work station stressors in need of modification, and Ergonomic Education to optimize your functional comfort and productivity on the job.

Conditions Treated

Pee Dee Orthopaedic therapy services provides comprehensive care for the following conditions and injuries of the spine and extremities:

• Fractures
• Lateral and medial epicondylitis (tennis and golfer's elbow)
• Tendonitis of wrists, fingers, and thumbs
• Ligament injuries
• Crush injuries
• Muscle strains and sprains
• Compression syndromes (Carpal Tunnel and Cubital Tunnel)
• Nerve injuries
• Tendon injuries
• Fibromyalgia
• Amputations and reconstructive surgery
• Arthritis
• Burns
• Scars
• Wound care
• Spine care

Meet our Occupational Therapist

Mario Canelón, OTR/L, CHT

Mr. Canelón brings to you the highest level of clinical excellence in orthopaedic therapy intervention. He specializes in personalized manual therapy for injuries or medical conditions of the spine, shoulder, arm, elbow, forearm, wrist and hand. A caring environment and an individualized hands-on approach is the hallmark of his approach. He is a professional who has the advanced knowledge, expertise and experience needed to implement the most effective therapy program demanded by your injury or your physician.

As a Certified Hand Therapist (CHT) he has meet the requirements of over five years and 4,000 or more hours of clinical practice in hand therapy. A CHT must also pass a national exam. This high degree of certification means patients working with an upper extremity injury can often hasten their return to a productive lifestyle.

Occupational Therapy: Questions and Answers

1.  How can occupational therapy help me?

An occupational therapist can evaluate your condition and identify the source of your discomfort or dysfunction. Once evaluated, the therapist can develop a treatment program that will usually involve some form of manual therapy, exercise, as well as tools used to decrease pain, inflammation, and treat muscle strains if they are needed to treat the problem areas. You will also receive instruction in a home exercise program as well as education on proper body mechanics and posture to prevent re-injury.

2. What do I need to do to get started?

South Carolina law requires that a patient get a prescription from a medical doctor in order to begin occupational therapy treatment. An occupational therapist may evaluate an individual without this prescription but in order to begin any treatment, the prescription must be obtained.

Contact us today and we can get started.  We will need your name, insurance information and whether your injury is work related or not.  After we have confirmed that we are contracted with your insurance or Workers Comp carrier, we can get you scheduled at our clinic in the Florence area.  Often we can see you within 24 hours of your first call and sometimes the same day.

3. Does insurance cover occupational therapy?

Medical insurance generally covers occupational therapy treatment. However, each insurance plan is different. You can check with your insurance carrier to determine your coverage. Or, if you prefer, you can call us today and our staff will be glad to assist you in determining your benefits.

4. What will I do on my first visit?

We will obtain information about your injury, current function and pain scale.  Bring along your physician's referral, your insurance card, authorization and wear comfortable clothes.

You will be evaluated by our licensed occupational therapist and he will get to better understand your injury.  Each patient's situation is unique and your plan of care will be set up just for you.  For future visits, we ask that you schedule two weeks out and let us know at least 24 hours in advance if you are unable to make your scheduled appointment.