(March 26, 2015) In March of last year, Atlantic Physical Therapy added a sixth location in Selbyville. Last month, APT went one further, adding a seventh location in West Ocean City.
Angela Russell is the lead specialist at the new branch on 9923 Stephen Decatur Highway.
Russell earned a bachelor’s degree in physical therapy from Salisbury University in 1989, and a master’s degree from UMES in 1996.
“I always wanted to do [physical therapy],” Russell said. “My senior year in high school, they had this program where you could volunteer and try and figure out what you wanted to do.
“I was always interested in science, so spent the majority of my senior year going through the hospital, looking at different things like respiratory therapy and pharmacy, but I kept going back to physical therapy.”
Russell joined the APT team in October after relocating from Easton with her husband, a dentist with a new office in Ocean Pines.
“We have a lot of therapists, PTAs and a lot of one-on-one treatment,” Russell said. “We have a nice gym facility at the other location in the Pines, and here we have things like the AlterG.”
The AlterG Anti-Gravity Treadmill uses NASA-developed technology to help clients recover faster from injuries by removing as much as 50 percent of their weight from the affected area. Russell said the machine is especially helpful in recovering from bone fractures.
“It lets you determine how much [of the client’s] weight you want to lift off,” Russell said. “If you want them to walk at 50 percent of their bodyweight, the machine allows for that. When they first can start to bear weight or are having a lot of difficulty with that, it helps establish a normal gait pattern.”
Russell said the majority of patients at APT during the first month have been elderly clients, many of whom were recovering from hip replacements or dealing with arthritic joints.
“Anyone who is experiencing pain in a certain area, we treat back pain, herniated discs, posture problems like scoliosis …” Russell said. “We also treat stroke patients and balance disorders like Parkinson’s disease. It’s a wide range of things that you can seek therapy for, not just typical hip and knee problems.
“My goal is to, as soon as possible, get each client feeling better and return them to what they used to be doing prior whenever discomfort started, and to get them independent and in an exercise program when they leave here,” Russell continued.
APT accepts most insurance providers, including Medicare, Aetna, Carefirst BlueCross BlueShield, Priority Partners and United Healthcare.
For more information, call 410-390-3490 or visit www.atlanticptrehab.com.
