Twisted a knee at Kissing Bridge? Landed hard on a shoulder at the Buffalo Ski Center? Colden has two ski areas along Route 240, and plenty of reasons besides skiing to need physical therapy: a back that complains after a season of shoveling, a neck stiff from the commute, a hip that has nagged for months. Lake Erie Physical Therapy is on Virginia Street in Buffalo, not on the hill, so physical therapy for Colden, NY residents means a drive. Here is how to make it work.
Physical therapy for Colden, NY after a fall on the hill
Some injuries need a physician before anything else. Get a medical evaluation first if you heard or felt a pop and the knee swelled quickly, if a joint looks out of place, if you can’t bear weight, if numbness or weakness followed the fall, or if you hit your head. Physical therapy doesn’t replace a medical diagnosis.
For everything else, and for recovery once you have a diagnosis or a surgery date, rehab is where we come in. A twist with a ski that doesn’t release can strain or tear a knee ligament. A suspected ACL tear goes to an orthopedic surgeon first, and ACL rehab covers prehab, the phases after reconstruction and the testing that guides a return to skiing. A fall onto an outstretched hand loads the wrist and the shoulder, and our page on wrist and hand pain explains what we look for.
If your surgeon has capped how much weight you can lift, blood flow restriction training can build strength with light loads, with the surgeon’s approval. Dr. Will Tso, PT, DPT, Cert. MDT, who holds a Level 1 BFR certification, oversees that work.
Before the lifts start turning
If you’ve finished a course of physical therapy with us, Keep It Going can be used for pre-season conditioning. It costs $10 per visit, or $70 for a month of unlimited visits, paid out of pocket, once three pieces are in place: a maintenance-exercise prescription from the physician who first referred you, clearance to exercise from your family doctor, and a signed waiver. From Colden, it works well if your week already brings you to Buffalo several times.
Two roads out of Colden
Which way you drive depends on your side of town. From Glenwood and the southwest, Route 240 north to Lower East Hill Road, then Omphalius Road to Boston State Road, puts you on Route 219. From the middle and east of town, Center Road heads north through East Aurora to the Aurora Expressway (Route 400). Both routes finish the same way: the Thruway, the 190 and Elm Street into downtown Buffalo.
Snow is the wild card. New York State’s tourism site places Kissing Bridge in what it calls the Colden snowbelt, and a storm can stretch a 50-minute drive well past that. On those days, call to move your appointment and keep up your home exercises. Whatever the season, the clinic opens at 7 AM Tuesday through Friday.
Three school districts for one small town
The town’s website lists three districts for Colden students: Springville-Griffith Institute, which runs Colden Elementary on Boston-Colden Road, Holland Central and East Aurora. Depending on the address, high schoolers head to Springville High, Holland High or East Aurora High. If you’re planning rehab around a student’s practice schedule, bring it to the first visit so we can look for times that fit.
Keeping rehab going between drives
Early on, many plans call for two or three sessions weekly. From Colden that’s close to 50 minutes each way without traffic, so ask at your evaluation how soon visits can spread out. Between them, remote therapeutic monitoring keeps your therapist in the loop: you mark off home sessions and note pain in Medbridge GO, and the program gets adjusted without waiting for your next drive in.
Hurt on the hill, or getting ready for it? Give us a call at (716) 332-4838, or ask for a visit online. Most plans don’t require a referral to begin.