Andrea Wolkenberg: "Winback maximes patients outcomes and sets me apart from every other private home care PT"

Dr. Wolkenberg graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1979 with a Bachelor’s degree in physical therapy. In 1986 she earned a Master’s degree in medical anthropology from the New School for Social Research in NYC, and in 2016 earned her tDPT from The College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, MN. In 2001 she became a Certified Taping Instructor and has since taught hundreds of Taping seminars. In 2012 she became certified in manual therapy through Hands On Seminars. During the course of her long career she has had the good fortune to take continuing education courses with such luminaries in manual medicine as Dr. James Cyriax, Dr. John Mennell, Dr. Lawrence Jones, and Dr. John Barnes, among many others. Her approach to patient care includes an eclectic combination of the many skills she has acquired from her distinguished teachers, and she considers IASTM to be an integral part of these skills – which she thanks Mark Butler for, in large part.

Since 2013 Andrea has been a private concierge home care PT who specializes in the treatment of chronic pain. She has delivered numerous presentations to the New York State Pain Society on the role of physical therapy in pain management. In prior years, she spent nine years as the Director of Physical Therapy at Spine Options in White Plains, NY and 17 years as Chief PT and Assistant Director of Rehab at Florence Nightingale Health Center, a 561-bed long term care and sub-acute rehab facility
Andrea has agreed to share with us her Winback Therapy Experience. Interview.

Why did you choose to use Winback?

Through a stroke of chance, it chose me! It fits in with my philosophy of treatment because I can do it contemporaneously with manual therapy and exercise. Winback Energy super-charges my treatment and reduces treatment time.

How do you use Winback Energy?

I use capacitive energy to increase lymphatic and venous circulation and soft tissue pliability, and I use resistive energy when mobilizing hard tissue and doing exercise (active, passive, resistive). I sometimes use resistive energy in conjunction with HawkGrips IASTM, using the bracelets to move deeper tissue. To assist with better recruitment during exercise, I will sometimes use Taping for muscle, fascial or joint correction and use resistive energy, either with the plates, the adhesive electrode or with the bracelets on the patient. To prolong the effects of my manual treatment with Winback, I will almost always Tape afterward.

What results did you get?

A few months ago, I was visiting a friend who had been suffering with radicular pain from her neck down her left arm for a couple of weeks which disturbed her sleep as well as daytime activities. I assessed her (assessment is key!) and determined that her primary restriction was fascial in the entire left upper quadrant. I used Winback for twenty minutes with my manual treatment and resolved her pain completely. I gave her some exercises to do after that and she has been pain-free to this day. I am a huge hero! For my post-surgical shoulder and knee patients, I can increase ROM in about half the time, and exercise is more efficient. Rehab time is decreased significantly.

What feedback did you get from players/patients?

Patients love the feeling of warmth from the diathermic effects and are amazed at how much we accomplish in one visit. Winback sets me apart from every other private home care PT as no one else is bringing this technology to people’s homes. If I do not bring the machine with me for some reason, patients are not shy in expressing their disappointment.

Any special story you would like to share?

For new practitioners or users of Winback, I think the technology can appear overwhelming and complicated because there are so many choices of electrodes and settings. But the truth of the matter is that once you understand the concepts, whatever your philosophy of treatment is, Winback can enhance your outcomes and it is very intuitive. I think the second day I had the machine I called the distributor, my friend Harlan Pyes, and said “I totally get this!”