Physical therapist helps expand EARH services

Bryce Schwendiman recently began working as a full-time physical therapist at East Adams Rural Hospital, and is excited to become an important part of the small town community.

Schwendiman previously worked for South Hill Physical Therapy in Spokane for 11 years before deciding he wanted a change of pace and found the Ritzville job opening. He is originally from Basin City, where he was raised with 10 siblings on the family’s farm.

Though Schwendiman enjoyed farming and the agricultural lifestyle, his career choice was based on finding a job to provide a steady income and stability for raising a family. He currently resides in Cheney with his wife, Angela, and has nine children, ranging from 22-years-old to the youngest at the age of four.

Schwendiman met his wife in California while on a mission trip with his church. The couple has been married for almost 24 years and Angela is currently a professor of Africana Education at Eastern Washington University (EWU).

“I had to go to physical therapy once, and at that point, I wasn’t sure what to do,” said Schwendiman regarding his decision to become a physical therapist. “I like working with my hands and with people.”

Originally, Schwendiman had pursued a degree in art, but changed his mind and earned his bachelor’s degree in human biology from EWU, and then returned to receive a Master’s degree in physical therapy. After seven years of school, Schwendiman began working at the South Hill facility.

“I really enjoy working with the hospital staff here and have enjoyed the patients. The patient load was a little light at first but now it is picking up,” said Schwendiman about his recent change to EARH. “I’m working here full-time and hoping to help improve the continuity of care.”

The aspect of physical therapy that Schwendiman enjoys the most is the diversity of patients and injuries that need physical therapy.

“It gives you a lot of options and it’s not the same thing every day,” Schwendiman explained. “Each person has a different issue. I just enjoy working with people.”

One of the services available at EARH that Schwendiman appreciates is the Care-A-Van system, which brings patients who may be unable to drive themselves to an appointment and provides them the opportunity to receive treatment.

The majority of patients Schwendiman treats is from the referral of other doctors, or based on the individual’s insurance policy. He works with all age groups and said that since he began at EARH, he has seen a good blend of age ranges and injuries.

The purpose of physical therapy is to assist individuals to regain the flexibility and strength they had before the injury. Physical therapy helps to reduce the amount of discomfort an individual may be feeling because of the increased strain the injury caused.

Patients work on the target area specific to their injury to decrease the pain on the joint or muscle. Stretching helps to improve flexibility and mobility of the targeted joint, allowing patients to regain the muscle strength to the pre-injury level of function.

The majority of Schwendiman’s patients have back and neck injuries, or have undergone total knee replacement. It is this diversity in injuries that keeps Schwendiman engaged with each individual patient and keeps him alert.

The EARH physical therapy department provides pre-surgical classes for individuals in Ritzville or the surrounding communities that have major replacement surgeries planned. These classes inform and teach patients about post-surgery exercises and stretches that assist them to regain their mobility.

Schwendiman looks forward to becoming more involved in the Ritzville community and hopes to be more involved with fitness. Previously, he had worked with an athletic training program and helped teach the athletes preventative measures to avoid future injuries.

Currently, Schwendiman only interacts with athletes who come to the hospital of physicals to participate on a sports team, but he wants to be involved with the programs to some extent. The sports physicals are used to assist athletes target muscle weakness or imbalance and bring those areas to the attention of the athlete in order to avoid injuries.

An injury that Schwendiman has seen become more common is ACL injuries in women and he wants to help female athletes realize the danger of an ACL injury and prevent further strain on the ligament. He believes that education is the key to helping keep people healthy and raise awareness for how injuries affect the future health of that specific individual.

The physical therapy department is open Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. For more information about physical therapy or to schedule an appointment, contact the physical therapy department at 659-5408.