Physical Therapy Services

McNerney & Associates, P.A. is conveniently located in Howard County, Maryland, where we have set the standard for manual and exercise-based physical therapy since 1988. We take pride in providing a high level of professional care and personalized attention – from your first telephone contact to your final office visit. In our practice, only licensed physical therapists provide your care. We have ten private treatment rooms equipped with electric high-low treatment tables along with state of the art exercise equipment in 3600 square feet of office space. You are treated one-on-one by the same experienced physical therapist at each visit. This individualized approach assures your comfort and affords consistency toward achievement of your functional goals.

We offer a wide range of gentle and effective manual therapy treatments and therapeutic exercises and activities that are specifically chosen to optimize your recovery.

We specialize in treating

  • Spine and musculo-skeletal conditions involving all joints of the body
  • Sports and orthopedic Injuries
    • Competitive swimmers, dancers, gymnasts, and runners among others
  • Pre and post-surgical cases
  • Vestibular disorders including positional vertigo
  • Concussion assessment and treatment
  • Persons with fall risk
  • Patients with symptoms related to autonomic dysfunction and chronic fatigue
  • Women’s health and pelvic floor dysfunction

Services we offer

  • Manual Therapy
    • Muscle EnergyTechnique
    • Strain/Counterstrain
    • Joint Mobilization
    • Positional Release
    • Active Release
    • Indirect Functional Technique
    • Myofascial Release
    • Craniosacral
    • Neural Mobilization
    • Traction
  • Pre and Post-Surgical Rehabilitation
  • Vestibular Rehabilitation
  • Concussion Assessment and Treatment
  • Fall Risk Prevention
  • Balance Training
  • Fitness and Conditioning Training
  • Women’s Health and Pelvic Floor Training
  • Mechanical Traction
  • Isokinetic Testing and Training
  • Gait Training
  • Dry Needling

Scheduling

Our office hours begin at 7:30 a.m. daily. Patients are scheduled at 45-minute intervals through 6:45 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays and through 5:00 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursday, and Fridays. Initial visits are for 60 minutes. When scheduling your first appointment, it is suggested that you schedule a few follow up appointments to insure that you are able to get times that best suit your needs. A printout of your schedule will be given to you at the time of your first visit.

For your convenience, patients may schedule up to 6 weeks in advance.

When you schedule, you will be followed by the same licensed physical therapist throughout the course of your care with us unless the therapist is out of the office or unless other arrangements are made.

When you call to schedule your first visit, personal information including the address and phone, condition for which you seek treatment and method of payment for service will be entered into the computer. At your second visit we will inform you of the number of visits that are covered by your insurance policy, the amount of your deductible and the estimated amount of your co-payment. These numbers are provided to us by your insurance company and are not guaranteed by us. The actual benefit amounts are not always known until payment of claims has been made by your insurer.

Co-payment is collected at the time of each visit and may be made by cash, check, Discover Card, American Express, MasterCard or Visa.

No-shows or appointments cancelled with less than 24-hour notice may incur a $25 missed appointment fee. Any one-hour appointments that are missed may result in a $50 missed appointment fee.

All medical information is confidential and is handled in accordance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) guidelines.

Dizziness and Fall Risk

The Center for Disease Control has found that more than a third of older adults fall each year. These falls may arise from any number of causes including dizziness, vision changes, weakness, deconditioning, loss of flexibility and others. Injuries sustained in falls by older persons are the most common reason for trauma-related hospital admissions. These injuries can often be life-changing and may make getting around more difficult and may eventually curtail independent living. Frequent falls and even the fear of falling may contribute to a wish to stay close to familiar surroundings. This reduced activity can lead to diminished fitness and reduced social interaction. The physical therapists at McNerney & Associates work with your physician to help minimize risk of falling. We help assess for the factors contributing to your falls and provide strength, mobility, and balance retraining exercises to improve your safety and function.

Vertigo and BPPV

McNerney & Associates, P.A., provides vestibular rehabilitation as part of our outpatient physical therapy practice. Recognizing the need to address the often-encountered and complex problems associated with vertigo, disequilibrium and imbalance, Michael J. McNerney, DPT and Jodi Pandullo, DPT are certified in Vestibular Rehabilitation after completing a competency based course endorsed by the American Physical Therapy Association. The course prepared these therapists to perform thorough clinical evaluations and appropriate treatment of persons with vestibular and balance-related conditions.

With their clinical examination they can distinguish between peripheral and central causes of dizziness and vertigo and can make the appropriate professional referral for a more complete objective examination if needed. They can thoroughly evaluate and treat benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) supported by the use of our infrared goggles for viewing and recording nystagmus. With the use of these goggles it is possible to identify the specific semi-circular canal in the inner ear that is involved and direct manual treatment quite specifically and effectively to that canal. In addition to the canalith repositioning maneuvers used to treat BPPV, we can also address non-specific pressure and pain complaints in the pharyngo-tympanic tube in the auditory canal.

For persons with unilateral or bilateral vestibular hypofunction or central vestibular disorders, we provide balance retraining and exercise programs based on principles in the current literature. We are fortunate to have at our facility a Biodex Balance System SD with software programs for objectively assessing postural instability and for devising training protocols to improve stability and reduce risk of falls.

Vestibular Rehabilitation

As part of our outpatient physical therapy practice, Michael J. McNerney, DPT and Jodi L. Pandullo, DPT, are certified in Vestibular Rehabilitation after completing a competency based course endorsed by the American Physical Therapy Association.

As a leading cause of doctor visits, vertigo and dizziness can be debilitating to one’s daily life and may potentially lead to falls and further functional limitations. Through their extensive coursework and access to the most current onsite technologies, our therapists are able to identify multiple causes of vertigo, dizziness, and postural imbalance.

One of the most frequent causes of dizziness we encounter in the clinic is Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV). In this condition, normally occurring calcium carbonate crystals dislodge from their position in the inner ear and fall into the semi-circular canals. When this happens, normal movements, such as moving in bed, result in dizziness or spinning as the crystals move around with you. Our therapists are able to detect the specific canal these crystals have migrated to and determine the appropriate manual maneuver to rid your system of the troubling particles. In many instances, symptoms can be cleared within one session.

Our therapists also specialize in the treatment of vestibular hypofunction. This may occur when one or both vestibular systems are adversely affected by virus, pharmaceutical agents, or surgery to name a few causes. With this condition the patient usually experiences unrelenting dizziness that may last for several days, leaving the patient extremely off balance at the conclusion of the episode. Through in-depth testing, our therapist are able to identify hypofunction and implement targeted exercises to sharpen the affected vestibular system and facilitate their return to normal function and activities of daily living.

Also important to recognize, is dizziness arising from the cervical spine and cranium. Termed, cervicogenic dizziness, our therapists have extensive course work with manual therapy techniques aimed at treating this variety of dizziness and imbalance.

In some instances, patients may present with a history of imbalance and dizziness that are not classically explained by the above conditions. It is possible that one’s symptoms may arise from a central cause, one originating in the brain. In these special cases, our therapists are able to use the infrared goggle system along with specific tests and measures to obtain supportive data that will facilitate appropriate referral of that patient for a more complete objective examination.

Though the causes of dizziness and imbalance can be many, we at McNerney & Associates, P.A. have the expertise and cutting edge technology to successfully evaluate and treat the majority of these causes. With both manual and exercise based treatments, our staff will facilitate your return to maximum function.

Overnight Accomodations:

For our out-of-town patients, hotels and other overnight lodging accommodations are available nearby. Most are located near highways providing easy access to Johns Hopkins Hospital and University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore as well as to NIH and other medical centers in the D.C. area.

Some options for accomodations include:

  • Columbia Hilton 5485 Twin Knolls Rd, Columbia 410-997-1060
  • Courtyard by Marriott 8910 Stanford Blvd, Columbia 410-290-0002
  • Extended Stayamerica 8870 Columbia 100 Pkwy, Columbia 410-772-8800
  • Extendedstay Columbia 8890 Stanford Blvd, Columbia 410-872-2994
  • Hampton Inn 8880 Columbia 100 Pkwy, Columbia 410-997-8555
  • Sheraton Columbia Inn Wincopin Circle, Columbia 410-730-3900
  • Staybridge Suites Hotel 8844 Columbia 100 Pkwy, Columbia 410-772-9901
  • (Perinoya) aka Bates Motel Clarksville Pike, Columbia