Central Maine Healthcare

Where You are the Center

Physical Therapy

Arm and Hand Pain

One of the most common causes of hand and wrist pain is arthritis (including osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis), resulting in inflammation, stiffness and swelling in the joints. Usually arthritis comes with the wear-and-tear of age, though a sudden and traumatic injury such as a broken wrist or finger, torn ligament or sprain can also cause the condition later. Left untreated, the nagging pain can become excruciating, making it difficult to use your hands and lead a productive, active life.

Relief Starts Here

Whether you’re struggling with recent or chronic pain, the board-certified orthopedic experts at the Orthopedic Institute of Central Maine (OICM) can help. We’ll work closely with you to create a personalized treatment plan, whether that’s physical therapy, a minimally invasive treatment or the latest and most effective surgical options.

Conditions We Treat

Some of our specialties include:

  • Carpal tunnel syndrome
  • Congenital conditions
  • Dislocations
  • Fingertip and nail bed injuries
  • Fractures
  • Ganglions and masses
  • Sprains and strains
  • Repetitive stress injuries
  • Tennis elbow
  • Osteoarthritis
  • Post-traumatic arthritis
  • Tendon/nerve injuries

Skilled Hands to Help Heal Yours

We always begin by listening, to understand exactly what you’re dealing with and how it’s impacting your life. Then together, we’ll find the best solution for your pain, which may include:

Minor injuries: This includes things like strains and sprains. These can often be taken care of by applying ice and wrapping the hand or wrist with an elastic bandage.

Nonsurgical treatments: Appropriate pain medication, anti-inflammatory medications, cortisone injections, and physical therapy are all nonsurgical treatment options for many conditions — tennis elbow, for example. But, when conservative measures fail to alleviate pain and restore mobility, surgery may be necessary.

Surgery: Our surgeons specialize in a full range of hand, wrist, and elbow surgeries, from hand reconstruction to microscopic repair of nerve injuries. Our goal is to help relieve pain, restore function and helping you get back to what you need and love to do.

Orthopedic Excellence, Close to Home

The Orthopedic Institute of Central Maine offers locations near where you live and work – so you never had to travel far to find the world-class care you need:

  • Central Maine Medical Center – Lewiston, Maine
  • Bridgton Hospital – Bridgton, Maine
  • Rumford Hospital – Rumford, Maine

Back, Neck and Spine

Neck and back pain can happen at home, at work or to just about anyone who sits too long or moves without proper body mechanics. In fact, experts estimate that nearly 80 percent of U.S. men and women will be affected by spine-related pain at some point in their lives.

Neck pain is frequently caused from the facet joints and from the discs, which are deep in the spine. The pain you’re experiencing may originate from these areas and affect the surrounding nerves.

Back pain is a more complicated and personal experience due to the overlap of nerves in the structures of the spine. This makes it difficult for the brain to distinguish between injury in one structure versus another, which is why scans and X-rays are often used to determine the root cause of the pain.

Relief Starts Here

Whether you’re struggling with recent or chronic pain, the board-certified orthopedic experts at the Orthopedic Institute of Central Maine (OICM) can help. We’ll work closely with you to create a personalized treatment plan, whether that’s physical therapy, a minimally invasive treatment or the latest, minimally invasive surgical options.

Conditions We Treat

Just some of our specialties include:

  • Degenerative disc disease
  • Disc compression
  • Herniated discs
  • Lower back pain
  • Neck pain
  • Sacroiliac (SI) joint pain
  • Sciatica
  • Spinal stenosis

Helping Put Your Back Pain Behind You

We always begin by listening, to understand exactly what you’re dealing with and how it’s impacting your life. Then together, we’ll find the best solution for your pain, which may include:

Nonsurgical treatments: Whenever possible, your OICM spine surgeon will recommend non-invasive options, which can bring complete relief. One common treatment is therapy services and an exercise program, often supplemented with medication. We also offer quick in-office procedures such as injections or nerve blocks.

Surgical options: When non-invasive treatments are not enough to manage or solve your neck and back pain, you may need surgery to eliminate pain and restore mobility. Our skilled surgeons perform many types of complex procedures with excellent outcomes, including laminectomy, foraminotomy, disc replacement, kyphoplasty, and discectomy. We use the latest, minimally invasive techniques, which often offer significantly less pain and fewer complications, while minimizing damage to healthy tissue and helping promote a fast recovery.

Orthopedic Excellence, Close to Home

The Orthopedic Institute of Central Maine offers locations near where you live and work – so you never had to travel far to find the world-class care you need:

  • Central Maine Medical Center – Lewiston, Maine
  • Bridgton Hospital – Bridgton, Maine
  • Rumford Hospital – Rumford, Maine

Sports Medicine


Our specialists – including orthopedic providers and surgeons, physical therapists, athletic trainers and more – work closely together and with you to create a personal plan based on your needs and goals. So, whether you’re a weekend warrior or full-time pro, we’ll help you get back in action.

Helping You Reclaim Your Game

Caring for an injured athlete is more than just applying a brace. Our sports medicine providers use hands-on, proven techniques that target the cause of your pain to restore strength, function and flexibility.

Just some of our specialties include:

  • Acute sports injuries: from common sprains, strains and dislocations to more serious conditions like anterior cruciate ligament and rotator cuff tears, and complex fractures
  • Overuse sports injuries: treatment for tennis elbow, stress fractures, shin splints and tendonitis
  • Injury prevention: education and training to improve body mechanics and balance and reduce the risk of getting hurt

Our program also provides team provider coverage for Bates College, and we proudly serve as consultants for high school athletics throughout central and western Maine.

Minimally Invasive Techniques to Help Speed Healing

Whenever possible, we opt for non-invasive treatment, including therapy services regimens. But when surgery is your best solution, we offer the latest options designed with athletes in mind. That includes arthroscopic reconstructive surgery of the shoulder, elbow, knee, foot and ankle, which usually offer less pain and faster recovery versus traditional open surgery.

Non-Surgical Options

Dealing with painful bones or joints can be frustrating, but it doesn’t have to interfere with your life. And it doesn’t have to mean surgery.

At the Orthopedic Institute of Central Maine (OICM), we offer a full range of non-invasive options that can help effectively manage or even cure your pain. These treatments are usually quick, easy, virtually painless and involve little to no downtime.

One of our board-certified orthopedic specialists will work with you to find the best treatment for your specific condition. If needed, we also perform a full range of orthopedic procedures, including our joint replacement, using the most minimally invasive techniques available for less pain and faster recovery.

Therapy Services

At OICM, one of our licensed physical therapists can design a regimen that reduces your pain while also strengthening the key muscles that affect your joint. Your therapist can work with you short or long-term to make sure you’re doing specific exercises that increase your mobility and decrease your pain. Common therapy methods include bodyweight and aquatic exercises.

Your physical therapist may also apply ice and heat to your painful areas. Or, they make work alongside your treatment team to suggest ultrasound therapy or other procedures that can increase blood flow to the skin, helping to reduce pain.

Injections

Injections of substances like may be used to lubricate the joint, which reduces pain and improves mobility. These injections are administered in-office, making it one of the quickest and most convenient options.

Medication

Medication, including oral pain relievers and topical creams with the numbing agent lidocaine or bupivacaine, may help control your joint pain. Your provider will work with you to ensure you find the right prescriptions for your individual case to limit side effects and avoid drug interactions if you are taking other medications.

Cortisone Shots

Your provider might also recommend a steroid injection to reduce the inflammation (or swelling) of your joint.

The steroids are injected at the site of inflammation, and usually work to relieve pain within a few days and last several weeks.

 Orthopedic Excellence, Close to Home

Best of all, it’s all offered at locations near where you live and work – so you never have to travel far to find the world-class care you need:

  • Central Maine Medical Center – Lewiston, Maine
  • Bridgton Hospital – Bridgton, Maine
  • Rumford Hospital – Rumford, Maine

Rumford Hospital

Rumford Hospital is a 25-bed, not-for-profit critical access hospital (CAH), offering inpatient and outpatient services to the River Valley community. Rumford Hospital provides patients with local access to 24-hour emergency care and an array of healthcare services, including primary care, diagnostic and medical-surgical nursing services, women’s health and ambulatory surgery. The hospital’s swing bed program provides care for patients who need skilled nursing services.

420 Franklin Street
Rumford, ME 04276
Main: (207) 369-1000
Emergency: (207) 369-1051
Directory >

You might be interested in…

 Central Maine Medical Center
Bridgton Hospital
A to Z Search for Services

Central Maine Medical Center

Central Maine Medical Center (CMMC) in Lewiston is the flagship facility of Central Maine Healthcare. CMMC is a 250-bed, not-for-profit, Level III Trauma Center, offering comprehensive inpatient and outpatient services to the people of central Maine. CMMC provides 24-hour emergency care, a state-of-the-art Cancer Care Center, an award-winning stroke center and extensive specialized care. CMMC is also the southern Maine base for LifeFlight of Maine, the state’s only medical helicopter service.

300 Main Street
Lewiston, ME 04240
Main: (207) 795-0111
Emergency: (207) 795-2200
Directory >

You might be interested in…

 A to Z Search for Services
Bridgton Hospital
Rumford Hospital

Rehabilitation and Therapy

We offer medically supervised orthopedic rehabilitation programs, led by physical and occupational therapists who provide care on an inpatient and outpatient basis. Working closely with you and your primary care provider, your rehabilitation team will design a tailor-made treatment plan to help relieve pain and restore strength, function and mobility. We place special focus on education, arming you with strategies to help keep pain in check and prevent re-injury.

Personalized Programs to Get You Moving Again

Our specialties include:

  • Physical Therapy: We provide comprehensive exercise and strength and conditioning therapies for orthopedic trauma, severe arthritis and other bone and joint injuries. The team also includes specialized spine therapists, who use manual techniques to relieve the symptoms of neck and back pain, as well as therapeutic exercise to address posture, range of motion, flexibility, strength and coordination issues contributing to the spine problem. 
  • Occupational Therapy: We will help you regain the ability to perform daily activities following an injury; home living situations are simulated for activities such as bathing, grooming, meal planning and housekeeping. Along the way, your therapist will provide progress assessments and make any adjustments to maximize your success. 
  • Post-Operative Therapy: When you are hospitalized following joint replacement, spine surgery, reconstructive surgery or another orthopedic procedure, we will be right there to support you.

At Central Maine Medical Center (CMMC) in Lewiston, our rehabilitation facilities are part of our all-in-one, single floor orthopedics unit. This setup is specifically designed to support the initial states of recovery, helping you get back home and get moving again sooner. From there, we will continue to work with you on an outpatient basis, communicate regularly with your surgeon to ensure you are progressing well.

  • Sports Medicine: Kickstart your comeback from an athletic injury with our sports medicine specialists. Our specialized providers, therapists and athletic trainers will design a customized treatment plan to help you return to pre-injury form.

Your Road to Recovery Starts Here

To learn more about inpatient therapy, please dial 207-795-2600 or click below:
Inpatient Acute Rehab

To learn more about outpatient therapy, please dial 207-795-2122 or click below:
Outpatient Therapy

To learn more about comprehensive orthopedic rehabilitation, please dial 207-795-2122 or click below:
Therapy Specialty Programs

Bridgton Hospital

Bridgton Hospital is a 25-bed, not-for-profit critical access hospital (CAH) that serves the people of western Maine. Founded in 1917, Bridgton Hospital provides 24-hour emergency services and features medical and surgical services, intensive care and a variety of other services including oncology, hematology, podiatry, orthopedics, cardiology and diabetes education. The hospital provides a comprehensive range of diagnostic services with a full-service lab and a radiology department boasting 3D mammography, ultrasound, CT scan and MRI.

10 Hospital Drive
Bridgton, ME 04009
Main: (207) 647-6000
Emergency: (207) 647-6070
Directory >

You might be interested in…

 Central Maine Medical Center
Rumford Hospital
A to Z Search for Services