Angelina Rehabilitation Center

Angelina Rehabilitation Center Healing East Texas Since 2005

Partnering Together to Serve East Texans Since 2005

At Angelina Rehabilitation Center, we offer a diverse range of therapy services to meet the needs of every patient.

- Physical Therapy
- Occupational Therapy
- Orthopedics Conditions and Rehabilitation
- Neurological Conditions
- Sports Rehabilitation
- Work Related Injuries
- Hand Therapy & Specialty Services

09/03/2026

Finger extension with a band is one of the simplest hand exercises there is. Loop a resistance band around your fingertips and thumb, start with the fingers relaxed and slightly curled, then open the hand and spread the fingers against the band. Control the return instead of letting the hand snap closed.
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After a stroke it shows up differently and more severely. The hand often pulls into a fist, and opening it becomes far harder than closing it. That single problem affects almost everything. You cannot pick something up if you cannot open the hand first, and you cannot put it down if you cannot release it. Letting go is just as important as grabbing.
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One thing to know before you try this at home. If the hand is tight from spasticity, meaning the muscles are stiff and pulling on their own after a stroke, pushing hard against a band too early can sometimes make the tightness worse. Your therapist may want stretching, positioning, or a splint first, and will tell you when resistance is appropriate.
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Band tension, reps, and hold times should come from your PT or OT.
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09/01/2026

The weighted towel squeeze, sometimes called a towel scrunch, is one of the most useful hand exercises in physical therapy and it takes almost nothing to set up.
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For stroke recovery, the independent finger movement is the important part. After a stroke the hand often moves as a single unit, all the fingers going together in one pattern instead of separately. Breaking out of that pattern is what makes a hand functional again. Holding a fork, buttoning a shirt, turning a page, and picking up a coin all depend on fingers doing different things at the same time. The towel gives you constant feedback you can feel and see, and the weight gives you a finish line, so you know when the set is done.
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For injury recovery, this builds grip endurance without gripping something hard, which is often easier to tolerate on a hand that is still stiff or sore.
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Weight amount, sets, and how far to pull should come from your PT or OT.
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Hello, September.​New month, same goal. Moving a little better than last month.​September is Pain Awareness Month and He...
09/01/2026

Hello, September.
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New month, same goal. Moving a little better than last month.
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September is Pain Awareness Month and Healthy Aging Month, with Falls Prevention Awareness Week from September 21 to 25. Plenty to talk about over the next thirty days.
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Our physical therapy, occupational therapy, and aquatic therapy teams in Lufkin are here for it all. Aquatic therapy in particular gives people a way to move when land-based exercise still hurts, because the water carries part of your body weight while you work.
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Welcome to September!
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08/28/2026

Picking up small objects with tweezers or a clip and moving them from one container to another is a standard therapy task. You will hear it called pincer grasp practice, tweezing, or a transfer activity.
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Set up two containers side by side and fill one with small objects like beads, pom poms, cotton balls, or dry beans. Hold the tweezers between your thumb and index finger, squeeze to grab one object, lift it across, and open your fingers to release it into the second container. One object at a time.
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For stroke recovery, this task hits several problems at once. The affected hand often moves as a single unit, with all the fingers pulling together, so isolating the thumb and index finger is real work. Releasing on purpose is often harder than gripping, and tweezers demand a controlled release every single time. Vision and hand tracking may also be affected, and guiding a tool to a small target retrains that connection. The pincer grasp is behind buttoning a shirt, picking up a pill, holding a key, pulling a zipper, and grabbing a card off a table, so the payoff shows up in daily independence.
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For injury recovery, this rebuilds fine control after a hand or wrist injury without loading the joints heavily, which matters when a hand is still healing and cannot tolerate hard gripping.
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The tool you use changes the difficulty. Larger clips and lighter objects are easier, and narrow tweezers with small or slippery items are harder. Your therapist chooses the right level and how long to work before fatigue sets in.
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Choosing an outpatient rehab provider after an amputation is easier with the right questions. ​This article provides pat...
08/26/2026

Choosing an outpatient rehab provider after an amputation is easier with the right questions.
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This article provides patients and families with a practical checklist covering experience with limb loss, coordination with a certified prosthetist, accreditation, the care team, pain management, aquatic therapy, cost and access, and peer support so that they can choose a provider with confidence.
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Read the full article here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/questions-ask-when-choosing-outpatient-rehab-provider-after-rowjc ​
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08/24/2026

Grab a pen. That's the whole setup.
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Pens work well for hand therapy because they are thin, light, and just awkward enough to make your fingers work for it.
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Colored pens add one more layer, since sorting by color gives your brain something to track while your hand moves.
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Five to try:
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Roll the pen between your thumb and fingertips, like you are winding it forward and back.
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Walk the pen down your fingers, moving it from your index finger toward your pinky one finger at a time.
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Slide the pen from your palm out to your fingertips, then pull it back into your palm. This is called translation and it is one of the harder ones.
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Cap on, cap off. Simple pinch and release, and it asks your thumb to move across toward your fingers.
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Sort a handful of colored pens by color. Pick up, move, set down, repeat.
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Go slow. Dropping the pen is part of it.
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08/22/2026

Foot drop means it is hard to lift the front of your foot up toward your shin. That lift is called dorsiflexion, and when it weakens, toes catch on the floor and stairs and curbs get risky.
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You can work on it sitting down.
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Ankle pumps. Point your toes down, then pull them back up toward your knee.
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Heel raises and toe raises. Keep your heel down and lift your toes, then flip it and keep your toes down while you lift your heel.
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Ankle alphabet. Draw the letters in the air with your big toe.
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Towel scrunch. Put a towel flat under your foot and use your toes to pull it toward you.
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Resistance band pulls. Loop a band around the ball of your foot, hold the ends, and pull your foot back against it.
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Sitting keeps your balance out of the equation so you can focus on the ankle itself.
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08/19/2026

Not every ball squeezes the same, and picking one that fights you too hard is a fast way to get sore instead of stronger.
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Silicone and gel balls give the most. They squish easily and come back slowly, so they are a comfortable place to start when your grip is still coming back or your hand tires quickly.
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Rubber therapy balls are firmer. They push back harder and hold their shape, so you are working against real resistance the whole way through.
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Tennis balls sit somewhere in the middle with a stiff shell and a hollow center. The texture gives you something to hold onto, and because they bounce and roll you can use them for catching and coordination too, not just squeezing.
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Size matters as much as firmness. A ball you cannot close your fingers around is not doing much for your grip.
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If your hand aches after, that is usually a sign to drop to something softer.
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08/17/2026

Most people wait. The wrist aches, you shake it out, you keep going, and a few months later you are still doing it.
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Some things are worth paying attention to sooner.
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Pain that wakes you up at night.
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Numbness or tingling that runs into your fingers, especially the thumb, index, and middle.
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Dropping things, or your grip giving out when you did not expect it.
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Swelling that does not settle down.
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Pain that has been hanging around for weeks without changing.
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Any wrist pain that started after a fall or a hard landing on your hand.
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Wrists are a stack of small bones with tendons and nerves threaded through tight spaces, so problems there tend to spread into the hand and forearm rather than stay put.
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Getting it looked at early usually means fewer restrictions later.
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Recovery after a leg amputation is not only physical. ​Research shows about one-third of amputees experience clinically ...
08/14/2026

Recovery after a leg amputation is not only physical.
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Research shows about one-third of amputees experience clinically significant depression, with anxiety, body image struggles, and phantom limb pain also common, and emotional distress often peaking after discharge rather than in the hospital.
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This article explains the mental and emotional side of limb loss and how physical and aquatic therapy support emotional recovery alongside professional mental health care.
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Read the full article here: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7487688300871245824

Address

402 S John Redditt Drive
Lufkin, TX
75904

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm

Telephone

+19366322107

Website

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