What sets Pongratz above the competition?
Pongratz Orthotics and Prosthetics, Inc. is committed to exceptional prosthetic care in Arizona, and has recently joined with Pongratz Physical Therapy, LLC to provide the most complete prosthetic management for amputee patients in Arizona. Pongratz Physical Therapy is located in the Mesa office of Pongratz Orthotics and Prosthetics for added convenience.

Recent Article on Pongratz PT, "Bridging the Divide", by Sarah Schmelling,

What makes Pongratz Physical Therapy so special?
Pongratz Physical Therapy specializes in the rehabilitation of amputee patients from pre-operative strengthening, transfer training, gait training, and wheelchair management to post-operative pain control, residual limb edema and skin care management, prosthetic application and hygiene, specialized bed/ commode/ wheelchair/ floor transfers, and prosthetic gait training, including stairs, curbs, and ramps. Our goal is to return the amputee patient to their maximum potential, such as ambulating over uneven surfaces, playing with their children on the floor, and returning their recreational activities, like golf and swimming. Returning patients to their recreational hobbies provides greater satisfaction of their new prosthetic limbs.

What is the benefit of having multiple disciplines in the same location?
With Pongratz's prosthetist and physical therapist in the same location, they are able to work hand-in-hand to customize a treatment program to better meet the patients' needs, and progress the amputee patients to their full potential.

What does this mean to me?
The first year of rehabilitation following an amputation is the most challenging. There is a wealth of information to learn, and your prosthesis will likely need adjusting as your functional level improves. Rather than missing several critical days of physical therapy because of a mechanical adjustment, the prosthetist is able to make adjustments immediately. Additionally, the quality of your care is improved when both team members are able to work together for your benefit.

Qualifications and Background Information
Anissa Pongratz is a native of Chandler, Arizona, and graduated in 1997 with a master's degree in Physical Therapy from Northern Arizona University. She is a member of the American Physical Therapy Association, and serves as an adjunct faculty member to physical therapy students at the Arizona School of Health Sciences. Prior to joining the Pongratz team, she worked extensively doing wound care, then with neurological injuries at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center. There she learned specialized training with unilateral weakness and imbalance while working with brain injured patients, and learned specialized transfers while working with spinal cord injured patients. Since joining Pongratz in 2004, she has specialized in amputee gait mechanics and balance training, although she continues to also treat neurological and orthopedic injuries, as well.