What are the benefits of physical therapy?

Pain management with reduced need for opioids
Avoiding surgery
Improved mobility and movement
Recovery from injury or trauma
Recovery from stroke or paralysis
Fall prevention
Improved balance
Management of age-related medical problems
Return to sports related activities

How much should PT cost?

Physical therapy (PT) costs vary depending on your injury and the therapy needed. Some injuries may require 1-2 visits while other injuries, such as surgical repair of a torn ACL, may require 12 or more.

In order to determine your coverage, call the number on your insurance card to determine your PT deductible. Also, find out how much you still need to pay in order to meet this deductible.

Once your deductible has been met, you may not have to pay anything.

Is physical therapy worth the cost?

Yes, PT is relatively inexpensive when compared to the rest of the medical world.

With PT, you get a detailed consultation, hands on treatment from a therapist, supervised exercise routines, pain control techniques, and in depth education on your condition. You go home with strategies for pain control, corrective exercises, a home program, and a follow up in 2-7 days. With PT, you get more for less!

Does insurance pay for physical therapy?

Most insurance plans, including Medicare, workers compensation, and private insurers, pay for medically necessary services.

What are the pros and cons of PT?

While your physical therapy visits last about an hour, you need to be mindful of what you learn in therapy at all times. Rehabilitation requires consistent effort from the patient. Our therapy team helps you to reach all of your personal and rehabilitation goals.

Should I complete exercises at home?

Yes! Your PT gives you a home exercise program to perform consistently throughout the week. This allows you to recover and improve quicker than just going to PT 2-3 times a week. Evidence shows patients who use HEPs in conjunction with PT have a higher success rate with recovery.

Can therapy make your injury worse?

With the correct progression of exercises, physical therapy will not make your problem worse. Your trained physical therapist accurately diagnoses and treats specific injuries. The physical therapist performs a thorough examination and designs a program to safely return you back to desired function.

Should I be in pain after therapy? Why do I feel more pain afterwards?

Differences exist between “good pain” and “bad pain.”

“Good pain” is associated with delayed onset muscle soreness. This is the typical soreness you may experience after beginning a new exercise routine at the gym. You can expect to experience delayed onset muscle soreness after starting your physical therapy routine. This pain usually only lasts 1-2 days and occurs less frequently as your body becomes accustomed to the exercises.

“Bad pain” is associated with pain during a specific movement or exercises. As physical therapists, we work to minimize bad pain” in order to restore function and return you desired activities. If you experienc this pain during physical therapy, you should notify your therapist.

Can therapy do more harm than good?

When beginning therapy, understand the difference between pain and muscular soreness (or “good” pain vs. “bad” pain). Soreness indicates we are beginning to build strength which improves your movement tolerance. An increase of pain may warrant a change in treatment style, which your therapist will be happy to discuss.

When should you stop?

If you are not making progress with any of your goals in physical therapy, express this to your therapist. Every patient responds to exercise in a different manner. Your therapist can educate you about other treatment options in therapy, your prognosis, and provide assistance if another opinion is indicated.

How long does it take for physical therapy to work?

Most patients report some improvement in their pain or activity level in the first few visits. You may take longer for true physiologic changes to occur. Our goal is to treat your pain while introducing you into appropriate exercises for pain relief and functional benefits.

How do you know if PT is working?

You can determine how PT helps by noticing decreased pain level or frequency of pain. Also, you can see improved mobility and strength, and if certain activities or movements are easier to perform. PTs perform re-assessments regularly to determine if there has been any improvements.

Should I participate in PT before getting an MRI/Xray?

Recent research has shown a decrease in medical costs when patients attend physical therapy prior to receiving an MRI (Fritz, 2015). (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1475-6773.12301). Physical therapists complete extensive education to diagnose many different pathologies. Our therapist will complete a personalized evaluation with you, where they will discuss your options and will assist you to get imaging as needed.

What’s the difference between a physical trainer and a physical therapist?

While they both use exercise/movement to help people, physical therapists are better trained to treat specific conditions and injuries. Physical therapists must complete extensive training and obtain a masters or clinical doctorate degree from an accredited program.