Will my insurance company reimburse without seeing a physician prior to attending Physical Therapy?  

Most insurance plans now reimburse for Physical Therapy services.  If you are concerned your Physical Therapist can check with your insurance company for you to determine eligibility for Physical Therapy without a physician referral.   

How can a Physical Therapist help me?  

Many Physical Therapists are doctors of Physical Therapy. All are trusted health care professionals with extensive training in diagnosing and treating conditions that limit the body’s ability to move and function in daily life.  Physical Therapists are experts in human body movement typical and atypical. They use treatment techniques to promote the ability to move, reduce pain, restore function, and prevent disability. They will also help you prevent loss of mobility by developing fitness and wellness programs to help you achieve a healthier and more active lifestyle.  Physical Therapists can also help you avoid surgery. Many conditions can be successfully treated without expensive and painful surgery. Talk to your Physical Therapist or ask your physician to see how physical therapy may be able to help you.

What should I expect when attending Physical Therapy? 

A Physical Therapist will perform an assessment to determine eligibility for Physical Therapy and will derive a treatment plan that will be guided by the evaluation of the assessment.  The Physical Therapist will assess your dynamic movement quality and as well as pain, swelling, range of motion, flexibility, joint mobility, strength, balance, and function. The therapist will determine the proper interventions to address any deficiencies or limitations and will also provide modalities such as ice and electrical stimulation to decrease pain and inflammation.

Who should I see if I have an injury or pain?  

I recommend seeing your Physical Therapist first.  Physical Therapists are very competent in evaluating injuries and pain.  They are also very proficient with the recognizing pathology outside of the scope of Physical Therapy and referring the patient to the appropriate practitioners.  Physical Therapists can easily tell the difference between musculoskeletal pain that is appropriate for PT services and pathology that is not in the Physical Therapy scope.  Physical Therapists also do much less harm and are one of the most cautious healthcare practitioners. A PT pays less than $1,000 per year for malpractice insurance while other practitioners pay tens of thousands of dollars.  A PT will be sure to get you the proper treatment you deserve and will take extra care to make sure you are not harmed in the process.

What should I do if I have an injury or experience pain?

First set an appointment to see a Physical Therapist.  Then the old age treatment of rest, ice, compression and elevation still holds strong.  Perform this strategy as frequently as possible until you are told to do otherwise. The Physical Therapist will be able to start treatment quickly and get you moving towards your pre-injury level of function.  Many studies have demonstrated the early intervention is the key to an early return to pre-injury level of function, even following most surgeries. The physical therapist will then coordinate a plan of care with your physician.  Physical therapy did not get direct access to steal patients from physicians. Physical therapy is available directly because we have a unique body of knowledge that should be directly accessible to the public and to allow patients a more expedited process of getting rid of their pain and returning to pre-injury levels of functioning as fast as possible.

What is the difference between Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation?  At Revolution we believe that there is a difference between these two terms.  Rehabilitation is what you do after you get hurt, have a surgery, etc.. The term rehabilitation literally means to restore someone or to help make one fit or easily managed again.  This intrinsically means that there is something significantly wrong with a person and prior to engaging in the actions and behaviors necessary for the desired outcomes to occur. Physical Therapy however is a philosophy of improving the human condition and physical capacity by improving functional mobility and coordinated movement.  A primary tenant being that practiced movement is patterned movement. If you do something over an over again you get better at it. Not all movements are created equal however. If the movements are improper damage will occur. If the movements are more precise and follow basic principles of biomechanics, performance enhancement will occur. The philosophy of physical therapy is derived from evidence from the highest levels of medicine and movement sciences.   The philosophy of Physical therapy therefor should be at the base of any and all movement training programs.