.png)
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What Is Physical Therapy?
Physical Therapists are Doctors of the Musculoskeletal system. We complement your physician’s treatment which are doctors of the inside. We use hands-on skills of soft tissue and joint manipulation and pair them with exercise to create independence in stopping and lessening your pain and function.
What should I wear/bring to therapy?
You should wear comfortable clothes that can easily access the area you are coming to therapy for such as shorts for knees and ankles or more loose shirts for low back and neck. Please wear athletic, close-toed shoes if possible so that you will be safe while performing exercises.
Will it hurt?
Therapy is not meant to increase your pain. There are some kinds of discomfort that are helpful in your healing, like soreness or healing pain, as we help your tissue repair itself. Your therapist will discuss the level of discomfort you should expect, if any, and how to help you manage any discomfort.
How long will my therapy sessions last?
Expect to be in clinic for 1 hour. We do our best to keep your treatments within this time frame for your daily needs and the proper dose of exercise and manual therapy to improve your function.
What happens in a therapy session?
Patient education is a large portion of your treatment mixed into the manual therapy and exercise you will receive. You may require manipulation and other treatments we offer such as dry needling. All of these will be discussed with you. Your treatment is dictated by your evaluation and needs to improve your function.
What is Dry Needling?
Dry needling is a technique in which acupuncture needles are inserted into the muscles to release a trigger point (a painful spot that refers pain somewhere else) that causes tension and pain. Trigger points may also limit your movements causing more pain and dysfunction with your daily tasks. Dry Needling is a part of therapy and is not the only piece. It is to be used in conjunction with other treatments specifically manipulation and exercise.
Why does Physical Therapy take longer than I think?
Physical Therapy assists your natural healing processes which have distinct times to create tissues and fix problems. PT complements these time frames and assists your tissues to create the best repair it can. This takes consistent home exercise effort with therapy guidance in progression.
Why are my Home Exercises so important?
Therapy in clinic is only 1% of your time (2 hours out of 24/7) and needs to be complemented with your home program. Just like you were prescribed medication by your physician for healing, PT will prescribe exercises at the proper dosage for healing of your tissues which requires consistency with your home program.