A Physical Therapist should be the FIRST clinician you see when you have muscle or joint pain.
For decades when you suffered from any aches or pains you went straight to your primary care doctor to see what was going on and to hopefully find some relief. Well it is 2019! The process has changed. If your pain is related to your musculoskeletal system you should be going to a physical therapist first!
DISCLAIMER: If your pain is a result of a traumatic fall or even a bad car accident your first step should be to a doctor or the ER. If you do see the PT first and we feel an MD visit is necessary we will tell you! But for most cases you can go straight to the physical therapist and this is why...
Doctors in physical therapy are the specialists when it comes to human movement and postural analysis.
We treat diagnoses involving the neuromuscular and musculoskeletal systems.
We can treat your pain immediately without using prescription medications.
We can tell you where your pain is coming from without needing an X-ray or MRI.
We have multiple forms of treatment methods including manual therapy techniques.
We know how to design an exercise program specific to your injury and pain.
We will educate you on prevention methods so your pain does not re-occur.
So here is how the story usually goes..
You wake up with some neck pain. Not sure why, you didn’t do anything different that day. A week or two goes by and your pain is a little better but still nagging you. You think about calling your primary care doctor but it’s not bad enough to pay a co-pay for a sick visit. Before you know it 4 weeks go by and you still wake up with neck pain. You finally decide to go to the PCP who says “try an anti-inflammatory, a muscle relaxer, we will order an x-ray and try physical therapy- here is a script”. At the end of the visit you still don’t really know what is wrong with you, why you feel the way you do and how to actually fix it. Once you get the script you call the local PT clinic down the street and they can get you in next week.
So it has now been 5 weeks since you woke up with pain and you still haven’t started treating your neck!
This is how the story should go...
You wake up with neck pain--Call the physical therapist immediately to explain what is going on and to see if physical therapy can help you. Based on your subjective we most likely already know what it is and how we can help. Restore Physical Therapy offers free phone consultations so you can speak with us before even coming in. After your conversation with the therapist you realize that getting a thorough exam of your neck, determining the root cause of the pain and of course receiving some hands-on care would be the best action to take so you decide to make an appointment for the next day. In the meantime, the physical therapist at Restore tells you a few things to help keep your pain at ease until your visit.
It is that easy! Instead of waiting weeks to see a PCP, you can go to the physical therapist immediately to address your pain, your symptoms and most importantly address the source of the problem. The longer you wait- the longer it takes to get better.
By being an out-of-network provider of physical therapy- you can skip the doctor visit and head right to the physical therapy clinic. Restore Physical Therapy guarantees 1 hour sessions each visit with a Doctor in PT. The first visit will include a thorough examination and evaluation. We will provide hands-on care to decrease your pain, followed up with specific corrective exercises for you to do.
Moral of the story is:
Physical therapists at Restore will walk you through your pain from day 1 to the end starting with a phone call.
We will get you in as soon as your pain starts without having to see an MD first.
Conservative treatment is provided avoiding unnecessary pain medication and muscle relaxers.
The quicker you start treatment, the quicker you will be getting back to the activities you love.
If you have more questions about specific aches and pains you are tired of living with call us today or go to www.restoreptri.com to book an appointment today!