In many unspecialized clinics, a physician will see the patient, perform an examination and refer the patient to a PT clinic that may be all the way across town. This “evaluate and treat” prescription for physical therapy is all too common. Often the physical therapist will start from scratch by forming their own evaluation and assessment without knowing what the original physician found through their diagnostic tests.

The general physical therapist often sees a wide variety of problems every day, such as patient with sore elbows, knees and shoulders. In most cases a therapist in this setting has a limited understanding of how to treat specific types of back problems. At best, the physical therapist has taken a couple of courses of how to perform therapy for a neck or back injury.

A general physical therapist may also rely too heavily on passive modalities such as ice, heat or ultrasound to treat neck and back pain. This may not be a good choice, as research has shown that using these passive treatments is NOT the best way to return someone to their previous level of function.

How our spine center differs
Instead of sending a patient across town, they will be able to come directly into our rehab department. And since this is in the same office as the physicians, communication between the two is not a problem. Patients will also be connected to a spine-specialized therapist who has advanced training in several spinal mobilization and stabilization techniques. Rather than starting from scratch, our therapists work off of information gleaned from the physician’s evaluation, picking up where they left off.

What does this mean for you?
Instead of receiving a standardized treatment approach, your therapist is specialized in the treatment of back and neck pain. Our therapists have advanced, hands-on skills that help relieve your pain and get your injured muscles, tissues and spinal structures moving again. Instead of a single school of thought, you get the benefit of being treated by a specialist with a variety of skills who can choose the ones that best match your particular problem.