Why Physical Therapy Is Your Ticket To A Pain-Free Life

You’ve heard of Physical Therapy. But how can it really help you? 

You have an ache. A pain. You slept/got out of bed wrong. Sat too long at your desk. You might have fallen, tripped, slipped, twisted your ankle, hit your back, landed on your arm wrong.

Or maybe you were working out and felt something “tweak” while lifting.

We’ve all been there!

There are an immeasurable number of things that can happen during our daily activities and routines that lead us to mild discomfort, or in some cases, extreme levels of pain.

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When that happens, a common reaction that has been programmed for many is to call their primary care physician or provider.

The belief is to make an appointment to have someone look, tell us if something is wrong, and then send us on our way with an x-ray, MRI, prescription of some sort, to “rest” or “stay off it”, and hope the pain will subside at some point.

What If You Started Your Journey With Physical Therapy?

What if you started with an expert trained in the way our bodies move and how our muscles and joints work together? A Doctor of Physical Therapy might not be your initial thought.

But, imagine if someone truly took the time to understand you and what happened (instead of sending you on your way without clear next steps or solutions to your injury), and you were provided both short and long-term remedies to manage the current problem(s) and minimize the risk of future injuries.

A physical therapist is an expert in movement, meant to help you move better – without fear of further pain or injury. We treat the root cause of pain rather than masking it with opioids.

Unfortunately, too often PT is thought of as post injury/surgical rehabilitation. It’s not always the obvious first step in someone’s journey dealing with aches and pains. Let’s discuss a few reasons why we might want to change our way of thinking when it comes to pain/injury management!

• Unnecessary Costs! Often, we hear our patients have previously been referred for unnecessary x-rays, MRIs, prescribed medication or medical equipment that may cost them extra money. We often don’t need all that to know what is causing your pain and how to get you better. 
• Saving Time! This goes hand-in-hand with saving money. Our goal is to help you save on time by not attending unnecessary primary care or specialist visits. 
• Delayed Care! Aside from saving personal time and money, it delays the appropriate care needed, which can then turn a small simple issue into a much bigger one costing you significantly more later. As a general rule of thumb, the quicker you get into see one of our Doctors of Physical Therapy, the faster you get results and back to the things you love to do in life. You can sometimes wait days or even months to see a specialist only to have them recommend physical therapy in the end. Imagine if you had started with physical therapy first, you would’ve been a month into your treatment plan. If only a month was needed to feel better – think of how much time and money you’d saved! 

What Is It like To Work With A Doctor Of Physical Therapy At PRO Therapy? 

Well, we start by letting you choose the first step in your path. We give you the option of talking to us first – in person or on the phone. We answer any questions you might have about who we are and what makes us different from the next, what PT is, why it can help you – you know, all the basic questions you want answered before making a commitment.

We aim to ensure you know what you are committing to before committing to it! That way we are all on same page before we even start your journey to ensure you have THE best chance possible at doing all the things you want to do and love when working with us. Better yet, if you already have all your questions answered and you’re ready to get started – perfect! You’re not required to have a chat first, it’s an option for those who need it.  We like choices. Options for each individual based on their specific case. Because no two patients or two injuries are the same, and we recognize that!

Once you’re ready, we are too! We get you scheduled for an initial evaluation at which point we’ll complete a comprehensive assessment and develop a game plan.

At this 60-minute visit, we’ll assess your injury, we also discuss your goals and what you really want to get out of your experience with us. We hear your story, what happened, what it inhibits you from doing, all the ways it’s impacting your every-day life.

We then discuss what next steps are needed to get you there – we call this your plan of care. After your initial evaluation with us is completed, you get your plan of care scheduled, and you’re ready to go! Ready to begin a journey with us that is fun, informative, and most importantly, successful!

Is This Overly Simplified For The Purpose Of This Blog?

Maybe. But, our goal is to show you how simple the process can be.

How easy it can be to find out exactly what is going on without having to see two to three different providers before you come up with something that might work for you.

Here at PRO Therapy, you work with a Doctor of Physical Therapy (PT), and a tailored plan for you and your goals – there is no cookie cutter solve! Ever.

This was a big reason Dr. Kevin Spahr and Liz Spahr started PRO Therapy. We wanted to ensure every single person we work with gets the best value of care and best chance of living an injury-free life based on the needs for each individual person that comes into our private practice.

This is also why there is a full suite of treatments (for all conditions) our PTs can choose from during your plan of care.

Each one is strategically used when needed to meet the goals you aligned to in the beginning of your treatment plan. Curious about the treatments? Here’s a list of options your plan of care could include:

• Spinal/Extremity Joint Manipulation
• Joint Mobilization
• Dry Needling
• Muscle Energy Techniques
• Active Release Technique
• Trigger Point Therapy
• Soft Tissue Mobilization
• Myofascial Release
• Kinesiotaping
• Graston Technique
• Therapeutic Exercise
• Therapeutic Activities
• Neuromuscular Re-Education
• Gait Training
• Postural Evaluation
• Custom Orthotics
• Work Hardening/Conditioning Programs
• Sport-Specific Programs
• Cupping Therapy
• Laser Therapy
• Electrical Stimulation
• Mechanical Traction
• Ultrasound

We strive to provide evidence-based treatments that include both manual therapy and exercise to help expedite recovery!

Have questions?  Contact us today!  We’d love to hear more about you and what’s going on!  

Why You Shouldn’t Just Wait For Things To Get Better

When pain strikes the body, we know it’s very tempting to leave it and hope it’ll simply “go away on its own” with time and rest.

One day, you’ll wake up and like “magic”, it’ll be as if the problem never happened in the first place – but that’s usually not the case, and often the pain/stiffness/tightness ends up worse than it was when it first started.

We also understand it’s very easy to reach into the back of the cupboard for the painkillers, and take them whenever pain strikes. But, the truth of the matter is that all of those painkillers (over-the-counter or prescribed) are detrimental to your health long-term, and quite simply do nothing but “mask” the pain instead of tackling the root cause.

Maybe you’re left feeling Confused?
Skeptical?
Fearful?
Anxious?
Depressed?

You’ve sought advice from other healthcare professionals, maybe even a Physical Therapist in the past, but nothing they seemed to say or do helped solve your problem.

That’s where we can help.