You do not need an MRI before initiating physical therapy. In fact, several studies highlight the negatives to having an MRI early when treating back and neck pain. Current literature indicates MRI's have become so good they can find things "wrong" on just about anyone. Even more surprising, when they do studies on "normal people" (people with no history of pain or injury) they also find things "wrong". Issues like herniated discs and torn rotator cuffs for example.
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Prices will vary depending on the length of your sessions. We accept all private insurances and are preferred providers for most of them, so that defrays much of the expense. It is hard to give you a cost estimate because some co-payments are flat fees (ie. $20 per visit), and some are based on a percentage of the overall cost. As a courtesy to you, we will verify your insurance coverage at the first visit so you will know what your upfront costs will be. For cash paying patients (who are paying at the time of the visit) we can offer a significant discount. If you have financial concerns let us know and we will discuss the options we may be able to present you.

We generally treat our patients 2 times per week. In order for this to work you must be dedicated to your home program. As you progress we anticipate reduced treatment frequency, going down to 1 time per week, every other week, or even once per month. This all will vary depending on your needs and response. We are flexible and understand people have cost and time constraints. We are working with you as a team, so together, we can determine the treatment frequency that will give you the best results with the least amount of expense and time demands.

Usually 30 mins. Though they can run to 45 mins and if you are seeing the therapist for direct manual therapy such as MFR (Myofascial release) those sessions are usually 60 mins.

This is very variable from patient to patient. If you have an acute back injury and it's the first time it's ever happened to you the odds are you will require fewer sessions than someone with chronic back pain. We have seen patients for as little as one or two visits. This is common when a patient just needs education and a home exercise program. Most patients should expect 4-6 visits of therapy. This can be quite different for patients with total joint replacement surgeries, strokes, or other issues that are slower to respond like chronic pain issues or multiple sites of pain. .

As a general rule we try to get you to be as independent as possible as quick as possible. This reduces your costs and the time demands, but it also necessitates you as a patient being complaint with the home exercise programs we prescribe. Your speed of recovery will in large part be determined by your commitment to the exercises and changes we prescribe.

Wear something comfortable that you can move freely in. If it's a knee or arm that we will be treating, than having clothing that will allow you to easily expose the area is helpful. Generally there will be physical activity required. The amount tends to increase over time. So dress in light weight clothes where you will not get hot. If something specific needs to be worn we will discuss that with you at the time.

Our goal is to reduce your pain, not increase it. That said, at times, especially after a surgery, some things that need to be done can be uncomfortable. At times a tissue may have healed short, and the specific motions required for your body to heal can be uncomfortable. That being said, we are pretty clear about the fact that even if it hurts, you should still be no worse overall than when we started. If you find your pain increases, and remains increased as a result of therapy than we need to discuss that and re-evaluate what we are doing. So, there may be some pain at times, but the overall picture should be that you are pain lass often, pain that is less intense, and that you doing more than before you started PT.

The McKenzie Method is a dynamic and highly effective assessment and treatment approach. It is a system used to properly identify the cause of a patients pain, and then formulate the proper treatment. It is often misused and misunderstood. Many clinicians only take a course or two in the discipline and then profess to "use the McKenzie exercises". This is misleading, and generally leads to subpar outcomes. Louis, our main PT, has attained Diploma level certification in the McKenzie approach allowing us to be the first and only clinician owned certified McKenzie clinic in the state. You can read more in depth about the McKenzie method HERE.

MFR is a very specific manual therapy. it takes years of training and experience to perform effectively. The goals (in simple terms) is to help the body realign itself by manipulating and facilitating the fascia (a form of connective tissue) to release and remodel. Unfortunately, there some massage clinics and Rolfing clinics that say they are using MFR but in fact they are using a different form of massage and soft tissue release. Our clinicians are all licensed by the state with the levels of education and training meeting stringent standards. Unfortunately, there are "providers" with just some weekend classes that are treating patients. Their results are often mixed, watering down the perception of this technique. We have found, that while not for everyone, a patient properly matched with this treatment can make huge improvements regarding their pain.

Our MedX equipment is rehabilitation-specific exercise equipment designed by Arthur Jones creator of the Nautilus equipment. This rehabilitation-specific equipment prevents a patient from cheating and compensating. It was developed with that purpose in mind and uses various positioning devices so the target muscles (usually those of the low back or neck) are forced to work. Without good stability, the often stronger surrounding muscles end up doing the work. This makes the exercise you are doing less effective and leaves the target muscles weak. The MedX equipment ensures you strengthen the muscles you need to in order to eliminate your back or neck pain. Learn more HERE.

We offer Myofascial release and massage. We only use this once the source of pain has been identified and the cause has been addressed through exercises or manual therapy. It can be a great adjunct therapy to help you do you exercises with less pain and discomfort.

One concern we do have is when these types of manual interventions are done for symptom management without a good physical exam being done by a PT first. We have seen where massage reduced muscle spasm and tightness and this actually was a bad thing. The reason for this is the intervention was applied to the symptoms without a true understanding of the cause. Once the bodies protection (the muscle spasm) was removed further injury occurred. This often does not happen, but you should be aware there is a risk of it. We mitigate that by always having you see the PT first for a good clinical diagnosis.