Physical Therapy

Physical therapy includes treatments that help you recover your optimal state of mobility and full range of motion. In many cases, if you have an acute injury or chronic medical condition, your doctor refers you to a physical therapist. Common candidates for physical therapy include:

• Adults or children with chronic pain
• People adapting to using medical equipment, such as a prosthetic
• Stroke victims recovering the use of a limb
• Athletes healing from repetitive injuries

Physical therapy usually doesn’t require medicine or surgery and consists of treatments like prescribed exercise routines, massages, rehabilitation services, or coaching.

Your first physical therapy appointment consists of meeting your specialist at Axness Integrative Medicine and going through an assessment. This assessment helps determine the plan of action for your treatment. First, our physical therapist takes your medical history, noting any distressing symptoms, chronic conditions, and past injury.

Second, our physical therapist performs a physical examination. The physical exam includes testing your range of motion and observing how you perform normal activities such as walking, sitting, and lying down.

Third, our physical therapist starts to develop a customized treatment plan for you. They may ask questions about your daily life, including when you feel the most pain and how often you exercise. These questions help our physical therapist determine how to best prescribe treatment to allow you to resume activities in your life that are difficult because of your medical condition or injury.

Finally, our physical therapist explains the type and length of treatment you require. Often, the team at Axness Integrative Medicine will customize a visit plan for each patient to ensure maximum education and mobility support.

Our physical therapist may prescribe certain medical equipment to assist with your treatment. This equipment serves a number of purposes, including stabilizing a limb during exercise, reducing tension in joints during daily activities, and loosening tight muscles. Common equipment includes:

• Supportive brace
• Tapes or bandages
• Firm pillow
• Exercise equipment like a jump rope or resistance band
• Foam rollers or massagers
• Standing desks or treadmills

Talk to our physical therapist about insurance coverage for certain equipment. More expensive equipment, like standing desks or treadmills, might be covered by your work insurance.