Upon entering the office you will be greeted by our friendly front desk staff in, most likely, your native language, as our staff speaks English, Cape Verdean Creole, French, Spanish, and Punjabi.
The front desk staff will then bring you into a private, comfortable treatment room where the physical therapist will speak with you one-on-one to listen to and address your individual needs and concerns. The physical therapist will review your in-take forms with you and discuss your current symptoms and conditions. He will ask you more specific questions about your pain, such as when and how the symptoms began, and a description of the location and intensity of the symptoms and how the symptoms limit your daily activities.
The physical therapist will then perform an exam, measuring and reviewing such things as your blood pressure, respiration, reflexes, ranges of motion, posture, balance, coordination, and muscle strength. He may ask you to walk, lie down, sit in a chair, bend over or lift something, to allow him to assess how you use your injured area.
Next, the physical therapist will review any relevant medical records from other health care practitioners that you have/are treating with. These medical records will allow the physical therapist to more accurately design a personalized treatment plan for you. If x-rays have been ordered by one of your physicians, we perform x-rays at our office for your convenience, if needed. The physical therapist may refer you back to your Primary Care Physician for referral to further diagnostic testing or co-treatment with other health care specialists, if needed.
Finally, keeping your goals in mind, the physical therapist will begin to develop a plan for your treatment. He will advise you as to which exercises he recommends you do at home, ways to better your posture, and anticipated length of physical therapy care. At each appointment, the physical therapist will measure your response to the treatment and adjust the treatments accordingly, with the final goal being a release from physical therapy care. Physical therapy care helps the body to heal itself throughout the entire course of treatment, so completing the full physical therapy treatment plan is vital for not only immediate pain relief but to also achieve full rehabilitation so as to prevent future injury.
The physical therapist’s goals with all treatment are to reduce pain, and to maintain, restore or improve your mobility.