Dispelling myths of physical therapy with Fast Track
When it comes to physical therapy, it seems there can be a lot of misconceptions.
October is National Physical Therapy Month and here to bring awareness to the profession and explain how much has changed in the last 10 years is Brian Horner, PT CODN, Owner, Fast Track Physical Therapy.
• Some of those Common Misconceptions are:
- You must be referred by your doctor. You actually don’t need a referral to see one of our PT’s at Fast Track and if your Doctor does refer you for PT you can choose where you go for your therapy. Approximately 60% of the patients that we see at Fast Track are referred, but we have a lot of patients that come to see us as their first option. The great thing about not needing a referral is you can start your rehab therapy quicker without having to schedule with sometimes multiple Dr. before you ever get to us and you avoided all the time and medical costs of having to see these other medical professions before you get to us. And in most cases your insurance doesn’t require this either.
- You must see the Doctor first so they can tell the PT what the problem is or so I can get my X-ray / MRI. Well most physical therapist have their doctorate degree and we are Musculoskeletal Specialist. We are trained to evaluate, diagnosis and treat to get you better. At Fast Track PT we spend an hour evaluating our patients on their 1st visit, so we have time to diagnosis the problem, answer questions, educate the patient, and if time begin treatment. We can’t order XR or MRI, but XR will give us limited information mostly regarding fractures, arthritis, and degenerative changes. And with an MRI most insurance companies in the past few years require the patient to have PT before they will approve an MRI for a musculoskeletal problem.
- All Physical Therapists do is make me do exercises. This can be true depending on where you go for your physical therapy. At Fast Track exercise is a part of your therapy, but we have found the exercise alone usually doesn’t get a patient better. All of our PT’s utilize various manual or hands-on techniques to get a patient better. Our therapist are experts in Dry Needling, but we also use tools to assist with soft tissue work, we provide cupping when needed and we use various equipment to help with healing and blood flow to tissue, and mechanical traction when it is indicated. At Fast Track we always see our patients for at least an hour and it is about getting you better not how quickly we can get you in and out the door.
- Physical Therapist are the same and they only see patients for injuries, accidents or rehab after surgery. We see patients for all of these issues, but we also treat the chronic conditions that have been going on for months and years. At Fast Track we are frequently treating patients that have tried PT before and didn’t get better. We have multiple patients every week that come to us from over an hour away seeking answers to their problems. We have therapist that specialize in different conditions like: Vertigo/dizziness or balance disorders, TMJ/Jaw or fascial pain, we see a lot of patients for Migraines and chronic headaches, I have done affordable custom foot orthotics years, our therapist are very good at treating spine conditions, and of course we treat all the work and sports related injuries to get you rehabbed and back to work or to your sport quickly.
- PT is expensive. This can be true, but where you go for your therapy can make a big difference in the cost as well as the quality of your care. Hospitals as well many of the national chain clinics are at a size that they can demand higher payments from insurance companies. What that means to the patient is if you have a deductible that has not been met then your cost for PT at a hospital will be 2 to 3 times as much for a 30 to 40 minute treatment session as it would with Fast Track for an hour. In most cases insurance companies pay the same to a private practice like Fast Track as they did when I started my career as a PT 26 years ago. Research has shown that when a patients starts with PT first instead of Doctors, MRI, injections, drugs and surgery then there is an average cost savings of 60%. No body wants surgery, we know that pain meds aren’t the best option, and MRI don’t get you better, so why not try PT 1st.
To learn more, visit:
Home – Fast Track Physical Therapy – conveniently located for West Indianapolis, Avon. Call us today at (317) 209-1900.
www.fast-tracktherapy.com
Facebook: @FastTrackTherapy
Instagram: Fast_TrackPT
SEGMENT IS SPONSORED BY FAST TRACK PHYSICAL THERAPY