Once we have your demographics and insurance information, an initial visit can be scheduled. This includes: a thorough medical history, (often rushed thru in modern healthcare); emphasizing the problem or injury, details of your symptoms & how they behave, other pertinent information including any medications, prior surgical history, lifestyle and goals for attending treatment.
Physical Examination: this includes the area of your complaints, the area above and below the symptoms and areas or structures known to refer pain to these sites.
Physical assessment is interrelated with treatment and based on the exam findings. The results must be constantly re-assessed to be sure we are headed in the right direction: a successful discharge from physical therapy. My manual treatment is based on gentle to moderate passive movement, graduating to active and eventually resisted movement to prepare for a return to normal activities of daily living, be they work, hobby or sport. An individualized self-care program will be issued, (usually on your smartphone) detailing specific use of heat, cold, positioning and exercise tailored to your unique condition and lifestyle.
The last sessions are devoted to making sure you are out of the symptomatic and dysfunctional stage; making sure the body part is moving fully and painlessly. A final Self-Care/ Home Exercise plan is modified as needed. Questions are fielded and I avail myself to you in the future as needed.
Mark L. Ansbrow, PT/ CLT