New Patients
What to Expect at Your First Physical Therapy Appointment
If you're reading this page, that probably means you've booked your first appointment with us! Congratulations on taking the first step toward improving your health.
When you walk through the doors of Manual Medicine Spine & Sports Physical Therapy, you can expect to be greeted by name with a smile by the owner or our awesome office staff! You've probably already spoken to one of us on the phone, but we’re excited to meet you face-to-face and offer you coffee, water, and chocolate!
Once you've gotten comfortable, you'll begin your first session with a consultation with one of our specialists. After a quick chat about your unique situation, the physical therapist will gather important data about your body through special hands-on tests and measurements. Don't worry – we'll explain exactly what we're doing the entire time, and you can and should ask questions!
When We've Got a Pretty Good Idea About Where You Stand, We'll Be Ready to Begin the Treatment!
If you're visiting us for a free Discovery session, we'll discuss the treatment plan, including your diagnosis (what exactly is wrong), your goals (what we want to achieve by the time you "graduate" from physical therapy), and the plan (how we're going to get to the goals!). You'll also know exactly how long it will take – we'll NEVER tell you that we're going to "just wait and see!"
If you're visiting us for a full treatment appointment, we'll get down to business and put our hands on you. Make sure you wear loose – fitting clothing or workout clothes so you can move comfortably!
Using rare and effective Manual Therapy techniques, coupled with Functional Mobilization, one of our physical therapists will work to return your body to its efficient state through mobilization of joints, fascia and other soft tissues, neuro-dynamics, and even visceral (organs) mobilization. Every situation is different, so it's impossible to say exactly which techniques we'll utilize at your appointment, but here are a few of the treatments we commonly employ:
- Maitland Mobilization / Manipulation
- The Mckenzie Method for Spine Disorders
- Muscle Energy Technique (MET)
- Myofascial Release (MFR)
- Neuromuscular Stabilization / Control
- Soft Tissue Mobilization (STM)
- Dry Needling
And Here Are Some Conditions We Commonly Treat:
- Auto Injury Rehabilitation
- Degenerative Disc Disease
- Headaches
- Herniated Disc
- Lateral Epicondylitis (Tennis elbow)
- Low Back Pain
- Musculoskeletal Pain
- Knee sprains – ACL and other ligaments
- Knee – meniscus injuries
- Neck Pain
- Plantar Fasciitis
- Post-Surgical Rehabilitation – back, neck, shoulder, knee, elbow, ankle, wrist
- Radiculopathy
- Rotator Cuff Injuries
- Shoulder tendinitis and impingement
- Shoulder labral injuries
- Sciatica
- Spinal Stenosis
- Spondylolisthesis
- Strains & Sprains of foot/ ankle, knee, hip, back, shoulder, wrist, neck
- Arthritis of Back, Hip, Knees, Shoulder, Neck, Foot/ankle, Wrist/Hands
At the End of Your First Physical Therapy Appointment...
At the end of the session, we'll evaluate the improvements in functionality gained from therapy by repeating the special testing process from the beginning of the appointment. Over 99% of patients experience IMMEDIATE change in their muscle function after just ONE to THREE sessions!
Finally, we'll finish by showing you how to retain the improvements you achieved! We'll give you between one and three specific exercise instructions you can perform at home.
We make it really easy – we can even take a video of you doing the exercises so that you remember exactly how to do them when you're on your own!
And that's all there is to it!
Oh – don't forget to take some chocolate for the road as you head out after your first session. You deserve a treat for taking the first steps toward healthier living and a pain–free lifestyle!!