Answers For Individuals
Who are physical therapists?
Physical therapists (PTs) are health care professionals that diagnose and provide care for people of varying ages — from newborns to the elderly. Many of these people have medical issues or other health-related conditions that may hinder their ability to move freely and perform basic tasks in their everyday routines.
PTs will look carefully at each individual patient and form a plan using proven treatment techniques that will encourage the ability to move freely, reduce pain, restore function, and prevent disability. PTs also work with individuals to prevent mobility loss before it happens by creating wellness and fitness-oriented programs for more active and healthy lifestyles.
Physical therapists provide care for people in a variety of settings, including hospitals, private practices, outpatient clinics, home health agencies, schools, sports and fitness facilities, work settings, and nursing homes. State licensure is required in each state in which a physical therapist practices.
All PTs must receive a graduate degree from an accredited physical therapist program before taking the national licensure examination that allows them to practice. Most current higher education programs now offer the doctor of physical therapy (DPT) degree.
Source: www.apta.org
How is Dynamic Physical Therapy different from other physical therapy providers?
Dynamic Physical Therapy is a private company owned by physical therapists — some of the very same physical therapists who help you recover from injury and disease every day. Dynamic Physical Therapy is the largest provider of outpatient physical therapy in Northwestern Michigan. We have six offices in Northwestern Michigan located in Manistee, Cadillac, Buckley, Traverse City, Marion, and Gaylord.
Many physical therapy providers offer more than just physical therapy work. They may be part of a larger hospital structure or provide other medical services, but at Dynamic Physical Therapy, we are physical therapy specialists and we stick to what we do best.
Our physical therapists are all licensed professionals who have invested appreciable time and energy in post-professional training. This means that you will be treated by the most experienced and dedicated professionals. Our physical therapists are hands-on all day, every day.
At Dynamic Physical Therapy, we work as a team. It takes a team to create the most effective treatment and deliver a truly exceptional patient care experience.
Our facilities are of high quality. We have space, equipment, and the atmosphere to meet your expectations and reach your goal of returning to a pain-free and productive lifestyle.
Although the cost of treatment is not often discussed, there can be tremendous differences in what different providers charge for physical therapy services. Dynamic Physical Therapy is a very cost-efficient provider, which allows us to keep our charges reasonable. We believe that in an age of ever-rising health care costs, all healthcare providers should contribute to the efficient management of costs.
In short, at Dynamic Physical Therapy, you will receive compassionate and effective care from expert clinicians at a reasonable cost. If you want to find out more about us, ask others in the community. We are confident you will find someone who we have treated. You can also contact us directly if you have questions.
Do I need a prescription from my doctor?
No. In 2015, legislation was passed to allow for direct access to physical therapy. Direct access is the ability of a physical therapist in private practice and hospital systems to provide evaluation and treatment to patients without the need for a physician referral for up to 21 days or 10 visits.
What should I wear for my first visit?
It depends on the body part that will be treated. In general, we prefer the treated area to be exposed so we can do a thorough examination. For shoulder problems, a tank top or bathing suit works great. A bathing suit is also appropriate for hip problems. For most spine problems, bikini tops are probably best. Of course, we have cloth gowns as well. Most patients do not like using these gowns and they tend to obscure the area we need to examine. After the first session, we generally do not need the area exposed all the time.
Answers For Employers
How can Dynamic Physical Therapy help me with injured workers?
The physical therapists (PTs) at Dynamic Physical Therapy are musculoskeletal professionals, also known as orthopedic specialists and orthopedic doctors. This means we are experts at examining and treating workers with job injuries. All our PTs regularly attend advanced training seminars to stay aware of upcoming developments.
Because we don’t have a waiting list, we can see an injured worker within a day or two from when we get the call. It is important to note that various medical studies have shown that early access to physical therapy reduces overall costs and gets injured workers back to work sooner and safer than when injured workers did not get to therapy immediately.
Part of our treatment plan is work-specific functional training. This means we investigate the essential job functions of the worker and match our exercise training for those functions. This way we can facilitate a speedy return to work.
Our goal is to return your injured worker back to work as soon and as safely as possible. We have been doing this with great success since 1995. Because physical therapy is all we do, we can focus on getting the best results for our patients and their employers.
Furthermore, it is important to realize that prices charged for outpatient physical therapy services vary wildly from provider to provider. Based on a benchmark study we participate in every year, we have found that we are consistently less expensive than our peers in the Midwest. Keeping our rates reasonable ensures affordability for our patients and their employers.
There are a host of services we can provide to help you manage work injuries at your company. Please contact us to find out more.