“So, what can I expect from a physical therapist?” I get this question a lot these days, sometimes it’s from a new patient who’s just starting a rehab program, other times it’s a coach looking for more ways to take care of her athletes’ wellness, and sometimes it’s from doctors wanting to know what goes on in our clinic. It’s a complicated but necessary question to answer… after all you should know just who that person is fixing that aching back of yours, right?

Physical therapist 101

First, you need to know what a physical therapist is and what it takes to become one. Physical therapists have undergraduate degrees in exercise physiology or pre-physical therapy. After we’ve graduated from a four-year college, then comes the fun of “PT school.” This physical therapy clinical doctorate degree program is the real deal: three straight years of intensive and clinical education specifically in the field of physical therapy. It’s where you gain the clinical relevance and assertion to examine what’s ailing patients and figure out the best way to treat it—without medication and without surgery. But physical therapy isn’t all athletes and ankle sprains, physical therapists also learn about Burn Unit-wound care, Assisted Living Facility balance training, Trauma ER fracture positioning, and ICU post-stroke care… just to name a few.

Once we’ve graduated from our 7+ years of schooling, we have to take national and state licensing exams. Always make sure your physical therapist has these licenses to ensure that s/he really knows what s/he is doing before s/he looks at your painfully stiff shoulder and tries to tell you exactly what’s wrong.

#FastPassPT

So now you know about it takes for your physical therapist to be able to work in the clinic, but what does it take to get you in here? Well, that’s the easiest part! In 2014, California enacted a law that allows full Direct Access to Physical Therapy, an idea we in the office lovingly call #FastPassPT. Basically, in the past you needed a doctor’s prescription before you could even come into a physical therapy clinic for treatment. However, thanks to the passing of this bill, you can now come directly into Rausch Physical Therapy at any time for any aches, pains, sprains, etc. Well, at least any time we’re open… and you better call first so the front desk staff doesn’t yell at me! That’s why we call it #FastPassPT! It’s just as quick and convenient as those passes that allow you to jump to the front of the line at Disneyland. Of course, there are some injuries that do require a doctor’s exam and treatment (and sometimes even surgery,) which is why we work closely with the absolute best physicians in our area. You can ask us at any time for our short-yet-detailed list of doctors who are specialists in their fields.

Clinic culture

What can you expect when you walk in the doors? Will you get better, or will you just get an awkward massage and a few complicated exercises that are impossible to replicate at home? Well, we work hard here at Rausch PT to make sure it’s the former.

Rausch physical therapist working with a patient.Your experience will go a little something like this: First, we’ll start with a detailed exam of whatever’s ailing you. We look at the injury, the surrounding tissue, and even the faulty biomechanics that caused the injury in the first place. Then, once we’ve identified the specific problematic tissue, we’ll begin treatment. Treatment at Rausch PT looks like a specific and deep tissue rejuvenation treatment to get rid of your restrictions and scar tissue. Then we mobilize your stiff joints and tissues, and follow that up with a personal therapeutic exercise program. This program is built just for you, your specific injury, and your specific goals. It’s not just the blanket “shoulder program” everyone gets—it’s your shoulder program, which includes a personal login for our unique home exercise site, www.homeprograms.net. Finally, we typically end sessions with healing modalities such as ice, stim, laser and taping to help take the pressure off.

Your follow up visits will be directly scheduled with your physical therapist. We don’t dig the traditional “bouncing around” PT thing. In fact, we know that it’s been proven that you get the best and most specific treatment when you see the same physical therapist every visit. All of our physical therapists have unique clinical specialties to ensure we can help you get back to doing what you love. Each treatment week will be filled with progressive tissue work and exercises to push you and get you back in the game as soon as possible.

So, that’s a little glimpse into what we call Rausch PT. But don’t just take my word for it, read some of our Yelp reviews, or better yet, come in and try it for yourself and feel the difference in your overall health and wellness.

Share your best physical therapist experience with us on Yelp, Facebook or Twitter #FastPassPT #GetPT #RauschPT

All the best to your health,