Top 3 Things to Ask When Looking for a Physical Therapist

Looking for a physical therapist?

Here are the Top 3 things to ask when looking for a physical therapist.  I sometimes have distant friends and family looking for a physical therapist.  These are the top three things I look for before recommending a physical therapy clinic for them to try out.

1.  How long are the visits?

2.  How much one on one time do I spend with the physical therapist?

Many times a clinic may have a therapist treating multiple people at a time (sounds crazy right?).  Your session may be an hour but only 10-15 minutes of that time is actually spent with the physical therapist. The rest of the time is spent with an aide, tech or assistant.

3. What does my therapist specialize in?

You’ll want to make sure that your physical therapist specializes in your specific issue.  A good starting place for this is to look at the type of certifications a therapist has.  This isn’t necessarily an indicator of excellence but can be a good place to start.  A small caution about this, not all certifications are created equal, some can be done in a very short period of time with little to no testing at all.  I would recommend finding out about the certification and doing some research to find out what it takes to achieve this.

4.  Ok, I realize I’m sneaking this one in, but I wanted to make sure to add that you should also enjoy working with your physical therapist.  This one can be tough to figure out before your first visit, but you should be able to tell pretty quickly after your initial visit.  They should make you feel welcome and be able to answer any of your questions.

If you have any questions, or need help finding a physical therapist in your area feel free to shoot me an email at jeremy@advancedpts.com or give me a call at 720-357-4079.