Jason Park, PT, DPT, CFSC
Today, we have an insightful guest post from Jason Park, Doctor of Physical Therapy from Elevate Performance Therapy based in Englewood, NJ. We work closely with Jason and frequently recommend him for our patients that prefer to have a personalized, one-on-one physical therapy experience.
When suffering from an injury or recovering after surgery, it is often difficult to choose the right physical therapist. Besides feeling like there is an endless number of options to choose from, you might have also had a bad previous experience, may be receiving mixed recommendations, and may even believe that all you need are stretches.
However, as a doctor of physical therapy, I will say that generic stretches and simple exercises are only the tip of the iceberg. Although those stretches can be a great way to start the journey and manage the symptoms, it frequently never addresses the root cause of the problem.
This is where a personalized approach to physical therapy care is beneficial. A personalized therapy session means you are getting a direct time of 45 to 60 minutes with a doctor of physical therapy. No sending you off with aides or techs, no more screaming across the room to help correct your form with exercises.
Here are the 5 ways why personalized physical therapy is beneficial:
1. Understand the Problems
With 45-60 minutes directly with a doctor of physical therapy, it gives time to really listen and understand the needs of the patient. This helps tremendously from a diagnosis standpoint and to get to the root cause of why that problem is occurring. When the root cause of the problem is identified, it helps to create a robust plan for patient care to provide solutions and get outcomes.
2. Open Communication
Throughout the rehab process, it is a scary feeling when you don’t know what to expect or symptoms change during the course of treatment. Commonly, I get asked questions such as, “Is it okay to feel this?” or “Am I doing this right?” We understand that you can have fluctuations in symptoms or be unsure if you are doing home exercises properly. In addition, we understand that life and social events can quickly change your symptoms. I believe in having direct communication with patients even outside of the treatment room, to make sure they are not on this journey alone.
3. Tracking Progress
With attention to detail during the sessions, it is much easier to track your progress with objective measures. Otherwise, how do we know if the treatments are actually working? This is especially important if you are very active or an athlete looking to get back to sport. We can’t just have you start throwing a ball again on a specific date or start running just simply because you are 8 weeks out from injury or surgery. We must clear you to progress to the next stages of rehab or perform tests to return you safely to your sport or activity.
4. Tailored Treatment
The focus of each visit is really to have a purpose for each exercise or treatment modality. Especially if you value time, you will understand that you don’t need to ride the bike for 10 minutes or lay on a moist hot pack to “warm up” the muscles. For example, if you are on the bike, it should be to work on improving your joint motion or properly challenging your cardiovascular conditioning. When working directly with a physical therapist throughout the session, we can also help to immediately correct the form of the exercise, facilitate better movement, and progress exercises appropriately without relying on aides who are not as qualified.
5. Prevent Future Injuries
Unfortunately, insurance companies are notorious for cutting people short from a physical therapy plan of care. To the insurance companies, they care about patients being “functional,” meaning being able to perform the daily routine. However, if you are more active in your life or enjoy fitness and sports, there is no way that is good enough. This leaves many people finishing up rehab at 80%, putting patients at risk for a repeat injury or other injuries down the line. I have seen this happen on many occasions and it should not be the standard. With a personalized approach to your care, we will help to educate you, lay down certain expectations, but ultimately focus on getting you to 100% or beyond so that you avoid repeat injuries or other injuries.
About the Author
Jason is a Doctor of Physical Therapy and the owner of Elevate Performance Therapy. He specializes in helping youth athletes and active adults 40+ live better lives without relying on medications, injections, or unnecessary surgeries.
At Elevate Performance Therapy, we strive to differentiate ourselves by creating an environment to serve our patients with personalized physical therapy. We value your time and provide treatments with intent on your goals and needs. If you are interested in learning how we can help, please visit https://www.elevate2perform.com/talk-to-a-pt.html, to schedule a phone call with a physical therapist. We look forward to finding more about how we can help you return to the activities you love.
Dr. Michael Fu is an orthopedic surgeon and shoulder specialist at the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS), the No. 1 hospital for orthopedics as ranked by U.S. News & World Report. Dr. Fu treats the entire spectrum of shoulder conditions, including rotator cuff tears, shoulder instability, and shoulder arthritis. Dr. Fu was educated at Columbia University and Yale School of Medicine, followed by orthopedic surgery residency at HSS and sports medicine & shoulder surgery fellowship at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. He has been a team physician for the Chicago Bulls, Chicago White Sox, DePaul University, and NYC’s PSAL.
Disclaimer: All materials presented on this website are the opinions of Dr. Michael Fu and any guest writers, and should not be construed as medical advice. Each patient’s specific condition is different, and a comprehensive medical assessment requires a full medical history, physical exam, and review of diagnostic imaging. If you would like to seek the opinion of Dr. Michael Fu for your specific case, we recommend contacting our office to make an appointment.