Important Things to Look For When Receiving PT
Every place says they offer “quality” services, but what exactly constitutes “quality”? Of course results are important, but you can’t really find out about results until you actually go to the clinic. So before you even go to a clinic, here are some basic things to look for that could help you discern what quality care at a PT clinic could entail:
Is it one-on-one? Many clinics will have you see the physical therapist for a part of the session and then pass you to an assistant or aide for the remaining part. Other places you will see the physical therapist for only the initial evaluation (first visit) and then you’ll see an assistant for the remaining follow-up sessions (2nd visit and on). At some places the physical therapist will be overseeing 2 or 3 patients at a time because patients comes in every 15 or 30 minutes. If you’ve had physical therapy before you’ve likely encountered one of these situations. But not many places will offer one-on-one with the PT for the entire session and for all sessions.
Is it hands-on? This doesn’t necessarily mean the PT has their hands on you the whole time. But you’ll see some places apply modalities on you for the majority of the session or just watch you do exercises as they focus on their paperwork or another patient. But if the therapist is more more hands-on they will usually use their hands for manual therapy like soft tissue or joint mobilization, as well as help guide and cue you through exercises for proper posture, positions, movements, etc. This seems obvious but is not the case at many clinics.
Is it a professional and private atmosphere? Many PT clinics will feel more like a gym, where there will be many practitioners, trainers, and clients/patients in the same space at the same time. And though this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, physical therapy is a part of the medical field and should feel like a professional setting and have a level of privacy for the patient.
Obviously there are other things to look for as well including experience level of the therapist and the therapists’ philosophy of treatment, but the basics are included here and should be considered by patients when seeking care.
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