Physical therapy, explained
Straight answers to the questions patients ask us, written by our team in Phoenix.
Showing 10 articles
What Medicare home health covers, and what it does not
Home health and outpatient therapy delivered at home are different benefits with different rules. What each covers, what neither covers, and which one you are probably asking about.
· Read →Speech therapy after a stroke: aphasia, dysarthria and swallowing
Three different problems get grouped under one word, and they recover differently. What the evidence says about therapy intensity, and what families most often get wrong about aphasia.
· Read →Occupational therapy or physical therapy: which one do you need?
Physical therapy restores movement. Occupational therapy restores the daily activities movement is for. How to tell which you need, when it is both, and what OT does that surprises people.
· Read →Returning to sport after injury: why time alone is the wrong test
Pain-free is not the same as ready. What the ACL research says about the nine-month mark, what return-to-sport testing measures, and why the last phase of rehab is the one people skip.
· Read →What manual therapy actually does, and what it does not
Hands-on treatment of joints and soft tissue. What it is for, why it is paired with exercise rather than used alone, and how to tell a good plan from a passive one.
· Read →Dizziness, vertigo or a balance problem: which one do you have?
Three different problems with three different treatments. How to tell them apart, what the evidence says about repositioning for BPPV, and when to seek medical care instead.
· Read →Prehab before joint replacement: what the evidence actually supports
Prehabilitation reliably improves pain and function around knee replacement. Its effect on hospital length of stay is much weaker than commonly claimed. What to expect, and when to start.
· Read →Do you need a referral for physical therapy in Arizona?
Arizona has allowed direct access since 2003, so no physician referral is needed for an evaluation. Your insurance plan is a separate question. How to tell which applies to you before you book.
· Read →What actually happens on an in-home physical therapy visit
A therapist comes to you with what the session needs. What the first visit involves, what you need to prepare, who in-home physical therapy suits, and how it differs from Medicare home health.
· Read →Why 1 in 4 older adults falls each year, and what actually prevents it
Falls are the leading cause of injury for adults over 65. What the evidence says prevents them, what a fall risk assessment measures, and why grab bars are the smaller half of the answer.
· Read →Have a question we have not answered?
Call and ask. There is no charge for a question.
Call (602) 439-3800 Read the FAQ