Your First Visit
How to prepare for your first visit:
- Wear comfortable clothes and shoes. Feel free to use our changing room if needed.
- Bring your insurance card and a picture ID.
- Bring completed intake forms or arrive 15 minutes early in order to complete them.
- Bring a prescription if your insurance requires it – Medicare and a few (not most) commercial insurances require a prescription from a doctor. If you are not sure whether yours does, please call us and we can help determine.
What to expect from your first visit:
The therapist will discuss the following:
- Your medical history.
- Your current problems/complaints.
- Pain intensity, what aggravates and eases the problem.
- How this is impacting your daily activities or your functional limitations.
- Your goals with physical therapy.
- Medications, tests, and procedures related to your health.
The therapist will then perform the objective evaluation which may include some of the following:
- Palpation – touching around the area of the pain/problem. This is done to check for the presence of tenderness, swelling, soft tissue integrity, tissue temperature, inflammation, etc.
- Range of Motion (ROM) – the therapist will move the joint(s) to check for the quality of movement and any restrictions.
- Muscle Testing – the therapist may check for strength and the quality of the muscle contraction. Pain and weakness may be noted. Often the muscle strength is graded. This is also part of a neurological screening.
- Neurological Screening – the therapist may check to see how the nerves are communicating with the muscles, sensing touch, pain, vibration, or temperature. Reflexes may be assessed as well.
- Special Tests – the therapist may perform special tests to confirm/rule out the presence of additional problems.
- Posture Assessment – the positions of joints relative to ideal and each other may be assessed.
You will also receive your first treatment during this session. You will leave with a written game plan for your recovery and a few home exercises to get you feeling better as quickly as possible.
For more information, please visit our FAQ page.