Maximizing Success in PT: The Right Place at the Right Time

Today we are diving into the first principle of maximizing success in physical therapy. That principle I call being in “the right place, at the right time”.

When I taught my daughter to ride a bike, the first thing I did was teach her where the brakes are and how to use them. I think this principle holds true in physical therapy.

When you have your first appointment with your therapist they should be able to know if you are an appropriate client to even start PT. Not all clients we evaluate here at Alliance are in the right place at the right time. Every good PT should encounter patients and have the skill to identify those who need to go to someone else. Sometimes it’s a referral back to your PCP because your light headedness and dizziness is more likely associated with medication side effects, sometimes it’s a referral to a neurosurgeon because your back and leg pain is associated with a significant loss of strength in the foot and sometimes it’s a call to 9-1-1 because your headache is associated with numbness in the face and arm, along with unusually high blood pressure and some confusion.

I could talk about many other instances where my team and I have sent patients to see other people – we’ve sent you to the right place, at the right time.

All in all one of the first and most important things to do on your first visit in PT is establish if you are appropriate for physical therapy at all. Not following this principle can have bad outcomes that vary from wasting time and money to serious ones like delaying urgent medical care.
Thankfully, for the vast majority of clients being seen at Alliance Physical Therapy, this means that we are able to determine that you ARE in “the right place, at the right time” .

And now we can get down to the business of “getting you better, quicker”.

– Philip Chamberlain, PT, Owner