Yes, you will have either outpatient or in-home physical therapy. Patients are encouraged to utilize outpatient physical therapy. The Total Joint Care Coordinator will help you arrange for an outpatient physical therapy appointment. If you need home physical therapy, we will arrange for a physical therapist to provide therapy at your home. Following this, you may go to an outpatient facility three times a week to assist in your rehabilitation.

Musculoskeletal injuries typically respond very well to physical therapy, and the therapy usually accelerates recovery and the restoration of function. Athletics require a high-level function. Therapy to reduce pain, restore motion and strength, and recondition the body facilitates a timely and safe return to participation.

Yes, both are essential for recovery. The number of physical therapy sessions varies for each patient, but exercise must be a lifetime commitment. Your surgeon and physical therapist will design an exercise program for you.

You may continue or discontinue physical after your 1 month postoperative appointment based on your comfort. TKR patients not getting a minimum flexion of 110 or extension of -5 will need to continue physical therapy.

Technically no. Both the therapists at Sandy Physical Therapy have received advanced training and certification that allows them to see patients without a referral from a physician. However, most insurance companies will not pay for physical therapy unless ordered by a doctor. Contact your insurance company to see if they require a doctor's referral. <back to top>

One of the main priorities after ACL reconstruction is to regain the knee range of motion. This along with establishing a good strengthening program is usually best done two to three times per week for the first four to six weeks. Because many insurance policies will not cover this many visits to the therapist, an independent home program may need to be instructed earlier. Compliance in performing the exercises in and out of the clinic is the key.

Most patients are treated two to three times per week. The total duration of physical therapy will depend on the severity of your injury. The more committed you are in your recovery (meaning, you regularly attend your physical therapy sessions and do your home exercise program), the more likely you are to recover faster. We try to set up permanent appointment times in order to enable you to fit physical therapy into your busy schedule. Back to Top

If you have a recurrent problem after your discharge from physical therapy, you may need to return for additional care. As a general rule, if it has been more than 30 days since you were last seen at our office, you will require an initial evaluation. This is to ensure that we have the latest findings and have determined the best treatment approach for your condition. You can either see your doctor to obtain a new prescription for physical therapy or call and ask him/her to fax it to our office.

This is actually more of an insurance question. If your carrier will approve an in-home therapy program, we will be happy to give you a prescription for in-home therapy. Otherwise, you will need to visit a physical therapy office for your treatments. The home care department can help you evaluate your insurance coverage for therapy before you leave the hospital.

In most cases, in order to receive insurance coverage for physical therapy, a prescription is required. A prescription is different from a referral. A "prescription" is a physician order for physical therapy, and it includes: the patient's name, a diagnosis, a treatment plan (or the words "evaluate and treat"), the physician's signature, and the date. Prescriptions may come from any licensed medical physician (M.D. or D.O.

Answer: Yes, you do need a United States physical therapy license. You need to send a photocopy of your license and current registration.

Your procedure may require you to participate in a formal physical therapy program. We understand that there are some occasions where a busy schedule may not permit you to see a therapist on a regular basis. If it were felt that therapy would benefit you, then you would be set up with the appropriate therapy on you first post-operative visit.

Yes, this is very important. Your chance of achieving normal knee function after the surgery is greatly increased by the proper rehab. In fact, it takes a great commitment from the patient to get to the therapist and do the exercises with the appropriate diligence. It is also important to do only the correct exercises, as doing the wrong exercises can be more damaging than doing none at all. Unless otherwise instructed, you should start supervised physical therapy 1-2 days after your surgery.

Some PPO's require a prescription from a doctor for physical therapy. We will be glad to check with your insurance plan to see if a prescription is needed for billing. Medicare and Worker's Compensation patients must have a prescription from their doctor. Cash visits do not require a prescription. All private insurances cover physical therapy. However, each insurance company sets their own benefits and limitations.

This will vary for each patient. Some patients will need only education on a current condition, then maybe 1 or 2 follow-up treatments as "check-ups". Others with more chronic conditions or those coming out of surgery may require more consistent care for several weeks or longer.