Parkinson’s: Exercise as Medicine

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder. PD affects predominantly dopamine producing neurons in the brain. Movement-related symptoms can develop slowly over years and may include tremor at rest, slowness of movement, limb rigidity, gait and balance problems. Non-movement symptoms can include sleep behavior disorders, loss of sense of smell, cognitive impairment, depression, constipation, and may have a lack of interest. Approximately 60,000 Americans are diagnosed with PD yearly (1).  

Benefits of Exercise (ref: Clanci & Wood)

• Helps the brain use remaining dopamine more efficiently and helps to protect it from damage

• The number of dopamine receptors increases

• Increased release of neurotrophic factors

• Improved motor control and sensory perception

PD creates a mismatch between how a person thinks and how they move. An option to help improve this mismatch is through specific movements and exercise.  One excellent alternative for exercise as a treatment is LSVT BIG.  LSVT BIG is a research-backed, one-month long exercise program. The program includes repetitive, and progressively challenging exercises, and daily homework. This helps to address the mismatch by improving the amplitude of movement, improving sensory calibration, and increasing effort to override slowness and size of movement. This allows for improved walking, balance, and ability to complete other daily activities. Exercises performed during LSVT BIG are large amplitude/BIG movements, individualized to each person and their specific goals. Thinking & being “BIG” is a lifestyle change to improve quality of movement with daily activities. The goal of LSVT BIG is to encourage a more active and independent lifestyle (2).

To learn more about the LSVT BIG program, contact us at info@keprospt.com.

Incontinence in Women

Do you accidentally pee when you cough or sneeze? Or when your best friend makes a joke out of nowhere that has you rolling with belly laughter? What about when you run, jump, or workout? Do you dread when the workout includes box jumps or jumping jacks or find yourself making a literal run for the bathroom in the middle of the workout? What about when you really, REALLY, have to go? 

Contrary to some beliefs, leaking urine is not something you just have to live with just because you’ve had babies, you’ve gone through menopause, or you lift really heavy things on the daily. Let’s explore the Who, the What, the When, the Where, the Why, and the How with all things incontinence. 

The Who:

Incontinence affects men and women alike, but today’s post is focusing on women (sorry, men!). It can affect women throughout the lifespan, including during childhood and high school, pregnancy, postpartum, and during or after menopause. Incontinence affects couch potatoes to elite athletes and everywhere in between. Depending on age and other risk factors, there is a fairly decent chance that your female friend sitting next to you experiences incontinence or has at some point in her life. Here are some numbers: 

• 25% of young women and 44-57% of middle aged and postmenopausal women experience incontinence (1)

• 49% of women who exercise at the gym or attend gym classes, with at least one risk factor for stress urinary incontinence (we will discuss stress urinary incontinence later), experience stress urinary incontinence (2)

The What:

Now let’s get into what it is. Incontinence refers to any unwanted or accidental leaking of urine, feces, or gas. Urinary incontinence is specific to accidental leaking of urine, which could be just a few drops or you may feel like your whole bladder empties accidentally. Here are a few of the most common types of incontinence: 

• Stress – involuntary loss of urine with physical exertion – cough, sneeze, laugh, exercise

• Urge – involuntary loss of urine associated with urgency 

• Mixed – combination of urge and stress incontinence

The When:

When does it happen? Well, it can happen with quick increases in intra-abdominal pressure – like with a cough, sneeze, or laugh – or it can happen with a really strong urge. Certain times of a woman’s life also bring significant changes in hormones and the pelvic floor, which can both affect continence. Some of these times include pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum, menopause, and undergoing certain surgeries, such as pelvic or abdominal surgeries. Other factors that increase the risk of developing incontinence include a high BMI, older age, a family history of incontinence, and smoking. 

The Where:

Where does it occur? Well this seems a bit silly. Other than leaking happening in your pants, let’s go on a limb here to describe “the where” in relation to pelvic anatomy. Your bladder empties urine through the urethra which sits anteriorly, or in front of, your vagina. Your bladder sits in your pelvic cavity, along with your other pelvic organs – uterus, ovaries, and rectum – and with other ligaments and connective tissue. Below the organs is your pelvic floor. The next blog post on women’s health will be on the pelvic floor, but for now, just think of your pelvic floor as a hammock of muscles supporting your pelvic organs, including your bladder. Okay, go ahead and keep that mental picture as we transition to the Why. 

The Why:

Why does it happen? Well, this is a bit of a loaded question. There can be many reasons why, but let’s go back to the pelvic floor and focus on that part today. If your pelvic floor is not strong enough, is overactive, lacks coordination, or has poor activation patterns, it may not be working effectively or efficiently which can lead to incontinence. Your pelvic floor has both fast-twitch muscle fibers (fibers that turn on quickly) and slow-twitch muscle fibers (fibers that turn on slower but can hold longer), so we want to train both depending on the task. Pelvic floor contractions, also known as Kegels, can be used to help strengthen the pelvic floor. But – and a big “but” here – not everyone needs to do kegels! This is where a pelvic floor therapist can help determine what you need. More on that next. 

The How:

How do we stop leaking? Fun fact: in postmenopausal women, those who underwent three months of pelvic floor PT had a 75% reduction in symptoms (3). It’s also effective in other populations. “Okay, so there’s hope,” you’re saying. Yes! Pelvic floor physical therapy can be an effective tool in improving continence. Not only will we assess for proper pelvic floor function that could be contributing to your incontinence, but we can also discuss other contributing factors, such as bladder and bowel habits (fun fact #2: your bladder is very trainable!). We will also assess other muscles and your movement patterns that could be contributing to your symptoms. Our bodies are really good at compensating without us being aware, and we can help identify those compensation patterns and assess if they are contributing to symptoms or putting you at risk for injury in the future.

Many women can feel embarrassed by their incontinence and end up avoiding different activities, like exercising. We want to help you feel confident in whatever you do. Watch out for that next post on women’s health in a few weeks on the pelvic floor; we’ll also include what to expect in a pelvic floor physical therapy appointment. We promise – it’s not as scary as it sounds! 

There you have it. The Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How of incontinence in women. If you have any remaining questions or comments on incontinence, please don’t hesitate to reach out at info@keprospt.com!

Heart Rate Zone Training

Are you an endurance athlete who has hit a plateau in your training? Switching up your training might help you conquer your next race.

Traditional running plans typically prescribe a certain number of miles to run or time to run per day. Some more advanced plans will also prescribe speed work on the track or tempo runs (running at or close to race pace). If we know anything about runners (or cyclists or triathletes, etc.) it’s that we are our own biggest competition. For a lot of us, that means trying to run your usual route faster than last time. Now, there’s nothing wrong with that in itself, but trying to run faster every single day can lead to tired legs and overtraining.

Overtraining happens when you continually work at high intensity or don’t allow yourself to recover in between hard workouts. A sudden increase in distance, intensity, or high volumes of endurance training (as in peak week of training for a marathon or long endurance event) combined with inadequate nutrition and sleep or stress and anxiety can increase your chance of injury.

 Signs of overtraining include:

●      Fatigue, lack of motivation, or energy

●      Increased stress, anxiety, irritability

●      Difficulty sleeping or concentrating

●      Constantly sore or weak muscles

●      Increased susceptibility to illness/injury

●      Decreased performance or performance plateau

●      Higher resting heart rate or blood pressure

●      Takes longer for HR to return to normal

●      In women: menstrual irregularities

One way to help avoid overtraining is to follow the 80/20 principle. This means you do the bulk of your training at low intensities and just 20% of your training at a high intensity. To monitor intensity, we can look at training with heart rate zones.

There are 5 heart rate zones, with zone 1 being very light exercise, working up to maximum intensity at zone 5. 

To find your heart rate zones, use one of these calculators: (you can download the file from google drive to open it)

Heart Rate Zone Calculator

If focusing on a number during your workout doesn’t appeal to you, you can always track your rate of perceived exertion, or RPE. This is a scale of 1-10 with 1 being very light activity, 4-5 moderate activity, and 10 max effort activity.

One concept to be aware of during exercise is cardiac drift. This phenomenon refers to the gradual increase of your heart rate with prolonged exercise at the same intensity. When you start to exercise, your heart rate will initially increase, then level off after a few minutes. After 30 minutes of exercise, your heart rate will increase again to compensate for increased core temperature. As your workouts get longer, expect to see a 15% increase in heart rate (with the same intensity) and adjust your target heart rate accordingly for that zone effort.

There are lots of options to monitor your heart rate and other recovery metrics. Most GPS watches now have a wrist-based heart rate monitor, but if this is your only method available, we recommend checking it for accuracy. Chest straps are the most accurate, and will sync to smart apps like Strava, Garmin Connect, Whoop, and Wahoo.

 An example week of training might look like this:

Monday: Recovery Run, zone 2

Tuesday: Speed work/intervals: Zone 4-5

Wednesday: rest or cross training (up to zone 2)

Thursday: Tempo run (zone 3)

Friday: rest or cross training (up to zone 2)

Saturday: Long run (zone 2)

This is just an example, and individual needs will vary depending on experience level and what your body responds best to.

For more information on heart rate zone training, listen to our recorded webinar here. And reach out to us at info@keprospt.com if you have questions or would like some personalized performance training guidance.

My knee is “bone on bone” — now what?

Knee arthritis affects 10 to 13% of the US population over age 60

If a doctor has told you that you have arthritis, you might think there’s nothing that can be done about it. However, what we’ve learned in recent years shows the opposite. You can treat arthritis and you may be surprised by what research has shown to be the best prescription — exercise.

Common symptoms and diagnosis

Common symptoms include pain localized to the joint, stiffness, loss of flexibility, a grinding sensation, swelling, feel weaker, and tenderness to touch. In order to make a clinical diagnosis, a physical examination and imaging studies (usually x-rays) are utilized. Knee OA may occur in any or all of the three compartments in the knee (inside, outside, between kneecap and thigh bone). An important note with the use of imaging, is that the x-ray does not always correlate perfectly to the symptoms one may feel. This may be with significant joint changes and minimal pain, as well as minimal joint changes and significant pain experienced.

What is osteoarthritis (knee) and what is the cause?

Osteoarthritis is a condition in which the cartilage, or cushioning on the end of bones, deteriorates over time.  This leads to changes in bone structure and alignment, while also affecting all the structures associated with the specific joint. Knees are one of the most common joints affected by osteoarthritis, so what really does cause knee arthritis?  There are many different factors including mechanical, metabolic health, and previous injury or surgery. 

Metabolic

Dietary factors may play a bigger role in arthritis than we once thought (1). Inflammation from a poor diet and other metabolic factors may lead to inflammation that affects cartilage and bone. Weight loss, diet changes, and exercise can change these markers and in turn, change the symptoms of OA.       

Mechanical

The concept that OA is an unavoidable aging process of “wear and tear” or “degenerative joint disease” might be better thought of as “wear and repair”. Our bones are constantly breaking down and building up according to the stresses the joint is exposed to on a regular basis. Heavier manual jobs may increase the incidence of knee OA. A common myth is that running takes a terrible toll on the knees and will cause arthritis. However, recreational runners have 70% less arthritis than someone who is sedentary. This illustrates there is not likely a finite lifespan for our joints, and many other contributors for arthritis than just wear and tear. 

Injury/Surgery

Previous knee injury or surgery such as an ACL tear/repair or meniscus tear may cause arthritis earlier than in someone who has not had a surgery. Again, researchers think this may be due to inflammation in the joint induced by the injury, and also the inflammation that occurs as a result of the surgery.

Treatment options

Surgery

The British Medical Journal advises that people go through conservative treatment, including physical therapy and exercise prior to having a surgery.  As you can see here, the outcomes at 1 to 2 years are the same whether people have surgery or not and there are fewer adverse events (illness, infection, DVT).  Partial or total knee replacements are always an option for end stage arthritis with significant pain, but the new hardware doesn’t last forever, so it is best to use your other options as you cannot go backwards from this.

Injection

A recent study looked at whether a course of physical therapy or coticosteroid injection led to better improvements in pain and overall function.  They found that both groups improved about the same over the course of 4 weeks, while those who attended physical therapy saw those effects last out to 1 year after the study while those in the injection group did not maintain the initial gains to the same extent.  

Stem Cells or PRP

Stem cells from bone marrow or adipose (fat) tissue and platelet rich plasma (PRP) are newer options (not currently covered by most insurance carriers) that show some initial promise in helping with knee OA symptoms. It’s such a new technology that we’re still studying what the effects are and what the best treatment is after the injection to maintain it.   Physical therapy can help determine what is most appropriate for your given situation. 

Exercise

Now that we know appropriate movement and exercise is beneficial in treating knee arthritis, the question becomes what exercises work best.  That will be based on your individual situation and a full assessment with your therapist to find the best ways to work and stay active.  There will likely be a combination of exercises and treatments focusing on the knee itself, as well as working on mobility, strength, and control throughout the rest of the body that may change how forces are transferred through the knee.

Cervicogenic Headaches

Almost all of us have experienced a bad headache that interferes with our daily activities. For some, those headaches can occur nearly every day or up to several times per week. That can play a huge role in quality of life. One type of headache – a cervicogenic headache – is common for people in certain careers, including desk work, hair stylists, carpenters, and truck drivers, due to the positions they are required to work in. Even looking at your phone or other screens for a long time can exacerbate a headache due to the postures of holding the head in front of the body. This can put extra strain through the muscles in the upper back and neck.

Cervicogenic headaches are headaches that come from upper neck impairments. The upper neck joints and muscles can send (refer) pain signals to the head. This pain could be felt in the forehead, behind the eye, in the temple, and in or around the ear. (1)

An examination of the neck to assess for mobility of the upper cervical joints and pain can differentiate between a cervicogenic headache and other types of headaches. (2)

Treatment at Kepros PT

Your therapist will conduct a thorough evaluation of the entire body including the neck, thoracic spine, and shoulders. It’s important to look at the body as a whole as there are often numerous factors that can affect your symptoms

Manual Interventions plus exercise have been shown to be the most effective way of treating cervicogenic headaches. These manual techniques may include soft tissue work, spinal manipulation and mobilization, dry needling or range of motion. This may help reduce medication intake. (3)

Postural evaluation, education and strengthening can help set you up for success in your work or home environment.

Vestibular rehabilitation involves treating symptoms of dizziness or vertigo which may also occur with cervicogenic headaches. Your therapist may also work with you on exercises that help with proprioception, or the ability to tell where your head/neck are in space.

Physical Therapy: Fact vs. Fiction

What do you think of when you hear physical therapy? There is a wide range of ideas out there, and some are more accurate than others. Physical therapy aims to maintain, restore, and improve movement, activity, and health enabling individuals of all ages to have optimal functioning and quality of life (1).

Physical therapists work in a variety of settings throughout healthcare, and our main focus is to help our patients achieve their goals. At Kepros PT, we work with you to develop individualized goals to keep you on track and perform the activities that are important to you. We use a variety of techniques to help decrease pain, improve movement and work to equip everyone with the tools to feel comfortable with independence. There are a few myths about physical therapy that seem to persist over time, and we will highlight a few below.  

Myth: I need a referral to see a physical therapist.

• Iowa is a direct access state so you can come directly to physical therapy with most insurers.

• We are trained to recognize more serious conditions that might require a visit to the doctor and we can help get you to the right place.

• Many patients end up saving money by attending physical therapy. Patients coming directly to PT for neck or back pain saved up to $500 to $1500 compared with seeing a physician first (2).  

Myth: Physical therapy is painful

• No pain is NOT no gain – we want to respect your body’s limits. 

• PT can be compared to a good work out – you might have some discomfort/soreness after your visit.

• Open dialogue with your therapist helps us know how you are responding to different interventions.

• After a surgery, you will have more pain, but again, we will work within a tolerable range because it is important in the early stages to start regaining motion.   

Myth:  I will have to stop activity if I go to PT

• Our goal is to keep you active and will not ask you to stop unless it is necessary or your activity is unsafe for you.

• We will try to find safe levels of activity and help you participate as long we are confident it will not make things worse.

• It is situation dependent and we will work with you to modify any activities as needed. 

Myth: Therapy will “fix” me

• We work to provide you with the tools to manage your symptoms confidently on your own.

• Therapy is a collaborative process working together with your therapy team.

• Everyone has a different body with different movement patterns. We work with you to improve mobility and function within the limits of your anatomy and tolerance.

• As part of your management tools, we will assign exercises to perform outside of your specific visits.

  • This should fit within your schedule, and we typically aim for 3 to 4 exercises.

Myth: Physical therapy is only for rehabilitation following injury, accident, or surgery

• PT is to help with movement to maintain and return to activity and improve quality of life – whether that’s around the house or in a sports setting. 

• Getting moving can help gradual onset or chronic pain issues in any part of the body.

• PT can help with strength, balance, or stamina to complete desired activities.

Myth: My x-ray or MRI shows a tear or arthritis and I need to have surgery

• Many of us have abnormalities on imaging and that does not always correlate with symptoms.

• PT and exercise has been shown to offer similar – and many cases better – long-term outcomes compared to surgery.     

  • Lumbar fusion, meniscus had similar outcomes two years later (3, 4).

  • Exercising with arthritis can alleviate symptoms and prevent further development (5).

Benefits of Resistance Training

Resistance training offers a variety of benefits including improving everything from cardiovascular to mental health.

Resistance Training

The current physical activity guidelines for American adults are 150 to 300 minutes of moderate intensity or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous intensity aerobic exercise per week. Along with that, adults are supposed to perform muscle strengthening exercise at least two days each week. Children and adolescents (ages 6 to 17) are recommended to achieve 60 minutes per day of moderate to vigorous exercise and perform each of the following categories three days per week:  Aerobic (cardio), muscle strengthening, and bone strengthening.

Most of us know about the beneficial effects of aerobic exercises, and we are constantly reminded to get up and move by our fitness watches that count steps. There are so many different ways to stay active. Some of the best advice is to do what you enjoy and what you will be most consistent with over time. With that being said, one mode of exercise often gets overlooked by many of us when trying to be more active – resistance (strength) training. 

What is resistance training? 

The dictionary definition of resistance training is physical training that utilizes isometric, isotonic, or isokinetic exercise to strengthen or develop the muscles.  Basically, that means any activity that uses the muscle to generate force. We know that muscles move joints so we can do our daily activities, but it can do much more. Resistance training can be done with the use of bodyweight, free weights, machine weights, bands, or even stationary objects. 

What are the benefits of resistance training?

Some benefits include: 

• Cardiovascular health:

• Decrease blood pressure

• Improve cholesterol profile (lower triglycerides, increase HDL)       

• Grip strength associated with better cardiovascular outcomes and less likely co-morbidity (source)

• Control blood sugar levels (source)

• Increased glucose uptake into cells and decrease insulin resistance

• Resistance training works along a similar pathway to Metformin (common drug for type II diabetes)  

• Decrease injury risk (source 1, source 2)

• Gradually increasing strength training intensity and volume are associated with a reduced risk for injury with sport.

• Using resistance training and muscle control exercises as part of an ACL injury prevention program has been shown to decrease incidence by 53% 

• Osteoporosis and prevention (source)

• Resistance training is safe for all ages, and can help improve muscle mass and strength 

• How it works: Resistance exercise stimulates bones to rebuild, which improves bone density. 

• Exercises could include walking, light hopping or jumping, and strength training, but should be prescribed by a doctor or physical therapist who knows your personal history and risk factors.  

• Mental health (source)

• Exercise causes increased blood flow to the brain including the area that affects mood and motivation. 30 minutes of exercise is sufficient load to cause these benefits and it is ok to split these up into 3 ten-minute sessions. 

• Exercise also releases endorphins (feel good hormones) as well as provides a distraction from daily life. This can encourage:  

  • Improved sleep

  • Stress relief

  • Increased energy and stamina

  • Reduced tiredness that can increase mental alertness

  • Self-esteem, body image 

If you have questions or need assistance with getting started on an appropriate program, please reach out and one our therapists will be able to help get you started.

Shin Pain: What causes it and how to prevent it

It’s that time of year — temperatures are warming up, the days are longer, and it’s finally nice enough to be outside all day. Normally, spring races are starting, high school track is in the height of their season, and we see a lot more people starting to be active. Because of this, spring is also when we see a pretty big increase in shin pain in the clinic. This year, there will be no spring races and high school track was cancelled. But we don’t anticipate there will be a decrease in shin pain. Here’s why:

1. We’re all getting a bit restless inside and with gyms closed, walking and running are the perfect options to stay fit and healthy and give ourselves a mental break. Many people are starting to walk or run who maybe haven’t before because there aren’t many other options right now.

2. Many races were/are being held virtually, and we’re holding out hope for some type of Fall racing season (and cross country!).

3. High school track training usually starts in January or February and many have continued to run and train.

What are shin splints?

Medial tibial stress syndrome (MTSS)  is the technical name for shin splints. Usually, it is pain on the inside of the shin bone and most commonly it starts with an increase in activity. For some people, this will go away within a week and is a normal part of adaptation. For others, it sticks around for a long time and can develop into a more serious injury including stress reactions or stress fractures.

What can you do to prevent this?

1. Work on your strength! Focus on areas like calves, quads, and glutes. Check out the video below for some examples. Our favorites are:

   1. Soleus squat

   2. Bent knee calf raise

   3. Straight knee calf raise

   4. Lateral step down

2. For our high school athletes, we see this a lot with hall running in the early/indoor season. A long period of rest over winter combined with running on concrete or tile is the perfect recipe. Athletes, begin running a little before practice starts to condition your legs (and lungs). You can do some off-season calf strengthening, too!

3. Give yourself time to ease into a running or walking program. If you’re totally new to running, a “Couch to 5K” program is a great way to start a combination of walking/running that will allow for a slow and safe start. If you’re a seasoned runner who deals with this frequently, you may need to take an extra day of rest for the first few weeks of starting a new program and gradually up your mileage.

4. Change one training variable at a time (mileage, intensity, time, etc). Too many changes at once are harder for your muscles to adapt to.

5. Make sure you have good footwear. A general rule of thumb is about 500 miles to a pair of shoes before they should be replaced. If mileage is too hard to track, think about getting a separate pair of dedicated walking or running shoes once per year. Visit your local running store to get a professional fit.

6. On that note, choose to do your daily walk or run in tennis shoes rather than flip flops or sandals, even though it’s warm out!

How can I take care of myself?

1. Activity modification is the best thing you can do if you start to notice symptoms. You should be able to do your activity with a pain rating at a 4/10 or less, and that should go away within an hour after stopping the activity. You shouldn’t have pain the next morning.

2. Ice for 20 minutes after activity.

3. Stretch it out (after activity) — try straight and bent knee calf stretches.

4. Be patient! It can take up to 6 months to return to running with MTSS, especially if it develops into a stress reaction/fracture. I know this seems like a long time, but if you skip steps during recovery, you have a higher likelihood of putting yourself back into a stress/injury cycle and taking more time off.

5. Call KPT at 319-200-6102 so we can get you started with an individualized plan to keep you running.

Reach out if you have any questions or concerns about your training!

DISCLAIMER ***As with all exercise programs, when using our exercise videos, you need to use common sense.To reduce and avoid injury, you will want to check with your doctor before beginning any fitness program. By performing any fitness exercises, you are performing them at your own risk.

Welcome to "Better Together" — The Kepros Physical Therapy & Performance Blog

Becoming Better Together

We will be using this space to provide you with health tips, clinic information, treatment resources, diagnosis information, and other information. As the novel coronavirus has spread around the world, all of our lives have been altered from social distance, working from home, and having many of our usual social/recreational places being closed for the time being.

If you have topics you would like us to explore, please reach out to us at info@keprospt.com or on our Facebook page. We love feedback and interaction from our KPT community and want to provide content and information that is relevant for you. 

To start, we thought we would give a rundown of telehealth, which has recently become a large part of our practice.

Telehealth

With all of these changes, it’s important to continue to take care of ourselves through diet, activity, and exercise. There are physical and mental health benefits from being active each and every day. Kepros PT is still here to help in any way needed to keep you moving. To keep everyone safe, we are offering a new way for you to connect directly with our physical therapists and physical therapy assistants through telehealth. 

Telehealth (virtual physical therapy) visits are an excellent option that allow for real-time interaction to keep you on the right track. We are still able to provide the treatment and care you have come to know and expect from KPT. As telehealth is new to almost everyone, we wanted to take some time to answer some common questions and discuss what to expect from these visits.

What is Telehealth (Virtual Physical Therapy)?

A virtual physical therapy visit is a meeting with a Physical Therapist or Physical Therapist Assistant utilizing a secure online video platform. This allows for personal interaction and assistance with changing movement patterns and performance. During your session, we assess how you move, go through exercises to correct form, and help advance you when you’re ready. We still provide individualized plans for your situation to fit your current needs.

The goal of any course of physical therapy is to teach you how to manage your symptoms, and it’s the same with telehealth. We can show you how to do some hands-on work if it’s needed, much like we would in the clinic. With PT, movement is our medicine, and we can still do that with you via telehealth!

How are Telehealth Visits Covered?

Most insurers are covering telehealth visits the same they would for usual physical therapy treatments, and many plans have even waived the patient cost share through May. 

Please contact us or your insurance carrier for more information on how your policy is covering telehealth.

How Do I Schedule?

Contact us to set up your initial consultation and we will make sure you are paired with one of our therapists to get your plan of care started.

We are here for you during this unique health emergency and want to continue helping each of you work towards your recovery goals.  COVID-19 has jump-started our efforts to utilize telehealth as an option, and we hope to continue to offer this as an option in the future.  

Check out the video below if you’d like to see what a telehealth visit looks like.