The inconvenience of multiple doctor’s visits, unnecessary specialist appointments, numerous co-pays, time spent driving to appointments, diagnostic testing, and waiting to book appointments can be overwhelming to anyone who is eager to receive pain relief. After all of this time, money, and effort, you might still not know the best option to treat your body. You might be prescribed a medication to help with the pain, but is that really getting to the root of the issue?
Early intervention with physical therapy can help you save time, decrease costs, and help you alleviate that pain much faster when compared to waiting until things get worse and they can no longer be ignored. At Results Physiotherapy, we believe that all patients and individuals who experience pain should consider early intervention with physical therapy because there are so many tremendous benefits that can be gained when you try to act early to reduce the pain you could potentially face and experience in the future.
In many states, there is now one less financial as well as time barrier when it comes to receiving physical therapy services — direct access! Direct access is the patients’ ability in certain states to take their care into their own hands and receive physical therapy without the referral of a physician. How does this help?
Since therapists are musculoskeletal specialists, they are thoroughly educated on how to properly diagnose and treat all types of patients. With direct access, a patient is able to save time and money by reducing the unnecessary doctor’s visits, waiting room time, co-pays, and specialists’ visits. The power of care is in the hands of the patient, and now more than ever people are experiencing the pain relief treatments and education that physical therapy has to offer.
To find out more about how you can benefit from direct access depending on your state, click here: how-can-i-benefit-from-direct-access-
With so many states offering patients and clients the ability to directly connect with a licensed physical therapist without having to get a doctor’s referral, more people are able to get the care they need much faster. Being able to receive personalized attention and one-on-one care when it comes to your aches and pains can be crucial in recovering faster and getting back to doing the things you love. With direct access, you no longer have to try and navigate weeks in advance to schedule a doctor’s appointment, just so they can say you can visit a physical therapist and then wait weeks in advance for a PT appointment.
Direct access has so many fantastic benefits which is why so many states are incorporating it into their healthcare offerings to ensure that patients can get the care they need, when they need it.
With direct access, you can schedule an appointment with a licensed physical therapist near you to get an evaluation and recommendations on how to alleviate your pain with a custom-designed plan that is unique to your needs and goals.
A study conducted by the Alliance for Physical Therapy Quality and Innovation (APTQI) took a look at 472,000 Medicare recipients who struggle with lower back pain to see if physical therapy could save costs compared to alternate methods. This study followed the immediate and 12-months financial impacts of three different treatment plans: physical therapy, injections, and surgery.
This study found that the costs of early intervention with physical therapy was 19 percent lower than the average for injection costs and 75 percent lower than those who endured surgery. The savings over a 12-month period for physical therapy compared to those who received injections saved on average 18 percent and 54 percent savings compared to the surgery group.
Lastly, individuals who used physical therapy as a first line of defense within 15 days of their diagnosis had lower treatment expenses compared to those who waited to receive physical therapy. These savings continued throughout the whole 12-month study.
Getting medical care for your chronic aches and pains can be expensive, which is why it’s so essential that you’re getting the care you need effectively without having to break open the piggy bank to do so.
From this study, it is clear to see the money-saving benefits physical therapy has on patients when utilized as a first defense. Saving money when it comes to your care and treating those aches and pains you experience is essential because those costs can add up quite quickly if you’re not careful. Physical therapy gives patients and clients a great option for getting the care they need, at the rate at which they need it, without having to spend extra in delays and referral visits.
Another positive aspect of physical therapy as the first-line of defense after a surgery or injury is that instead of taking opioids, which are potentially expensive and addictive pain-relieving drugs, physical therapy is free from those harmful side effects.
By utilizing physical therapy, patients are educated about proper exercises to speed up recovery, prevent future injuries, and learn how to increase flexibility and mobility within the body. Oftentimes, after an injury or surgery, patients are looking for a way to soothe pain symptoms and heal the area as quickly as possible. Physical therapy can help improve both of these situations.
Physical therapy speeds up recovery by encouraging the patient to move their body in a safe and gentle way, and a therapist has the expertise to use hands-on soft tissue and joint mobilization techniques to put the joints and muscles back in place.
Additionally, physical therapy is not just for those who are injured or have recently received surgery.
Physical therapy is utilized for those who are looking to carefully manage age-related health conditions and prevent future need for joint replacements or surgery. Also, individuals who are looking to improve cardiovascular health seek out physical therapy treatment to help motivate exercise learning in a safe and effective way that personally suits what your body is capable of.
Lastly, athletes are frequent physical therapy visitors because physical therapy gives them the opportunity and the pathways to increase flexibility, strength, range of motion, endurance, and stretching.
You don’t need to be in recovery to visit a physical therapist. You can be someone simply trying to learn how you can prevent future injuries, gain a competitive athletic advantage, and delay or prevent future age-related complications and conditions.
If your diagnosis requires physical therapy and it’s deemed medically necessary, your insurance most likely will cover your treatment. As with all insurance, you might be responsible for a deductible or a copayment, depending on your specific plan. At Results Physiotherapy, we accept most insurances in order to provide our patients with affordable and compassionate care in hundreds of locations across the United States.
Early intervention with physical therapy can help you save time, money, and reduce the likelihood of future injuries. Find a Results Physiotherapy clinic near you today, and schedule an appointment to connect with one of our licensed physical therapists in a clinic near you.
