Unfortunately, not all Physical Therapists are created equal.
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To ensure you get the most out of the PT you end up with, here are 8 specific questions to ask your Physical Therapist. These questions are designed to help you understand their approach and ensure it aligns with best practices that most consistently translate into you getting the result you want.
We need to make sure they are treating the Root Cause, and not just treating the Symptoms.
Unfortunately, in most PT practices patients have to be their own advocate and push hard to get the quality of care they need to get results. These questions will help you do that efficiently and easily.
1. Do You Offer One-on-One Sessions, and Who Will Be Working with Me?
Follow-Up Questions:
- Will I always work directly with you, or will I be handed off to an aide or assistant?
- How much time will we spend together during each session?
2. Will We Be Using Any Type of Test / Retest To Assess The Efficacy of Treatment In Real Time?
Follow-Up Questions:
- How often will you reassess my shoulder function and pain levels?
- What benchmarks will you use to measure my progress?
3. How Will You Identify the Root Cause of My Shoulder Pain?
Follow-Up Questions:
- Will you perform a comprehensive assessment of my shoulder, shoulder blade, and overall posture?
- How will you differentiate between the symptoms and the root cause of my pain?
- How will you evaluate my shoulder blade movement and its role in my pain?
4. What Is Your Plan to Restore My Shoulder Mobility?
Follow-Up Questions:
- Do you use manual therapy or joint mobilizations to improve range of motion?
- If so, how much time will you spend doing Manual Therapy each session
- How will you measure my progress in restoring my shoulder mobility?
5. Are The Stabilizing Muscles In My Shoulder All “Activating” Correctly?
Follow-Up Questions:
- Will you incorporate neuromuscular re-education into my treatment plan?
- How will you teach me to retrain my brain to engage the right muscles during movement?
6. How Will We Strengthen My Shoulder Without Reinforcing Dysfunction?
Follow-Up Questions:
- What steps will you take to ensure my movement patterns are correct before progressing to strength exercises?
- How will you balance strengthening exercises with stability and mobility work?
7. How Will You Address My Specific Pain Location? (Front, Side, or Back)?
Follow-Up Questions:
- How will your approach vary based on the specific location of my pain?
- Can you explain how this area interacts with the rest of my shoulder and body?
8. How Will You Teach Me to Prevent Shoulder Pain From Returning in the Future?
Follow-Up Questions:
- Will you provide me a individualized program I can do to make sure this doesn’t come back?
- How will you help me adjust my warm ups and cool downs to prevent pain from returning as I continue to push myself harder and harder in the gym?
