Physical Therapy vs. Integrative Physical Therapy- What’s the Difference?

Ever been to physical therapy and thought, “I can do this at home.”?

If your answer is, “yes.” I apologize for my colleagues. My thought is that if you decided to try PT, it’s because you needed help resolving a pain or an injury- you needed a specialist. At Thrive with Dr. C, we start with a VERY in-depth evaluation process (getting to know you, your body, and function) which allows for the prescription of activities, exercises, education that you should do at home to achieve your desired results. When you come into the office, it our responsibility to demonstrate value and supply you with something NEW and/or provide further understanding of something that you didn’t KNOW to do previously.

Definitions:

• Physical Therapy aka Physiotherapy: an allied health profession performed by a licensed doctor of physical therapy or physical therapist assistant. Physical therapists perform evaluation, diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment with the aim of promoting, maintaining, and/or restoring health.

• Integrative Medicine: a combination of traditional and complementary approaches are taken to promote, maintain, and/or restore health

  • eg. you have the common cold and you take both nyquil and drink lemon/honey: nyquil= traditional medicine, lemon and honey= complementary medicine

Physical Therapists can work in a myriad of settings with a variety of populations including, but not limited to, acute (hospital care) with medically unstable patients, pediatrics, geriatrics, people with neurological disorders (stroke, spinal cord injuries, etc.), cardiovascular rehab for those that experienced a heart attack or underwent heart surgery, and orthopedics. In all settings, a physical therapist could choose, to provide services in an integrative manner given personal expertise and post-doctoral training.

So what makes Thrive with Dr. C LLC an Integrative Physical Therapy practice?

Physical Therapy is a recognized form of traditional, western medicine requiring a doctoral degree. Dr. Candace Harding is a Board Certified Physical Therapist and a Board Certified Orthopedist- meaning she’s taken tests that have determined she has a specific set of knowledge associated with treating musculoskeletal (muscle and bone) conditions from a western/traditional standpoint. She has also completed additional certifications and courses in Integrative Lifestyle Medicine and Medical Therapeutic Yoga/Professional Yoga Therapy that mean she has developed a skill set associated with addressing health factors such as sleep and stress through the use of breath, music, yoga, and counseling regarding topics of physical activity, environmental determinants of health and nutrition. Your sessions with her will always be 1:1 allowing her to learn about what your body/condition responds to best from a variety of perspectives AND teach you how to best replicate the results of your session at home

Why is that different than the insurance-based practice down the street?

You won’t receive the same kind of individualized attention. No matter how much a PT might want to provide the level of personalized care described above, the fact that they’re likely required to see 2-3 people at a time and pass you to a tech or aide before the end of your session means that they simply CAN’T do this, not every time.

1. You’ll be able to enter the facility with a sense of safety. Due to 1:1 treatments, touch points with others are reduced. You can return home to your family knowing that germ spread is greatly minimized.

2. Due to higher volume requirements for therapists within the insurance system, you often don’t get treatment from the same therapist at each visit. While documentation helps keep some consistency in care, treatment is nearly always more efficient when provided by the same person, each time.

Long story short…

If you want to develop a solid relationship with your therapist knowing that they’ll do Everything they can to help you, learn how to reduce your pain and prevent it from returning, resolve your condition faster, and maintain the safety of your family, perhaps Thrive with Dr. C is the place for you!