Frequently Asked Questions

- A photo ID - Your preferred method of payment - Your intake paperwork - A list of your current medications - Doctors' notes or imaging reports you feel might be relevant - Your referral if you have one.

Yes. Our goal is to help you choose the right services for you. If you aren't sure if therapy is right for you, we are happy to discuss your specific case. Phone calls to our office are answered by a therapist directly so that you can get your questions answered. *For your safety, the therapist may not be able to answer some questions without first doing a physical evaluation.

Yes. If you have a referral for physical therapy, your physician can make recommendations, but they cannot legally require you to go to a specific clinic for PT services. Sadly, some physicians may profit financially from referring you to a PT clinic they have ownership in. They may also be pressured to refer internally if they are part of a hospital system. This can bias their recommendations for your PT referral. It's ultimately up to you to decide where you believe you will get the best care.

No. Physical therapists have direct access in the state of Ohio, which means you can see a PT without a referral. If you have needed a referral for PT in the past, it was due to a requirement set by your insurance. Not accepting insurance allows us to waive this requirement.

Unfortunately, there are many reasons patients have not been successful in therapy in the past: 1.) Some patients have been rushed through the system by providers who haven't been able to take the time to really listen to all their symptoms. This can cause misdiagnosis and poorly directed treatments. 2.) Some therapists are pressured to treat patients without adequate specialty training. This can happen when a physician owns a physical therapy clinic or is part of a hospital system and is motivated to refer patients to their staff for financial reasons. It is a conflict of interest, but unfortunately, it is legal for this to occur. 3.) It takes 10-15 years for new discoveries to make it from research to mainstream clinical care. 4.) Patients are passed around between multiple providers, and don't get one-on-one attention with a consistent therapist. 5.) Therapists are choosing their treatments based on insurance reimbursement, rather than what is best for the patient. 6.) Accepting insurance creates an illusion for some therapists that the treatment isn't costing the patient anything. How we fix the problems: 1.) We have one hour appointments to ensure you are seen and heard. 2.) We invest in specialty training for our staff, and we will tell you if we believe you are better served by another specialist, even if it means referring you to another PT company. 2.) We are a therapist-owned company and no physician profits from referring you to our care. 3.) We offer a variety of cutting edge and innovative treatments and strive to stay up on current research developments to bring you the best care. 4.) You will always see the same physical therapist, unless you request a change in provider. 5.) We are not an insurance-based practice, so first priority is getting you the treatment you need. 6.) Because this is a cash-based practice, we are accountable to you. If you aren't getting results within the first 30 days, we will recommend a change in care plan which may involve a second opinion from a PT, a consultation with a physician or specialist, or a change in therapy approaches. If physical therapy is not benefiting you, we are willing to advocate for you to your physician to try and get you the care you need.

Physical therapy evaluations require assessing the way your body moves. Wear comfortable clothing that allows you to move freely the area you are seeking treatment for.

Physical therapy is a better option for someone who is: -Experiencing clinical problems like lower back pain, orthopedic injuries, or neurological problems -Recovering from a surgical procedure or hospitalization -Has a decreased ability to perform daily functional tasks like working, housework, or self-care (i.e. grooming/dressing) -Hoping to submit our bills to their insurance to get reimbursed for treatment Personal training is a better option if: -You're looking to get in shape and improve general fitness -You're looking to train for improving athletic performance -You don't need any formal medical documentation of your sessions

Evaluation visits are typically 90 minutes. If you feel your case is more complex and will require additional time, please contact our office so we can discuss scheduling accordingly.

The number of visits each person may need is highly variable depending on your condition, type of treatment you need, lifestyle factors, age, and motivation. Your therapist can give you a personal estimate for your condition after your evaluation. Your therapist can give you a personal estimate for your condition after your evaluation. We are aware that some patients have had negative experiences at other companies who see all of their patients 3 times a week for months on end. We appreciate that more visits costs more money. Out of respect for the value of your time and ours, we strive to help patients be as independent as possible in managing their condition to help them reduce the time and money spent on therapy visits. As an added layer of protection for our patients, being a direct access practice (no referrals required) keeps our therapists accountable. States laws regarding direct access physical therapy require that a patient cannot be seen for more than 30 days, if they are not making progress, without consulting a supervising physician.

There are many factors to consider in choosing the right clinic for you. At minimum, your therapist should hold a state license in good standing. You may also want to consider the specialty skills/experience of the therapist, clinic location, hours of availability, and cost of services.

The temporomandibular joint is a complex joint that has a disc, joint capsule, and specially designed muscles and ligaments that need to work together for your jaw to function properly. Physical therapists evaluate these structures to make sure they are working in harmony. If not, we provide manual therapy treatments, education, and prescribe exercises to help restore your jaw function.

Dizziness occurs for many reasons. Your balance is determined by your brain's ability to combine information from 3 systems: your eyes, the vestibular system in your inner ear, and the nerves in your body that sense position, called proprioceptors. If the information from these systems isn't in agreement, or your brain can't process it, then you will feel dizzy. A good physical therapist will assess all three systems, as well as look for problems in the brain, circulatory system, and in your neck. Then they will create a custom exercise prescription to help restore balance and communication between all the systems.

Yes, but there are a few things you should know: 1.) A physical therapist can make a "physical therapy diagnosis" of Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. This is different from a "medical diagnosis". If you are applying for disability, or you want workplace accommodations, you may need to also have a medical doctor agree to the diagnosis. If you are applying for disability, the government reviews disability case requests closely and attempts to reduce waste in the system by declining disability applications unless very specific requirements are met. They can (and likely will) require a medical doctor to confirm your diagnosis. That being said, if your medical doctor would be willing to confirm the diagnosis if made by another provider who is more familiar with the condition, we can provide a copy of our documentation justifying our diagnosis to them at your request. While many employers will respect a physical therapist as a healthcare provider who can justify a request for workplace accommodations, they do have a right to require that a medical doctor signs off on your accommodation request. 2.) The hEDS diagnostic checklist provided by the EDS Society has symptom criteria which branch into multiple medical specialties. While it is true that the disorder affects multiple body systems, this can put patients in a difficult situation where each specialist they see will not make the diagnosis because they feel they are not qualified to comment on the symptoms in other specialty areas. As physical therapists, we are able to provide evaluation of the majority of the criteria with a few exceptions. If your symptom presentation is borderline, we may refer you to your doctor to order a couple of cardiac tests (criteria 2, #11&12), or some bloodwork to rule out other auto-immune diseases (criteria 3). For more details on the hEDS checklist, we have a blog post that covers this subject in detail. Diagnosing Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome *If we cannot confirm the diagnosis without other testing, we will provide you with a copy of the results of our evaluation of the diagnostic checklist. You can take this to your cardiologist, or primary care provider, to request they order the remaining tests. If those tests confirm the diagnosis, that provider is typically willing to make the formal diagnosis based on the combination of our findings and theirs.

Pelvic physical therapy aims to treat bowel, bladder, and sexual function problems, as well as pelvic pain. It is similar to traditional physical therapy, in that your therapist will assess the strength, flexibility and function of your pelvic muscles. Your therapist may evaluate your hips, and lower back, as well as perform a vaginal or rectal exam. This is different from a gynecologist office exam and does not involve the use of a speculum. You will have the opportunity to ask detailed questions about the exam procedures for your specific condition and can refuse any portion of the examination if you feel uncomfortable. Your therapist may recommend manual therapy treatments, and teach you exercises and educational activity modification strategies to help address your symptoms.

We accept, cash, check, credit/debit cards, and electronic payments serviced by Square. If you have an HSA account card, physical therapy is typically a qualified expense and you can pay for services this way.

We do not accept insurance. Utilization of health insurance for non-emergency services in some ways actually makes your healthcare more expensive. Paying in cash allows us to avoid paying an authorizations department, a billing specialist, and a claims denial appeal administrator. This means that the cost of their salaries is not passed on to you. By paying in cash, you pay for your healthcare, and nothing more.

Yes, but only under specific circumstances. The answer to this question is somewhat complicated. At this time, we can only provide care to Medicare patients if they refuse to grant permission for us to disclose their personal health information to Medicare. Explanation: At this time, physical therapists are currently not legally permitted to "opt-out" of Medicare. Therefore, we are legally required to submit bills to Medicare on your behalf, even if you have already paid for your visit. We do not have the administrative staff to accommodate these requirements. However, a patient has a legal right to privacy of their protected health information under HIPPA laws. A patient must sign a consent to allow a healthcare provider to communicate with their insurance carrier regarding their care because this involves disclosing their personal health information. If a patient does not consent to allow us to share their information with their insurance provider, we are legally not permitted to do so. For Medicare patients, this absolves us of the responsibility to submit a claim to Medicare on their behalf. A patient must make this choice of their own accord. If you wish to choose not to allow us to communicate with Medicare regarding your care, we have a consent form policy that you can sign to confirm your choice. If you do not wish to limit us from communicating with Medicare regarding your care, we encourage you to contact Medicare regarding a list of other potential service providers who accept Medicare insurance policies.

No. Unfortunately, Medicare has not prioritized reimbursement for physical therapy services, despite the fact they are crucial for seniors. Physical therapists have not received a reimbursement increase from Medicare since 1990. Congress has been unwilling to increase reimbursement, despite increasing healthcare provider educational costs, ongoing inflation since the pandemic, and advocacy by the APTA that physical therapists were equally deserving of hazard pay increases as frontline healthcare workers. In 2022, Congress voted to cut reimbursement for physical therapy by 6% for services provided by a physical therapist and 15% for services provided by a physical therapist assistant. As a result, we are unable to support accepting Medicare at this time.

This can vary by insurance, but the answer is often yes. Check with your insurance company to make sure before receiving care.

We believe in transparent and competitive service pricing. Patients should be able to compare healthcare costs for services and we encourage you to do so. While many companies won't tell you their prices up front, we can offer you some resources to compare the competition. Did you know that hospitals are required by the federal government to post estimated prices for non-emergency services like physical therapy? Before you choose a PT clinic (or any other medical service), check and see the price differences. To make it easy for you, we've attached a price comparison for our services to the cash pay prices of several local hospital systems based on their online price calculators. If you wish to compare pricing for your specific insurance, please use the links below: Promedica: Price Transparency Resources Toledo, Ohio (OH), ProMedica Health System (Choose the appropriate hospital data sheet, or the health cost calculator to input your insurance information, for them to email you a specific quote.) Mercy Health: Mercy Health Price Estimation Tool | Mercy Health Cost (Choose Price Estimation Tool.) UTMC: Price Information (utoledo.edu) (Choose UTMC Shoppable Services, use ctrl f to find specific service codes.) As a warning, they sometimes don't make it easy for you to navigate their tools. You may need to choose a specific hospital because the price can vary by location. You may also feel like you need a certificate in medical billing to understand the charts, so we've provided some basic information to help you navigate in the tips below: 1.) Physical therapy treatments are typically billed in time-based units in 15 minute increments, and evaluations are billed based on the complexity of the patient case. Therapists can bill for treatment in addition to the evaluation on your first day. Most appointments are billing for 45-60 minutes worth of time. 2.) Searching the numeric codes may help you find the services faster. Common CPT codes billed for physical therapy include: -PT Evaluation: (low complexity) 97161, (moderate complexity) 97162, and (high complexity) 97163 -Therapeutic Exercise: CPT 97110 -Neuromuscular Re-education: CPT 97112 -Aquatic Therapy: CPT 97113 -Gait Training: CPT 97116 -Manual Therapy: CPT 97140 -Therapeutic Activities: CPT 97530 -Self Management: CPT 97535 As a final note, while the hospitals are required to post their pricing, this may not include additional facility fees or administrative fees. Make sure you ask about these fees before receiving services, as they can quickly add up.