“I’m afraid Physical Therapy will be too painful.”
Our goal is to help you relieve your pain and move better, not cause pain. We help identify the cause of your pain or problem and equip you with the knowledge and tools to conquer it. You should expect to leave each visit feeling better and understanding your body more, all while making progress towards your goals.
“How much does PT cost?”
An initial evaluation is a comprehensive exam where review of health history and problems are identified, determination of the cause of those problems, a plan and goals for your success in the future are written, and initial education or treatment also included. An initial evaluation direct pay visit costs $165.
Your customized treatment plan will include follow up visits that range from $45-$165, based on quick treatments of a single body region to more complex and variety of treatments of multiple body areas. All based on your needs, goals, and budget.
Physical Therapy is covered by insurance. Cost is set by your insurance company through a contract New Life PT signs with them. Your out of pocket costs are also set by them in the form of your deductible, co-pay, or co-insurance. This can be a complicated process. Our insurance specialist will do a complimentary verification of your benefits and give you an estimate of your out of pocket costs if you choose to go this route.
“Don’t I need an X-ray, MRI, and to see my doctor first?”
You may access a physical therapist directly in the state of Wisconsin, saving you an unnecessary office visit and cost of seeing your primary care first.
Our expert Physical Therapists have advanced training that determine if you are safe to begin PT, if you need an x-ray or MRI first, or if you need to see a different health provider or physician. If a referral out is needed, we will guide you to getting to the right provider and often can call ahead to get you in sooner. This saves you time, money, and energy.
“Why is finding the root cause so important?”
It is easy to treat symptoms. We do it all of the time when we use medications, ice, injections, oils, etc. While that can make us feel better now, it does not get at the WHY behind our problem. It is important to find out why your body was inflamed or irritated in the first place, so that you can treat the problem on a deeper level and decrease your risk of recurrence.
Example: it is easy to treat low back pain with ibuprofen, heat, and even a massage gun. That may help relax our muscles and decrease the inflammation for a few minutes or hours, but if our back pain is being caused by the fact that our hip is tight and we do a lot of twisting activities throughout our day, then the problem will simply return. A better solution will get at WHY is that inflammation and tight muscles in our back a problem, get the hip moving, and ensure muscles can control our twisting movements so pressure is not being put on the low back unnecessarily.
“Why a Physical Therapist?”
Many times, pain begins because there is mismatch between demands on the body and capacity of the body to meet those demands. This could be movement, strength, balance, etc. Trying to fix low back pain by taking ibuprofen (a biochemical solution) doesn’t match the biomechanical (movement) problem. A movement solution addressing the hip will help to relieve the underlying cause of the low back pain.
Physical Therapists are movement experts. There is no other healthcare provider more qualified to determine why you hurt or what is holding you back when it comes to movement or activities.
“I have tried something like this and it didn’t work.”
Not all PT is created equal. Some questions to ask if you have been through PT before:
New Life PT only schedules 1-on-1 care with licensed Physical Therapists and Physical Therapist Assistants, with no aides or techs. More than 50% of our therapists are board certified orthopedic clinical specialists, a designation that on average only 4% of PTs nation-wide obtain. All of our therapists have advanced training in applied functional science.
“I think I’ll just wait it out.”
If you heard a concerning sound coming from your vehicle, would you simply wait it out to see if it gets better on its own? Probably not. The same is true with your body. Pain and limitations are your body’s way of telling you something isn’t right. The longer you wait many times means the longer it will take to finally correct the underlying problem. Also, unfortunately many times if problems do go away now they tend to return and are worse in the future.
“Do I have to have a referral from my doctor?”
No, in the state of Wisconsin, a referral is not required.
“Do I need to get an x-ray or MRI because of the pain?”
No, imaging is not needed prior to beginning treatment. Your therapist can discuss in more detail whether imaging is appropriate for your individual situation.
“If something hurts, does that mean I shouldn’t do it?”
Not necessarily. A complicated question with a complex answer: but basically, it depends. It depends on if you had a fresh (new) injury vs. a pain you have been gradually experiencing over time; depends on what the activity is and how great the pain is; and if there are any benefits of the movement that outweigh associated discomfort.
“I’ve been told I am “bone on bone,” does that mean I need to have my joint replaced?”
NO! Not at all. Joint replacement decisions should be made based on your pain, function and overall activity level. Pictures do not always correlate to function – meaning someone with a very “bad” x-ray showing bone-on-bone or severe arthritis may have minimal pain and still able to do everything with little to no limitation. Other people may have terrible pain and limitations and only mild arthritis showing up on x-ray at best. We should always treat the person and not the picture.
“How much exercise should I be doing?”
The American College of Sports Medicine has formal recommendations for the quantity and quality of exercise for healthy adults. It includes specific recommendations for aerobic exercise, strength training, and flexibility; each that have their own benefits. Here they are, by category:
“Do You Accept My Insurance?”
We are contracted with majority of insurance carriers, including Medicare, Worker’s Compensation, Medicaid and the VA. If we happen to be out of network, some plans have out of network benefits that still allow you to work with us. As a courtesy to you, we provide an insurance verification and an estimate of your benefits at your initial visit.
“Locations? Hours?”
Clinic information can be viewed in this page.
“How do I make myself stronger?”
Start doing things that challenge your muscles to the point of adaptation. Don’t know what exactly that means? Ask one of our expert Physical Therapists what this means for your body and goals.
“A brief description of the PT process from start to finish”
Once you schedule an evaluation, you will fill out intake paperwork (emailed or paper copy). We will also obtain your insurance information so we can verify your insurance prior to your appointment. At your first appointment, you will meet with a physical therapist that will review what’s holding you back and dive deeper than your surface symptoms. Together, you will develop a personalized plan. As your physical therapist guides you through your plan, you will start moving confidently and getting back to what’s important to you.
“If I’m using insurance how long before I can expect my first bill? ”
At New Life Physical Therapy, we submit claims to your insurance company each and every day. Every insurance company has their own timeline on how long it takes to process claims. As soon as your insurance company pays and submits an explanation of benefits, we update accounts and send out remaining patient portion payment statements within 30 days. The entire process could take anywhere from 30-90 days or longer if there are any denials, incorrect information, or change in insurance mid-treatment.
“Do you do occupational therapy?”
We do not have any occupational therapists on staff and therefore do not do traditional occupational therapy. However, if you are looking for therapy for shoulder, elbow, wrist/hand, our physical therapists are trained and can most definitely see you for that. They do not get in to the specifics of dressing/bathing or cognitive evaluations that only occupational therapists do, though. This includes any motion issues, pain, weakness, general function, etc. If someone needs a specific hand splint, we do not do that here. The hospital is able to provide those services.
“Do you do massage therapy/myofascial release/trigger point therapy?”
We do not do just massage therapy, however often times soft tissue massage or mobilization, myofascial release, and trigger point therapy is part of the manual therapy that our physical therapists provide. This is often used in conjunction with active exercise based on latest evidence and research to address pain and mobility issues.
“Do you do acupuncture?”
We do not do acupuncture, however our therapists are certified in dry needling which is a technique that utilizes acupuncture-like needles as part of treatment. We can bill your insurance for the visit, however the actual dry needling procedure itself is a cash pay surcharge of $5.00 outside of the visit billed to your insurance.
“Can I talk to a therapist to see if they can help me?”
Do you have a specific question that I may pass along to the therapist? Often times in order for the physical therapist to get the best idea of how they can help you, it is recommended that we get you scheduled for an initial evaluation so they can have the appropriate time to speak with you in detail and get your history, determine your goals, perform a physical examination, and then determine whether or not they are able to help you.
“Do you do pain management?”
Yes, we do physical therapy for chronic pain and pain management patients.
“Do you do wound therapy?”
No, we do not do wound therapy. This includes ulcer treatment/management. Other local therapy departments may be better suited to work with these issues.
“Do you do neurological rehabilitation?”
Our physical therapists specialize in function and movement of the body. If someone is having trouble performing daily tasks and activities due to issues from neurological issues, they may be appropriate to work with our outpatient therapists. After the initial evaluation, if the physical therapist has concerns regarding whether or not we are the best type of therapy facility for a particular patient/condition, they will let you know.
“What kind of licensure/certification do you have?”
Our physical therapists and physical therapist assistances are all licensed. We have several board certified orthopedic clinical specialists and fellows in manual therapy and applied functional science. All of our clinicians participate in regular continuing education training to ensure they are providing the most up-to-date and evidence based treatments.
What we DO
Work with hands – post surgery, pain, difficulty doing tasks (but not splinting – see note about occupational therapy above)
