Common Issues Page

Physical therapy is appropriate to treat short-term or long-term movement problems. The best way to find out if you will benefit from PT is to see a PT, but some other indications are:

Pain that is disrupting your ability to function and enjoy daily actives

Pain that is disrupting your participation in sports, fitness, or recreational activities

Feelings of asymmetric activation or strain with activity

Difficulty progressing with an activity program, like increasing intensity or longevity of an activity over time.  

After motor vehicle accident injury

 A referral is not required to see a physical therapist in Washington state. However, some insurance plans may require a physician’s referral to initiate physical therapy treatment. Check with your insurance plan to see if they require a referral or authorization. Labor & Industries insurance always requires a referral. 

 We are in-network with:

Premera BlueCross,  Cigna, Regence, Aetna First Health/Choice, Asuris Northwest Health, Anthem, TriWest and many more.

We are also in-network with L&I of Washington State.

Please feel free to call us and ask about your insurer.

We do accept motor vehicle insurance and specialize in working with car insurance companies - a claim number is required. 

We do offer Cash Pay, and Superbills for you to submit to your insurer if we are not enrolled with your insurer yet. 

In an evaluation session, the PT will ask questions to gather relevant information about your condition. Then they will assess your movements, range of motion, strength, and body relationships using hands-on techniques. Finally, they will summarize findings, discuss them with you to ensure understanding, and propose a treatment plan. This usually involves some manual therapy techniques to improve joint relationships, and some exercises to reinforce the desired movement relationships. 

In a follow-up (treatment) session, the PT will spend less time with assessment and more time on treatment. They will briefly check in about any changes in status. Treatments may include manual therapy, therapeutic exercise, functional movement training, and education about positional strategies

 This depends on your condition, and how long it has been going on. Once per week is enough to see changes, as long as you are consistent with your home exercises. Twice per week is helpful at the beginning to make faster progress. Three times per week is the most we would typically recommend, and this would usually be in the case of intensive preparation for an athletic event, or possibly after surgery.