Ripple Blog

What is ‘Performance’ Physical Therapy? — Ripple Boston

Written by Jeremy Dupont | Feb 3, 2022 5:00:00 AM
You’ve been to a Physical Therapist, but what makes a ‘Performance’ PT different?

 

Chances are you’ve had an injury, and gone to Physical Therapy.

Generally, PT is a fine experience. Coming off an injury or surgery, all you want to do is get rid of your pain and get back to your life. You go in, see the PT for a few minutes for some stim or hot pack, ride the bike, do some floor exercises and get out of there.

You feel better, yes — but it’s not something you look forward to going to.

Performance Physical Therapy is something that you look forward to.

Don’t believe me? Take Boston Physical Therapist Doctor Egan’s word for it:

So — what exactly is Performance Physical Therapy?



1. Hybrid approach

The nature of a Performance Physical Therapist is a mixture of manual therapy techniques and exercise. We call this method a ‘hybrid’ approach and the mix between the two is highly dependent on the individual. If you’re in a lot more pain or coming off an injury, the session may include more manual therapy, dry needling (if you haven’t, you’ve got to try it), and other myofascial release modalities to help calm the nervous system and get you moving and feeling better. Then, once you’re out of pain, we implement exercise to help you keep this newfound range of motion, while getting you stronger to keep you pain-free forever. We believe that movement is the best medicine, and once you can move safely that’s the best prescription.

2. Treat you, not the problem

Not to knock traditional forms of therapy, but most insurance-run places you go to will help get rid of your pain but never actually fix the root cause of your problem. You’ll go in for some back pain, and they say you’ll need to come in 2x a week for the next 4-6 weeks. That’s all great — but within that time frame, you’re really only putting a band-aid on the problem which, even though it reduces your pain never really fixes the problem. Performance Therapy is different.

We don’t look at your journey in 3 steps —
Step #1, get you out of pain.
Step #2, Identify and address the root cause of your problem and fix that.
Step #3, Give you the tools to not only get you back to where you were before but stronger than ever so you don’t get hurt again.
Our patient 3 step process is what makes us the best, find out more and how it can benefit you.

3. We’re a Cash-Based System

This may sound scary or be a turn-off, but let me tell you why this is better. Traditional Physical Therapy clinics that take insurance have to play by the insurance company rules. This means that their treatment procedure is dictated by the insurance company, and not based on what your injury is. Being cash-based, we’re able to treat the individual and not the symptom, spend a full 60-minute session 1-on-1 with each patient, and add in progressive modalities like dry needling, functional exercise, and return to sport procedures that insurance wouldn’t allow. The best part? At the end of the day, traditional insurance-based PT is going to take you longer to get better and end up costing you more in the long run. With cash-based PT, you get better faster and know upfront how much you have to pay. Now, you tell me what you think is better?

4. The Holistic Approach

A Performance PT isn’t just someone who can help you with an injury. All of our PTs have a background in health and wellness, so they can help you in all factors of life. To address your injury, we not only look at the site of the pain, but we dive deep into your sleeping habits, stress levels, current exercise routine, and all other lifestyle factors. At Ripple Boston, you’ll not only get out of pain but get a full-blown daily exercise routine and accountability buddy that will walk you through each step of the process.

5. Get you back and BETTER to your sport

If you ask me, this is the best part. If you’re an active person and have gone to traditional Physical Therapy, you probably got out of pain but as soon as you started pushing it again that injury inevitatebly came back. Most PT clinics get you out of pain but don’t have the ability to address getting you back to the sport due to insurance restrictions. Here at Ripple, we take the weeks after your pain is solved, and develop specific strength and mobility so you can go back to doing what you love with confidence. Had a shoulder injury because of golf? Best believe part of your Physical Therapy is going to be strengthening your golf swing. Need to get your knees stronger for ski season? Your treatment plan will not only fix your knee pain, but get your hips, quads, and knees stronger with more endurance so you can ski all season long.

There are four reasons why Performance Physical Therapy is better than Traditional Physical Therapy, but to be honest that list could be 10x longer.

Ready to get started?

Need some more convincing?

Book a FREE 15-Minute Phone consultation with me and I’m happy to chat through any questions you may have about the process.

 



Most people don’t know where to go when they’re in pain. With Performance Physical Therapy at Ripple, we take the guesswork out of getting injury-free and back to doing what you love.

Chat soon!
Jeremy