GENERAL OVERVIEW
Insurance, cash payments, physician orders, and what to expect during your visit
Do I need an order from a doctor to schedule an appointment?
No. Arkansas is a direct access state for PT. This means you can come see a PT directly without a physician referral, and a PT can evaluate and treat impairments and biomechanical dysfunction as needed. If you have health insurance, you should check your policy to determine whether your insurance plan requires a physician's order.
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The only limitations to direct access in Arkansas, as defined by the Arkansas State Board of Physical Therapy practice act, is wound care and bronchopulmonary hygiene. In order for a PT to do wound care or bronchopulmonary hygiene, you will need to see your physician first and obtain an order for Physical Therapy. Everything else is covered by direct access in the practice act and can be evaluated and treated in Arkansas without first seeing your physician.
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We are licensed by the state of Arkansas to thoroughly evaluate, and appropriately perform treatments, with or without an order from a Physician.
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We will refer patients to an appropriate healthcare provider as deemed necessary.
Do you accept health insurance?
​Yes, we accept several of the largest health insurance plans in Arkansas.
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What if I don't have health insurance?
Health insurance is not required to schedule physical therapy. Our cash rate is $120 per visit. We accept cash, credit card, HSA and FSA payments.
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What is the cost for Sports and Life Performance Assessments?
$149 per assessment. You and/or your athlete will receive a full assessment, including video analysis, prescribed corrective exercises and practice techniques. If you wish to schedule follow up visits to conduct exercises, evaluate progress or update the plan of care, those visits are $90. We accept cash, credit card, HSA and FSA payments.
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What should I expect during my first visit?
Your initial visit will include a full evaluation and a treatment plan. Plan to spend one hour during your first visit and one hour for each subsequent visit.
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Your number of follow up visits will depend on your symptoms, the subsequent treatment plan and your individual progress towards your goals.
PHYSICAL THERAPY
Overview, who benefits from PT, physical therapy vs. occupational therapy
What is physical therapy?
Physical Therapy (PT) includes skilled manual techniques, exercise, and biomechanical training by practitioners who have extensive and thorough anatomical knowledge and are strong critical thinkers. PT can be enhanced with the addition of modalities such as therapeutic ultrasound, electrical stimulation, and spinal traction.
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According to the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), physical therapists are movement experts who improve quality of life through prescribed exercise, hands-on care, and patient education. They help people achieve fitness goals, regain or maintain their independence, and lead active lives. A physical therapist has successfully received a doctorate-level (DPT) or master's (MPT) graduate degree.
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Who benefits from physical therapy?
People often come to PT because they have pain somewhere. Common areas of pain are neck, thoracic and lumbar spines, sacroiliac (SI joint), shoulders, elbows, hips and glutes, knees, ankles and feet. But people will also benefit from PT when they are generally weak (like after resting during an illness) or for balance or gait training in order to walk better and more safely either in their home or out in the community.
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Individuals may also benefit from PT if they have movement patterns that could lead to pain and injury. Many times people don't have pain or mobility issues, but they do have movement patterns that prohibit them from maximizing their physical capacity. This is called performance training. Everything the body does is performance. Most people would likely benefit from performance training.
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How do I know if I need physical therapy?
The best way to know if you need physical therapy is to visit either a physical therapist or your primary care physician. Physical therapy can help patients alleviate pain, avoid surgery, safely and effectively rehab after a necessary surgery, improve overall mobility and athletic performance, and much more. If you think you might benefit from PT, give us a call and we'd be happy to discuss your symptoms and answer any questions you have. ​
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What is the difference between physical therapy and occupational therapy?
According to the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), Occupational Therapy (OT) helps people across the lifespan to do the things they want and need to do through the therapeutic use of daily activities (occupations). Occupational therapy practitioners enable people of all ages to live life to its fullest by helping them promote health, and prevent—or live better with—injury, illness, or disability. OT practitioners have a holistic perspective, in which the focus is on adapting the environment and/or task to fit the person, and the person is an integral part of the therapy team.
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There are a lot of “gray” areas and similarities between OT and PT. Often in a hospital or in-patient rehab setting, a PT will work on gross motor skills like muscle strength, balance, and gait training so that the OT can help the patient perform activities of daily living (ADLs) better, such as getting dressed, getting a shower, doing laundry, etc. In an outpatient setting, many times OT will address the upper extremity and fine motor tasks in order to enhance ADLs, and the PT will address dysfunction of the shoulder, spine, core, and lower extremities in order to improve overall function and mobility of the patient.
PERFORMANCE
Overview and what to expect
What is performance?
​Easily said, performance is anything and everything your body does. It is getting the most out of what your body can do. It is a more comprehensive approach to therapy and training in order to achieve maximum function for your body.
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How is performance training different from traditional physical therapy?
Traditional PT will typically treat a more local source of pain and the surrounding muscles. It will involve getting the tissue to settle down, then remodel the tissue using therapeutic exercise and modalities, and finish with strengthening the area.
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Performance training is a more global approach and often does not start with, or ever include, pain. The body has multiple parts and segments that move together (call kinetic chains). Performance training is assessing the movement of these kinetic chains, then optimizing them through supervised soft tissue mobilization, exercise, and stretching. The result of performance training should be increased mobility, power, balance, or whatever your specific goals are.