I recently had total joint replacement surgery and among all the details, I forgot to arrange for physical therapy sessions afterward. That mistake is in me.
At the time I needed therapy, many people were on vacation and couldn't schedule me until it would be too late. I called 6 or 7 offices on the list my doctor's office gave me and no one could help in the timeframe I needed it.
After so many "no"s, I was relieved to finally get a "yes" from PT Solutions. It didn't occur to me to wonder why they were so available and everyone else was not.
Firstly, let me say I have no issues at all with the office staff. They were friendly, polite and helpful and I hope they all find somewhere better to work. And everything that happened to me was witnessed by the staff, other clients, and my own adult son.
My assigned therapist was brusque and impatient with me, even with asking simple questions. If I ever asked if a pain was normal, she'd interrupt with, "Well, there's gonna be pain," or "You knew there was gonna be pain." I'd never had physical therapy and didn't know what to expect, but my therapist seemed irritated if I asked too many questions so I tried to stay quiet.
At one point in treatment, this therapist actually laughed at me for crying during an extremely painful exercise. She'd routinely snap at me if I asked if I should continue doing something. There's much more than that, but I don't want to go on and on. This therapist even admitted she'd never wanted to work with people and had wanted to be a veterinarian instead. I wish she had.
The final straw was when I came in and she was in a really foul mood, more so than normal. I'd been there two days earlier and gotten praise for my progress, but that day she was angry. Apparently, there was one particular muscle I'd been exercising incorrectly, so we worked on it and worked on it until I was sore, but I just couldn't figure out how to get this one muscle to respond. I honestly tried my best.
The therapist blew up at me in front of my son and everyone else in the place. (I know the staff also heard it and at least one other client.) She yelled at me, berated me for not meeting a goal I didn't know I'd had as if I did it intentionally just to p*ss her off, and ended by saying, and I quote," Well, you're not a TOTAL loser, you're at a one out of five!"(On the scale.) Yes. She said I wasn't a *total loser*.
I left and immediately called my health plan to see if I'd be in trouble if I never went back. And you know what they said? **PHYSICAL THERAPY IS VOLUNTARY.** My insurance paid for it and I paid the co-pay, only to be hurt, laughed at, embarrassed, insulted, and berated.
So. If you have upcoming surgery that recommends physical therapy, please don't make the same mistake I did. Go to the places well ahead of time, interview the people you'll be working with, ask what you can expect, and watch how they treat their clients before choosing one you feel comfortable with. If you see any red flags, walk away and call the next one. Life is too short to pay to be abused.
One final note: my assigned therapist is the owner of the business. read more