This is a great question! Although both include instruction in exercise and exercise program design, the difference is the reason for the exercise.

Physical therapy aims to address injuries, pain, and lack of function. Our physical therapy involves diagnosis of the issue, hands-on treatment to resolve these symptoms, and a holistic plan to address the underlying cause.

Fitness training (wellness services) aims to maintain or optimize your health, function, and ability to do those things you enjoy. These services include a fitness assessment, goal specific personalized fitness plan,  hands-on instruction on your custom exercise program, and support to achieve your goals.

Depending on your specific needs, your care may involve physical therapy followed by fitness training or just one or the other. For example,many patients who suffer from a stroke will complete a course of physical therapy but continue to benefit from fitness training to maximize their function.

Irritation of the tissues and the resultant pain cycle cannot be fully resolved without attention to the way you move. Pain and difficulty with activities is often caused by faulty movement patterns. You may not even be aware of how poor habitual posture and faulty movement patterns contribute to your symptoms. Essentially when you perform your daily activities with poor posture you are causing micro-trauma to your joints and muscles. Our extensive training in functional movement assessment, neuro-muscular re-education, ergonomics, and body mechanics education are targeted to get you back into pain-free motion. We will perform both a postural and functional movement assessment to determine if any of these is contributing to your symptoms. We use a method called The Selective Functional Movement Assessment (SFMA) developed by Gray Cook and colleagues. It uses a series of full body movements to identify possible causes of symptoms. We will be able to address the root of the problem and treat it to allow you to move with greater ease/comfort.

Orthopedic physical therapy is focused on treatment of diseases, injuries, and conditions of the musculoskeletal system. The musculoskeletal system includes the joints, ligaments, tendons, and nerves. Orthopedic physical therapy employs specific hands-on techniques to determine the root cause of your symptoms so that we can effectively resolve them. Manual (hand-on) techniques such as myofascial release, massage, joint mobilization, trigger point release, manual lymphatic drainage, instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization, neuro-muscular re-education, and the application of therapeutic taping may be used to promote healing and restore pain-free function.

Neuro-muscular re-education is a technique used by physical therapists to restore normal body movement patterns.

Your nerves and muscles work together to produce movement. Nerves send signals between your muscles and your brain about where, when, and how fast to move. Over time, muscle movement patterns are learned and stored in your memory.

When nerves or muscles experience damage or injury resulting from trauma and various medical and neurological conditions, muscle movement patterns can be negatively affected. Neuro-muscular re-education is one method used by physical therapists to facilitate the return of normal movement in patients with neuro-muscular impairments.

Neuro-muscular re-education consists of:

-Manual techniques (i.e., PNF-proprioceptive neuro-muscular facilitation)
-Activities for balance and core control
-Therapeutic exercises that are designed to re-develop normal controlled movement patterns.
-Downtraining/Relaxation Training

Although Inspiration Physical Therapy & Fitness is an out of network provider, many insurers offer reimbursement for a percentage of your physical therapy treatments. You may request a super-bill. A superbill, in medical billing, is a detailed invoice or receipt outlining the services provided by a health care provider to its patient/client. This will detail the charges and treatment codes for each visit. This bill can be submitted to your insurance company for reimbursement. The exact amount of reimbursement depends entirely upon your insurance plan. You may choose to submit bills following each visit, one time per month, or at any other interval, typically up to one year following your treatment visit.

Inspiration PT and Fitness has chosen to be an out of network provider. We made this decision to allow transparency of cost for treatment and to devote our full attention to getting you better. This approach reduces unnecessary paperwork and prevents your insurance carrier from dictating the type of care you receive.

For most people, cash pay rates are more affordable than using insurance. Shocking, right? The copay is rarely the only cost to the patient. Insurance- based clinics must bill your insurance company by law. If there is any deductible to be met, the patient is responsible for the remaining amount minus the copay already paid. If you have not met your deductible, it may be more cost effective for you to work with a cash-based physical therapist. We recommend that you contact your health insurance carrier to determine first if you have coverage for physical therapy. It is also helpful to inquire if you have met your deductible and if there is a copay for physical therapy treatment. In insurance-based practices, you may be surprised to receive bills on top of your copay for treatment. In our practice, you will never receive an unexpected bill weeks later for your care.

Your health is worth it and is the best investment you can make!

- Call the toll free # for customer service on your insurance card. Select the option that will allow you to speak with a customer service provider, not an automated system.

-Ask the customer service provider to quote your physical therapy benefits in general. These are frequently termed rehabilitation benefits and can include occupational therapy, speech therapy, physical therapy.

- Make sure the customer service provider understands you are seeing a non-preferred provider/out of network provider.

-Make sure to alert the customer service provider that you have a written prescription for physical therapy.

-Ask if your insurance policy requires a pre-authorization or a referral for outpatient physical therapy services. If your policy requires pre-authorization or a referral, you will want to ask your insurance carrier what the process is for obtaining these prior to physical therapy treatment.

-Ask if you have a deductible and if so how much of the deductible have you met?

-Ask what percentage of reimbursement do you have for physical therapy services and whether the rate of reimbursement changes if you see an out of network provider.

-Ask if there is a limit on the number of physical therapy visits covered per calendar year.

-Ask how to submit a claim to seek reimbursement for physical therapy treatment. Most insurance providers have a way to submit online or via mail.

The process is really simple. Inspiration Physical Therapy & Fitness will provide you with an invoice or superbill at your request. You will submit this superbill to your insurance company for payment. This superbill has all the required information including our business name, tax ID, national provider identification (NPI), ICD-10 diagnosis codes, and CPT (billing) codes.

PT Initial Appointment Checklist:

-Prescription for PT from your physician
-Complete intake paperwork and patient consent to treatment forms
-Please bring any imaging or medical reports related to your current symptoms
-Wear clothes you can move easily in
-Be ready to work as a team for your recovery

Fitness Assessment Checklist

-Complete personal training health history and waiver forms
-Wear comfortable clothes and supportive footwear
-Be ready to work as a team to map out your goals and the action plan for your fitness journey

A $50 fee will be charged if you fail to show for an appointment or cancel with less than 24 hours’ notice. The fee will not be charged if you have a documented illness or emergency.
It may be possible to reschedule your appointment on the same day. We will do our best to accommodate you.