Q: Why should someone see a physical therapist?
A: Most often, patients are referred to one of our clinics by their orthopedic surgeon or primary care physician to assist with recovery from an injury or procedure. But, physical therapy is beneficial to anyone seeking pain relief and improved function. The physical therapy approach is to evaluate the neuromuscular and musculoskeletal systems and address movement limitations or malalignments that are affecting mobility and causing pain. When patients come to physical therapy first, they can often avoid unnecessary surgery and medication. Through intentional exercises and hands-on treatment, patients can get back to their hobbies, everyday tasks and more.
Q: Do I need a doctor’s referral to schedule an appointment at TherapySouth?
A: Patients are able to schedule an appointment without a physician’s referral. Your therapist will perform an initial evaluation to determine if therapy is appropriate for you. They will work with your primary care physician, or physician specialist to create your best care plan. To schedule an appointment, patients can call the clinic directly or visit our website to check appointment availability and set up an initial visit.
Q: What makes TherapySouth stand out in the physical therapy industry?
A: TherapySouth is a private, physical therapist-owned practice that has been serving the greater Birmingham communities for over 15 years. Our numerous convenient locations across the metro area allows us to live out our message of providing “Hands On Care, Close to Home — and Work!” Our staff develop relationships with each patient and truly make the clinic environment feel like a family. With access to quality physical therapy care, we believe we can help our community live better, healthier lives!
Q: What would you like potential patients to know about your practice?
A: We take our core values very seriously. We are a company based on faith that believes in family, integrity, service, compassion, fitness, perseverance, and giving. We try to instill these values in all our employees and encourage them to live them out not only at work as professionals, but also in their personal lives.
Q: What does a first visit look like at TherapySouth?
A: During the initial evaluation, your therapist will take athorough history of your condition or injury and review past medical history that may influence your case. Appropriate baseline objective measures will be recorded to evaluate throughout your treatment, such as range of motion and strength. Together, you and your therapist will discuss and set goals to help you achieve maximum function. Your therapist will determine a treatment plan and prescribe a home exercise program for you to perform at home to compliment therapeutic activities performed in the clinic. In addition, skilled manual techniques are utilized to further enhance recovery. Your therapist will communicate and coordinate with other health care professionals as needed to provide optimal care.
Q: Your team offers traditional orthopedic services and wellness services. Can you explain the difference?
A: We are passionate about helping patients go beyond recovery and become stronger and more active in their everyday lives. In additionto traditional treatment for orthopedic injury, we often work with competitive athletes, weekend warriors, or anyone looking to improvetheir performance. Wellness services include dry needling, KT tape application, stretching, soft-tissue mobilization, and more. Wellness services can be purchased as time block packages to maximize thesuccess of treatment.
Q: How has TherapySouth grown and changed over the years?
A: Our founder and CEO, Steve Foster, PT, started TherapySouth in 2006 with a vision for the practice to be therapist-owned and provide quality hands-on care, close to patient’s home and work. While the practice has grown to over 45 clinics across Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi — our commitment to core values and clinical excellence remains the same. In addition, all clinics are owned and operated by physical therapists — ensuring the highest quality of care for our patients. This growth has led to more opportunities for continued education, specialization in needed services and improving the wellness in our communities. We are excited to continue growing our team and to be able to provide resources and training for our staff to make positive impacts in the lives of their patients.
