Most people put off physical therapy over a question nobody answered for them. Do I need a referral. Will insurance cover it. How long is this going to take. Here are the answers in plain language, and if yours isn't below, call (508) 682-4217 and we'll answer it before you book anything.
No. Massachusetts has direct access to physical therapy, so you can book an evaluation with us without a physician referral. Some insurance plans still require a referral for coverage, so we verify your benefits before your first visit and tell you exactly where you stand.
Your first visit is a full hands-on evaluation with a Doctor of Physical Therapy. We take your history, watch how you move, and test where the symptoms are actually coming from, then you start treatment the same day. Later sessions combine hands-on work with the exercise that makes the hands-on work stick. You are one on one with your therapist the whole time.
Wear something you can move in and that gives us access to the area we are treating: shorts for a knee or hip, a tank top or a t-shirt you can move at the shoulder. Bring your insurance card, a photo ID, and any imaging reports or surgical protocols you already have. If a physician gave you a referral, bring that too, though you do not need one to start.
Not much, and that is deliberate. It helps if you can think through when the pain started, what makes it worse, and what you want to get back to doing, because those three answers shape the plan more than anything else. Arrive a few minutes early for paperwork, eat normally, and do not push through a painful workout the morning of your evaluation just to show us what hurts.
We accept Aetna, ASHLink, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, Fallon Health, Harvard Pilgrim, Mass General Brigham Health Plan, Medicare and Tricare, along with Workers' Compensation and auto injury claims. We check your benefits before your first visit and give you your copay and visit limits in writing, so there are no surprises. Flat self-pay rates are available if you are not covered.
Sessions run 30 to 60 minutes depending on what you need that day. The evaluation is at the longer end because it covers history, testing, hands-on treatment and your home program. You are with your own therapist for the session, not handed off between aides.
A typical plan of care is two to three visits a week for four to six weeks. That is a starting estimate, not a contract. Your therapist reassesses you as you progress and the frequency comes down as you need us less, which is the point.
Most patients notice improvement within about six visits. A typical plan of care runs two to three visits a week for four to six weeks, and your therapist reassesses you as you go so the plan matches how you are actually responding rather than a fixed schedule.
Yes, and they matter as much as anything we do in the clinic. You leave your first visit with something to work on, and the program grows with you rather than arriving as a stack of handouts on day one. We keep it to what you will actually do, because a short program you complete beats a long one you abandon.
Call the clinic at (508) 682-4217 or email maritimephysicaltherapy@gmail.com and your therapist will get back to you. You should never leave a visit unsure about what you are doing at home or why, and if something changes between visits we would rather hear about it than have you guess.
Yes. Every clinician here holds a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree, and explaining your condition in plain language is part of the treatment, not an extra. You should be able to tell someone else what is going on with your body and what the plan is by the time you leave your evaluation.
Tell us immediately. Some treatment is uncomfortable and some soreness afterward is normal, but sharp or escalating pain is information, not something to push through. Your therapist will change the technique, reduce the load, or stop. You are never expected to earn your recovery by tolerating pain quietly.
Because we tell you, and because you will feel it. Discharge is based on the goals you set at your evaluation: the range of motion, the strength, and the specific activity you came in wanting back. When you hit those and can maintain them with your own program, you are done. We would rather graduate you than keep you on the schedule.
Back pain and sciatica, neck pain, shoulder and rotator cuff problems, hip and knee pain, foot and ankle pain, plantar fasciitis, elbow, wrist and hand pain, arthritis and joint pain, chronic pain, sports injuries and ACL tears, recovery after knee and hip replacement, balance and gait problems, dizziness and vertigo, pelvic pain and lymphedema. If you are not sure whether we treat what you have, call and ask.