Is it just me, or are all physical therapists incompetant?

Not every injury is a stress fracture. There are many injuries. In my training room, I have met with the same thick headed advice. A bunch of times the AT's have turned small injuries into a 4-6 week thing. They have no medical competence and just feel good wearing the white shirts and being part of the "medical staff." Therefore, I now go to my coach. He has more experience and he was a sociology major!

My son had a stress fracture in his left thigh. We told the doctor it felt like a broken bone but he called it a strained quad and refered us to a PT. We told the PT we thought it was a stress fracture and he treated it as a strained quad (electric shock). He recommended that he not run for one week... so after one week he started running. The stress fracture got worse. Again we said stress fracture and again they wouldnt listen. After three weeks we finally got a referal to get an MRI.

The PT claimed to be a runner also.

Its not just you. But I want to beleive there are some really good PT's out there... somewhere. How can you tell them apart?

Just like anything you have good PT's and Bad PT's. Some PT's think they're Dr.s and believe they know alot more than they really do.... I think they're best for non athletic types... I have'nt been too impressed with the PT's I've met but I know people that appear to have had some good results by seeing one... PT's seem to be good for the type of personaltiy that needs a personal trainer....

I think you're right on for the profession. I have found that about 10% of PTs can treat a runner's injury. Most of them are totally clueless, and just hook you up with ultrasound, orthotics, etc. Those modalities, not coincidentally, are how the PT/clinic makes the most $, so runners have economics working against them.

I knew this one guy who was a runner and PT, who used his participation in running to get business. The problem was that he was totally incompetent. His response to all injuries was to tape, ultrasound, and prescribe orthotics. His orthotics made my feet worse than before, and when he refused to withdraw the bill for them (insisting that he take an x-ray to see what was wrong) I called him a roach motel. He got all upset like a little girl and never wrote off the bill. I eventually contacted his boss at Healthsouth management, who wrote off the bill. I never heard from this idiot again.

So, my advice would be to contact the PTs boss to get it straightened out. Then, ask other runners in the area who hte good PT is. You may have to travel a good distance because there arent many of them. Good luck.

As someone else has said, you need to find a PT who deals with your type of injury and your sport. Find a sports-minded one who is interested in getting you back to your performance and not just functioning.

My son injured an ankle playing soccer. We found a PT who was a soccer trainer. He prescribed some exercises and had my son come in twice/week. While he only charges the copay for an hour session, he typically has my son work out there for 2-3 hours. After working with my son one-on-one, he'll put him on an exercise bike or something for another hour or so while the PT works with his next patient.

Despite a grade 3 sprain, my son already has full movement back in his ankle. In deference to knowing the sport, the PT will not release our son until he can prove that he can make the sudden unplanned movements that occur during a soccer game.

Needless to say, we've been pleased.

What exactly are those exercises that cured your achilles tendonitis? I'm interested...

not again... wrote:

welcome to the world of medicine, Ed. Doctors have been hearing the same complaints for years. And while the profession is far from perfect, it seems the same people are doing the complaining all the time.

We refer to these people collectively as "the patients".

i hate PTs wrote:

I've been to many PTs and never found any of them to be helpful. They always seem more concerned your insurance than they are about treating your injury- everything about the treatment from the moment you walk in until the moment you leave revolves around insurance. Also, there is a very common tendency for therapists to ignore clinets while trying to cram in as many patients as possible at the same time. Finally, most of the exercises that PTs prescribe are utterly worthless. It's deplorable. Anybody else disgruntled with phyiscal therapy?

If you're going to a PT for a diagnosis, you're entering very dodgy territory. In my experience over the years, I haven't found too many PTs who are really equipped to make a sophisticated diagnosis and treat the cause of the problem, not just the symptom. Ideally, PTs should execute a therapy program to treat a diagnosis made by a competent sports doctor.

I have known a couple decent PTs in the military, but most, while well meaning, did not know more about running or running related injuries than I do. This lack of knowledge usually leads to them to fall back on a common diagnosis and course of treatment. Nothing really that you couldn't figure out on your own. Worst case, they lead you down a path that makes matters worse.

Unfortunately, a knowledgable athlete who is well read on running injuries is probably better off working through the problem himself if he/she can't afford a well-regarded sports medicine doctor.

I too have had trouble with physical therapy.

about 18 months ago a developed a burning sensation just below my calf, so i went to a local doctor who runs marathons and he told me it was just achilis tendonitis, and to run through it. After about a year of running through it I decided to get more medical advice and went to a sports doctor who perscribed a tightened and agitated gastric soleus tendon. We thought that whith his P.H.D's and whatnot that he might know what he was talking about. But after 4 months of physical therapy (mostly ultrasound and strength exercises) and missing my entire cross country season, the injury stayed the same. So we go to a diffrent medical doctor and he gives the same diagnosis, we dont like his diagnosis so we go back to our physical therapy office for another opinion, when a lowly PT looks at my foot and says, your feet are crooked you need orthotics. So we get orthotics and the injury is completely gone now. Unfortunately the way the orthotics changed my heelstrike ive developed a serious case of shinsplints in both legs.

So im not going to disagree with or dismiss the frustration that alot of people have with physical therapy.

Is anyone here familiar with the MVP Phyiscal Therapy chain of clinics in the Puget Sound area? They are the single worst PT company I have ever patronized. Absolutely deplorable.

If you had a PT send you back to activity without checking with an MD first, you got a dud. PTs are not allowed to clear for activity nor are they allowed to pull a person from activity. Knowledge bomb.

Some PTs ARE Dr.s. They literally have a doctorate degree and study the body for 7+ years. What you mean is that they are not an MD...and since any MD who is not a sports med doc or orthopedist has four thousand other things to remember from med school or about their specialty, I'm not sure how that's a bad thing.

Did you ever think that if they don't pick exactly the right treatment, your insurance won't cover and YOU will have to?

You need to find a clinic that spends 45 minutes to an hour of one on one time with a single patient. It literally takes a phone call. You're the customer. Go shopping and do your due diligence already. You'd ask questions about a new car. Ask questions about your PT, your MD, your chiro, and the guy recommending shoes to you at the shoe store.

Go to a PT who is a runner. For my physical therapy, I selected a PT who was a D1 runner in college.

stillarunner wrote:

I find them to be more knowledgeable then doctors. My experience is that most doctors are either incompetant or evil. For example my doctor advised me to stop running on my knees because I was getting older and I may need possible surgery. Well, thank God for my phyiscal therapist who got me back into shape with muscles balancing exercises. My knees are good as new. Doctors are worthless not physical therapiest. You got it backwards.

Why do people keep spelling the word "incompetent" "incompetant" on this thread - including the OP?

I'm also a PT and unfortunately I would have to agree with the OP. I have interacted with and are currently working with several PTs, whom I feel are giving our profession a bad name. I cringe with some of the advice I hear them giving some of our patients. My personal opinion is that the majority could care less about continuing education and are just in the profession to collect a paycheck.

With saying that, just like any profession there are some very good therapists and some not so good ones. I would advise to look around until you find one that is actually listening to you and is doing what they can to ease your symptoms. If your PT is using his "magic wand" for every ailment then you need to find another one asap.

I have come across a couple of very good PTs if anyone is interested. The first one is Dr. Erson Religioso from Buffalo, NY. He has a very good blog that he continually updates themanualtherapist.com. I believe that he offers online video consultation if you don't live near him. He routinely states that he will make a significant change in your pain levels in 2-3 visits or he will refer you out. I have personally found his blog very helpful.

The other is named Bob Johnson and his clinic is downtown Chicago and is named Achieve Manual Physical Therapy.

I challenge any of the PT haters on this thread to visit one of the above PTs and see if your mind is not changed.

I've never had a PT who didn't bring me back to full strength when I did my home exercises.

My experience with doctors has been uneven. The best have been the ones who prescribed physical therapy, interestingly.

PTs are like any profession...some are terrible, a bunch are average, and a few are outstanding. The dissapointment often expressed by runners stems from the fact that many PTs aren't really experienced in working with athletes...they're used to working with deconditioned people recovering from surgery. Your task is to find one of the outstanding ones who works with athletes.

Yes...most PTs are terrible at what they do, the reason being that the quality of PT education is deplorable. For the most part, PT today is a massively expensive waste of time and money that only deprives society of the actual great benefits of real preventive and rehabilitative exercise.