Physical Therapy worth the cost?

Went to one at college. Pure fluff. Went to an expensive one. Nailed it.

No. I went to one of the most well known PTs in the world, and he sucked. Everyone I have been to sucked.

Google: Jay Dicharry strength training for runners. Somebody on here introduced me to it last year, and I have been injury free since.

I was in the same boat as you several years ago. Lots of random injuries, my dad recommended me to a physical therapist and they discovered a muscle imbalance in my right quad and hamstring that seemed to be the center of the majority of my problems. I would say physical therapy is definitly worth the money

In my experience, PTs are much more useful than doctors. Even the star sports doctors I saw usually just said "stop running" or "run less." I've had two really good PTs who were able to quickly diagnose an issue and give me exercises to fix it. In both cases, I only went to a couple of sessions. They wanted me to do more (like 6 weeks), but I just kept religiously doing the exercises on my own, and the issues disappeared very quickly.

I have not used PT for running injuries (mainly because I don't seem to need it) but I used it for a knee injury that I obtained from cycling.It did nothing. After awhile I felt like I was being taken. My insurance covered it (I would be reimbursed after spending my own money up front) but it was more the time.Strangely, my knee injury went away after I just RESTED and did no therapy.

Physico wrote:

After three years of random injuries here and there, my doctor suggested physical therapy to try to discovery any mistakes in my biomechanics or muscle weaknesses. I'm skeptical especially considering the amount of appointments they would like me to commit too (6 weeks worth) and the fact that my insurance company would require me to foot 20%.

If you did physical therapy, was it worth the time and cost? Did it improve your running in the long term?

Physico wrote:

After three years of random injuries here and there, my doctor suggested physical therapy to try to discovery any mistakes in my biomechanics or muscle weaknesses. I'm skeptical especially considering the amount of appointments they would like me to commit too (6 weeks worth) and the fact that my insurance company would require me to foot 20%.

If you did physical therapy, was it worth the time and cost? Did it improve your running in the long term?

I think it's worth the money (what $150-200 at 20%?) if you have access to someone reputable. My other half is a PT and that means I have more respect for them, but also know there are plenty of them who don't work on the sports-related Ortho side to help you properly.

How much money would you pay to be able to run again right now? Remember, your insurance effectively multiplies whatever that amount is by a factor of 5.

25" wrote:

No. I went to one of the most well known PTs in the world, and he sucked. Everyone I have been to sucked.

Google: Jay Dicharry strength training for runners. Somebody on here introduced me to it last year, and I have been injury free since.

Funny you suggest Dicharry because he is a PT.

A good PT is better than a doctor and worth their weight in gold. A poor PT is useless. I have no clue how you go about finding a good one.

The overwhelming majority of physical therapists are absolutely terrible at what they do. Don't be fooled by their professional degrees; the quality of the education they receive is deplorable. Most people who think their PTs made them better just got better on their own.

I don't believe runners ever benefit from PT.

Well consider how much you have spent or will spend if you do not find and correct the underlying cause.

What about MT? Good massage therapist worth weight in gold and keeps you running. I've never done PT, but MT was well worth it.

ASD wrote:

The overwhelming majority of physical therapists are absolutely terrible at what they do. Don't be fooled by their professional degrees; the quality of the education they receive is deplorable. Most people who think their PTs made them better just got better on their own.

No. Just... no. I'm studing physiotherapy right now and the quality of my tuition is outstanding. First year was nothing but anatomy, physiology and biomechanics, with clinical skills rounding out the deal. The course is intense with huge-drop-out rates. Both anatomy and physiology are the same courses taken by all other health professionals including MDs. We also study neuroanatomy, pain science, orthotics, acute care. We know the body and its movements inside and out, back to front. Perhaps of all the fields in health science, physios need to know anatomy and biomechanics better than anyone else.

The main problem with physiotherapy is you perscribe very specific movements and patient non-compliance is an ongoing and very frustrating issue. With driven people, this translates as doing too much, which is just as harmful as too little.

htrf wrote:

No. Just... no. I'm studing physiotherapy right now and the quality of my tuition is outstanding. First year was nothing but anatomy, physiology and biomechanics, with clinical skills rounding out the deal. The course is intense with huge-drop-out rates. Both anatomy and physiology are the same courses taken by all other health professionals including MDs. We also study neuroanatomy, pain science, orthotics, acute care. We know the body and its movements inside and out, back to front. Perhaps of all the fields in health science, physios need to know anatomy and biomechanics better than anyone else.

The main problem with physiotherapy is you perscribe very specific movements and patient non-compliance is an ongoing and very frustrating issue. With driven people, this translates as doing too much, which is just as harmful as too little.

The reason you think the quality of the education you're receiving is good is that you judge it by the standard of what you're being taught in that very quack factory you call a "school." Just cramming a bunch of anatomical facts doesn't make you able to help an injured person; even blatant quacks like chiropractors know a lot of anatomy. The only thing that makes a good PT is knowing the correct principles of physical rehabilitation, which are not taught in today's schools.

Easy there Hanz.

What components do you think make up the "correct principles of physical rehabilitation"? It is a combination of anatomy, physiology, research, and clinical experience. This is what is taught in the schools.

What qualifies you as an expert in physical therapy education anyway? Either you have been through it and are a PT or are conjecturing, which makes you unqualified to comment.

Do yourself a favor and you tube " Kobe Bryant secret weapon "

I worked as a pt aide for a while. Really not worth it for runners or athletes unless its post surgical type stuff...acl, rotator cuff tears etc.

Agree with above sentiment that pt schools are basically diploma mills. Remember, I worked closely with a lot of students through the years, as well as a lot of full fledged pts. I was not impressed with the level of smarts on these people. Incredibly linear in their thinking. A lot of rote treatments. Zero knowledge or ability in the training aspect. Everything is 3 sets of 10 and redundant. Very formulaic.

The egos are monstrous. Its hilarious because the pts will go on and on about the egos of surgeons, but they are just as bad. quotes like "we are the future of health care" "we are the best and only option" were said a lot.

A very good cscs or athletic trainer is the better way to go if you are a runner or athlete. They won't hose you into 12 visits either.

Interesting discussion. I've had hamstring issues for 10+ years of my 25+ years of running. But strengthening exercises i found on this board and through google kept the issue at bay enough to have a solid 3 years of steady training and racing. I really felt that I knew more than the PTs i would end up seeing so i had no desire to waste my time.

But last year, i ramped up the mileage and quality and my hams complete blew. I followed the same strength routine that i had been but this time, it didn't work. I also found myself trying so many exercises that i was spending 2 hrs a day several days per week just trying to heal myself.

I went to an ART therapist who made it worse so I finally gave in and went to a PT that my insurance covers. He got me doing exercises i would not have thought or that i would be afraid would make it worse. But he also had me focus on just a few that I had already been doing. 8 weeks later and i'm on the road to recovery.

bottom line is the PT gave me the confidence that what i was doing wasn't a waste of time and that i wasn't going to kill myself.

It is really hard to tell whether PTs are effective because the usual length of treatment (6-8 weeks) is also about how long it takes for most any mild to moderate soft tissue problem to heel on its own.

I had a high hamstring problem that got so bad that I almost couldn't walk up a hill without turning sideways. I went to the top PT in town who worked for pro sports teams (NFL, NBA, etc.). We talked for a while about the kind of running I did (pace, races, training). She started working with me in a big room with other patients taking turns on various machines, bands, mats, etc. One day, I watched as some overweight hobby jogger did the exact same sequence of exercises that I did. And that is my main complaint about PTs. Treatment plans are cookie cutter. No consideration given to ability level, dedication of athlete. Everyone is pretty much treated the same.