If you’re anything like me, you enjoy supporting local small businesses in your area. You would much rather visit a local coffee shop than Starbucks, and you would visit family-owned restaurants over a national fast food chain any day. On the other hand, it is sometimes much more convenient to pick up your fresh produce from Trader Joe’s than to wait for the Saturday morning farmer’s market.

Making a lifestyle change can feel like a daunting task, especially when it comes to your health. If you have been doing things the same way for a long time, any change, positive or negative, can be difficult. When your lifestyle change involves getting physical therapy for a chronic condition, you may worry about how it will affect different areas of your life. Even though physical therapy can be a positive change for your health and wellbeing, some worries are completely normal.

If you’re anything like me, you enjoy checklists. Lists allow you to free up room in your brain and make sure that you have all of your ducks in a row, as the saying goes. Checking an item off one of your lists, especially your to-do lists, is one of the most satisfying feelings in the world. You probably find yourself wishing you had a checklist or guide whenever you go to a new doctor or medical professional. It can be intimidating walking into a new practice unsure of whether you have all the correct information for the doctor. If you are starting a physical therapy journey, this intimidation may ring true for you as well. You may wonder if you wore the right clothes or have the paperwork filled out correctly, along with the usual nerves that come with meeting someone for the first time.

For someone wanting to begin physical therapy, the new vocabulary can be confusing. One phrase that is probably new to most people is “manual therapy”. The terminology can cause many to ask questions such as, “What is manual therapy?” “Will my treatment include manual therapy?” “Is manual therapy distinct from physical therapy?” “How do I find a manual therapist?”

Trying anything for the first time can be daunting, especially a new medical treatment. If you have a chronic condition, it can be a trial-and-error process to find the treatment that really works for you and your symptoms, which can feel frustrating and endless.

Your health, time, and money are three of your most valuable resources, but money can be a huge influence on the other two. Investing in yourself is one of the best decisions you can make, but it can get expensive, especially if you need physical therapy. There are many people who live with daily chronic pain because they cannot afford the means by which they can feel better, and the pain causes stress not only on their physical health, but also on their mental health.

When making any significant change to your life, there are many factors to consider, especially when beginning a new fitness program or recovering from an injury with physical therapy. Investing in your health is one of the best decisions, but sometimes, this decision is challenging. Success often requires investing your time, money, and a personal commitment to a lifestyle change. Physical therapy and wellness services can range in price and may be challenging to fit into your budget. Also, a lifestyle change requires extra time and discipline to see results. You must choose the right place the first time to make the best health investment. At EW Motion Therapy, our physical therapy and wellness services, including Pilates, personal training, yoga, and more, can fit almost any patient willing to invest in themselves. We have been rehabilitating patients and working with wellness clients of any age and ability since 1999, and we are continuing to grow in our expertise, programs, and services. Whether you are an athlete who wants to set a new personal record (PR) or a grandparent who wishes to get down on the floor and play with your grandkids again, our therapists can tailor a treatment plan for you.

We’ve all had that visit to a medical office: you wait in the waiting room for at least half an hour, only to see your provider for maybe five minutes. Finding personalized care in any medical field can be difficult, and physical therapy is no exception. Finding the right person for your treatment is imperative. But how do you choose? How do you know if a therapist you’re considering is the right one for you?

When you begin a physical therapy treatment, it is normal to wonder how long you will need therapy. Will it be four weeks or six? Will I have to take time off of work? Most importantly, how long will it take for me to feel better? We understand how these questions can plague your conscience and cause you anxiety and stress.

When you think about physical therapy, you may be skeptical about how it actually works. You may think, “I can just do stretches at home, why do I need to see a specialist?” You may be wondering whether there are evidence-based studies showing the effects of physical therapy. You may not understand why your doctor referred you to something you think you could do yourself and may be asking, “Is physical therapy really worth it?”