Hello Friend,
Recently, I had a patient reluctantly cancel their appointment because they are a high risk for COVID-19, and because of the recent "stay-at-home" executive order. She didn’t want to cancel, because she was getting so much improvement ... and was worried she was going to backslide if she didn’t continue. What made her even more worried was her community fitness center was also closed. You see, it wasn’t too long ago that life without PT or going to the gym was normal for her... but her knee pain and low back pain finally urged her to make significant changes to her lifestyle. Now it was being taken away and she didn’t want to go back to that place again and asked what she should do.
I informed her that my practice now offers telehealth visits. This allows us to be able to help her in the comfort, convenience AND safety of her own home. She was quiet for a bit, I thought she would be excited but in actuality she was concerned. “How can you help me? You won’t be able to do massage or hands-on work.” I assured her, “Truthfully, massage and hands-on work is only a small part of your appointment. The work we do that gives you the lasting relief and eventual independence from your back and knee pain are the specific exercises and movements we prescribe you based on our assessment of your condition.” (skilled assessment is what makes Physical Therapists unique and effective for your needs.) She was quiet again, as she realized how much relief she gets on her own when she is diligently doing the exercises we give her.
She was definitely interested in telehealth now that she was better informed but she did have another concern. She was nervous about the “technology” aspect, which is something I totally understand because that can be daunting to think about taking on. I asked her, “Can you use a mouse to click on a link I send to your email?” It really is that easy! We have taken great care to make the entire process painless for you and more importantly, effective.
Telehealth is a great choice right now as we try to limit person to person contact to reduce exposure to COVID-19. Telehealth will also be a great choice moving forward for many patients who find they are limited by transportation, long work hours, childcare, travel often, live far away from the clinic, or live in a place with adverse weather conditions. If you are interested in giving telehealth a try, text or call 616-803-9829 to get started and stop delaying your progress.
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