Patient Spotlight-Meet Natalie

As someone who’s struggled with back and neck pain for years, I had no idea what physical therapy could do for me. Since I don’t have insurance, going to the doctor seemed daunting and I thought I’d be sent for x-rays and all kinds of expensive tests, so I never went. After about a year of intense hip and lower back pain that was brought on by an intensive workout regime that was really starting to impact my quality of life, and trying everything I could possibly think of outside of going to the doctor (including completely discontinuing any kind of physical activity for several months), I finally decided to go to determine the next steps and a course of action to see what I was facing. Lo and behold, the doc told me I needed to go to physical therapy! I learned that this was not something I needed a referral for, however, I’m glad I got one, as my doctor referred me directly to Alex at All In Physical Therapy.

I was amazed at my very first physical therapy appointment. Alex performed a lot of tests to determine my muscle strength, reflexes, balance, and flexibility, and quickly determined that I had atrophied gluteus muscles that were destabilizing my core. This was most likely a result of not working the proper muscles when strength training, and eventually the larger muscle groups took over. Her diagnosis aligned with how I felt about what was going on with my body and I quickly and enthusiastically got to work on my assigned stretches and exercises. Alex has also performed dry needling and some other pain and inflammation-reducing techniques on me. It’s still a work in progress, but my pain is getting better and I feel my inner core strength returning. Even going for a simple walk feels different! Alex has also educated me on how to identify pain and knowing when to stop or when I’ve done too much. Physical therapy has been a game changer in my life and I look forward to continuing to get better and getting back to exercising on a regular basis!