Once you’ve first committed to try physical therapy, the next step is to have an initial evaluation. This appointment tends to take a little bit longer than a normal appointment, but provides us with all the information we need to develop your treatment plan and get to work on your healing process!
A physical therapy evaluation consists of a thorough assessment of your medical history, current condition, and physical abilities to identify areas of pain, weakness, or dysfunction. This includes a patient interview, range of motion and strength testing, and a functional assessment of daily activities.
Based on our findings, your physical therapist will develop a personalized treatment plan tailored to your recovery goals. In this article, we’ll cover exactly what a physical therapy evaluation consists of, how long it will take, and discuss the average cost for this type of appointment.
What to expect at a physical therapy evaluation
A physical therapy evaluation is a comprehensive assessment conducted by your therapist to determine your functional abilities, limitations, and needs. This evaluation serves as the foundation for creating the treatment plan, and sets a timeline for when you can expect to finish physical therapy.
It typically consists of:
- A patient interview, where we’ll discuss your past injuries, surgeries, illnesses, current medications, etc. We’ll also ask you about your current condition, your lifestyle and your goals.
- A physical examination, where we’ll assess your posture, gait, body alightment, range of motion, and the physical feeling of your muscles and joints for tenderness, swelling, or abnormalities. We may also check your strength, range of motion, or perform specific special tests to identify conditions like ligament injuries or nerve compression.
- A functional assessment, where we’ll analyze how well you perform daily tasks like walking, climbing stairs, or lifting objects. This may also include an assessment of your balance, coordination, endurance, or any other physical trait that is related to your presenting condition.
- A pain assessment, where we’ll discuss the location, intensity, and nature of your pain (sharp, dull, throbbing, etc.). We often use pain scales (e.g., a 1-10 scale) to quantify discomfort.
- We’ll review any imaging or reports you have, such as X-rays, MRIs, or other diagnostic tests.
- We’ll move on to diagnosis and goal setting based on the findings of your evaluation as well as your stated short- and long-term goals for therapy.
- Finally, we’ll build a treatment plan around your goals and needs. The treatment plan will generally include therapeutic exercises for strength, mobility, and balance. Additionally, we’ll generally include modalities like ultrasound, electrical stimulation, or hands-on manual therapy.
This evaluation provides the foundation for the next few months of therapy you’ll receive, and a good physical therapist will continually adjust the plan based on your needs and feedback.
This is why we always emphasize communicating well with your therapist about how it’s going during the weeks and months after your initial evaluation.
Initial evaluations are always private
Note that initial evaluations are always done in private treatment rooms; our goal is that you would be comfortable sharing with us whatever details you need to discuss. What happens at a physical therapy evaluation is always kept private and is protected by HIPAA regulations.
How long do physical therapy evaluations take?
A physical therapy evaluation typically takes a little longer than a basic physical therapy appointment. The evaluation itself, in addition to the initial in-clinic treatment day, tends to take about one hour.
However, we generally recommend patients budget one hour and fifteen minutes for the entire appointment, which provides us some wiggle room for paperwork and insurance information beforehand.
How much does a physical therapy evaluation cost?
The cost of a physical therapy evaluation can vary widely based on a few factors, but the general out-of-pocket cash price for a physical therapy evaluation is around $120 on the low end to $150 on the high end.
However, we generally tell patients not to worry about the cost of an evaluation versus a regular appointment, since insurance tends to treat the evaluation as an appointment and compensate as such. You’d typically only need to worry about this cost if you’ve opted to do cash pay for physical therapy.
To learn more about how much physical therapy tends to cost, we’ve got an entire article on the cost of physical therapy that you can take a look through.
If you’re concerned about costs, contact the clinic directly for pricing details and verify insurance benefits before scheduling your appointment.
