Why choose PTPT over other clinics?

PTPT is different from other physical therapy clinics in many significant ways. We have a reputation of being a facility that heals where other clinics have failed which can be attributed to the extensive experience and holistic methodology of Vivian Eisenstadt, M.A.P.T., O.C.S. For details about Vivian, click here.

PTPT therapy programs educate you on what is occurring within your body regarding the history of your problem and what is required for expedient healing and enduring wellness. This includes education on how to prevent the recurrence of your pain once a pain free state is reached.

We are very straightforward and to the point about getting you in and out of therapy. Our primary interests are to produce swift recovery and results to get you back to your life in a good, powerful condition.

Our clinicians thoroughly analyze the body area in question while taking into account all factors throughout the rest of the body in relation to the effected area. This includes the patient's state of mind and emotional effects related to his/her issues.

We are clear that one area of your body influences every other each moment and that your psychological and emotional state are connected to your physical symptoms. In other words, we take into account many more health factors than the average physical therapist might on the physical, mental and emotional levels.

PTPT offers a very relaxed and loving environment. Though we provide professional services, we're not a stuffy office. You won't find florescent lights or white lab coats here! Rather, ours is a soft environment conducive to healing; a warm and welcoming space where everyone entering immediately feels comfortable enough to relax in order to begin healing.

These are just some of the reasons that draw people to our center. If you have any questions about our clinic, please don't hesitate to call us. Find out how other people have solved their pain issues at Prevent The Pain.

Come in to PTPT for healing, wellness, and confidence while creating a healthy future for your self.

What type of patients are seen at PTPT?

Aside from being a top referral of Cedars-Sinai Spine Center's pain management doctors in Los Angeles, many people are referred from other satisfied patients, doctors, health professionals and lawyers.

PTPT services address many conditions, including:
Acute and Chronic Pain Spinal Back and Neck Injuries Migraine Headaches Arthritis Chronic Fatigue Syndrome	Sports Injuries Overuse Injuries Sprains, Strains, & Tears Joint and Muscle Pain Vertigo

The following are some clinical case examples of the patients we treat:

In the aftermath of an injury, a person visits their doctor and is then recommended to our physical therapy clinic for quick recovery.

A person suffers from chronic physical pain such as lower back, neck, knee, shoulder, or ankle pain, tingling or numbness down their arms or legs, etc.

An individual suffers from general weakness due to systemic issues such as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Osteoporosis, or Fibromyalgia, and wants to understand the nature of his/her suffering and how alleviate the pain to be able to function better on a daily basis.

Following the trauma of a motor vehicle accident a person wants to recover as soon as possible and resume his/her normal life without negative memories.

A person whose vocation involves physical labor or hours in front of the computer develops pain and wants to get rid of the pain before the condition grows and becomes debilitating, preventing them from working or caring for his/her self.

Someone with an office job or one who sits in front of a computer many hours a day who likely experiences either headaches, back, neck, wrist or hand pain, numbness or tingling, or all of the above. Knowing that they have to deal with the daily stress of their job, as well as handle with ease the repetitive motions that computer work entails, their goal is to be able to resume computer and paper work without discomfort.

An athlete who wants to improve sports performance to get that extra edge over their competitors.

Athletes with sports injuries looking to get back to their sport with regained pain free skill and balance in their bodies.

These are just a some examples of who we see here at PTPT.
Contact us to see how PTPT can help you.

What are the initial steps to begin my physical therapy program?

Once you decide upon physical therapy as the way to return your body to well being, call the office and we will schedule an appointment for your initial evaluation.

Remember, PTPT gets you back to health ASAP. In general, patients who are focused on becoming pain free with no time to waste commit to being treated two or three times a week for approximately 4 weeks, after which we re-evaluate their condition. Others come in once a week and are placed on a home program that will maintain the benefits of their program from week to week.

Click here for information to see how much coverage you might have with your insurance.

What occurs during a PTPT physical therapy evaluation?

For your first visit, arrive 15 minutes early in order to fill out the HIPPA Compliance Form, Patient Questionnaire, Consent For Care Form and Lien Form if being sent here by your attorney. You can also download this list of forms, fill them out at home and fax them to us or bring them with you. For your initial visit also bring a T-shirt, shorts and sports bra (ladies) or wear clothing that allows the therapist to be able to evaluate your body comfortably on your visit.

The purpose of the initial evaluation is for the physical therapist to listen to the story that brought you to us in order to deduce how to treat you. This may include the history of the trauma you've incurred or how your pain developed over time (e.g. When did you start feeling pain? What was the direction of the force that hit you?), past medical history, and what daily functions are impaired.

We then draft a detailed report on when symptoms occur, how severe they are, what aggravates your pain or alleviates it (e.g. turning your head while driving, excessive computer typing, lifting your child etc.) as well as the mental and emotional stressors that contribute to your pain. We listen to the impact that your pain has had on the quality of your daily tasks such as holding your child or brushing your teeth, as well as the effect of pain in your work environment. Does pain totally disable you from the demands of your occupation? Does your pain keep you from focusing or doing your best at work, home or at play?

Once a complete verbal history is taken, the therapist will target and collect components of your diagnosis through a combination of special testing and measurements. PTPT is renowned for our therapist's precision in locating the factors contributing to your pain. The therapist then develops a plan to heal the damaged system while also repairing the secondary impairments. These are the harmful habits that have been created by your body to compensate for the initial trauma (e.g. after healing knee pain, we re-educate your body on how to walk properly considering you were limping while you had the knee pain).

• Most injuries are caused by a combination of recent occurrences combined with existing harmful habits. (e.g. A body weakened by general poor posture is more susceptible to a more harmful injury by a small fender bender) as well as slowing down your healing process once injured.

The therapist will explain what is causing your symptoms and on your initial visit will perform modalities and treatments to begin your road to recovery. These are listed under What kinds of modalities are performed at PTPT?"and What kinds of treatments are performed at PTPT?"

The following are just some of the issues we first address:

• Postural corrections (everyone seems to need them)
• How to train your body to sit straight
• How to perform daily tasks in a way that reinforces balance, e.g. lifting, reaching and bending correctly
• Initiate a home program specific to your issues. We take into account your time constraints and busy schedules, making sure to give you exercises you can do throughout your day.

At the end of your session you and the therapist will decide what course of treatment is best for you. We can accommodate you if your schedule is subject to constant change. We then discuss future treatments, with regards to the severity of your issue and determine the frequency of therapy. At PTPT we want to give you reasons to get better and not entertain excuses to keep you from taking care of yourself.

What kinds of modalities are performed at PTPT?

Once the therapist has an understanding of the source of your problem, a combination of treatments and modalities will be used to end the pain. A modality is defined as "the application of a therapeutic agent, usually a physical therapeutic agent" but it also it refers to the equipment we can use to speed up your healing process.
Some of the modalities used at PTPT include:
Ultrasound- The ultrasound machine generates high frequency sound waves that are converted into deep heat in the body via a round headed probe. The sound waves pass through skin and fat and penetrate muscle tissue and joints; areas that surface heat can't get to. This increases blood supply to that area, promoting healing by delivering needed oxygen and nutrients and by removing cellular waste. The deep heat also helps relieve pain and inflammation, reduces muscle spasms, and accelerates healing. Depending on the treatment area, range of motion of a joint (how much a joint can move) may be increased.

Electric stimulation - Electrical stimulation is a means of providing exercise to muscles that the patient is unable to contract on his/her own, either because the muscle has atrophied (withered) too much, the blood or nerve supply to that muscle has been effected, or the person thinks they're contracting one muscle but really the brain interprets the signal to contract a different muscle. It is also a tool to help decrease pain and muscle spasms in a painful or overly tight area. Electrical stimulation can maintain nutrition of the muscle through promoting blood flow, decreasing fibrotic changes, and slow down the process that weakens muscles from disuse (muscle atrophy). It is also used to maintain or improve muscle and joint mobility.

Iontophoresis - Localized transcutaneous (through the skin) delivery of medication into the body by use of electric current. This is a great substitute for cortisone shots into the joint for decreasing inflammation and breaking up muscle spasms.

Biofeedback/Surface EMG - This machine measures muscle activity both at rest and while contracting via electrodes placed on specific areas on the skin. You can see a light and hear a sound that gets stronger as you contract the muscle that the electrode is on. This machine helps you locate the connection between your brain and that specific muscle. We also have a pressure biofeedback apparatus to help you find your lower or transverse abdominals for increased core strength.

Kinesio Tape - Elastic, latex-free bandage applied over three to five days that may re-educate the neuromuscular system, reduce pain and swelling, promote healing, promote lymph flow, and improve muscle performance. You might have seen this tape applied to many of the athletes in the Olympics (that black blob that was on the womens volleyball player shoulder).

Mechanical Traction - This is manual tension created by a pulling force which produces a combination of distraction and gliding which relieves pain and increases tissue flexibility in your neck or low back. Candidates for this include: those with bulging, herniated or protruding discs, or those with muscle spasms that are causing nerve root impingement and general hypomobility of lumbar or cervical spine regions.

Paraffin - Heated wax is used to bathe hands or feet. It is primarily used for warming areas that have many irregular surfaces where a hot-pack cannot introduce sufficient heat, while providing moisture and increased circulation to those areas.

Ice - While you may think that ice is only a common first aid remedy, ice can be one of the most important parts of therapy. In the initial stages of an injury, ice controls inflammation, pain and edema, and reduces muscle spasms. Direct localized application of cold to the skin for 8-10 minutes can reduce recovery time between treatments and promote "reactive hyperemia" whereas when you take the ice off, the body sends a signal to the brain saying "we haven't had oxygen and blood flow to this area" leading to increased blood supply to the intended area bringing new blood and improving removal of toxins from the area involved. This process provides more circulation than heat treatment provides.

Infrared light therapy - Infrared, though only introduced during the past few years, has proven to be a powerful tool to use for creating new healthy cells in an injured area as well as speeding up the rate of recovery. The infrared light effects the individual cells to increase energy, stimulate new tissue production, increase the immune response to the area, promotes wound healing and decreases pain. More research has been done on infrared therapy and thus, its use has increased significantly in the healing community.

Whole Body Vibration Therapy - A 10 minute session on this new machine is equivalent to a 45 minute workout without the sweat. Used to help you find muscles that you ordinarily could not, thereby making you stronger, this machine has a multitude of benefits. It helps the body on a cellular level (increases chi or life force energy), promotes weight loss (helping mobilize body fat to be made useful by the blood), and many other benefits. Go to Turbosonic Whole Body Vibration Machine to find out more and try it out for yourself for free. We have treatment programs for those just interested in the benefits of the Turbosonic.

What kinds of treatments are performed at PTPT?

In addition to the above modalities, we focus on supervised, very specific, active and passive muscle education exercises with a physical therapist. Our therapists are trained in advanced manual skills to mobilize bones, release muscle scarring, and tightness in order to return your musculo-skeletal system to its previous balanced pain-free function. We also have a staff for Manual/Massage Therapy to help get your body out of sympathetic (fight or flight) mode and into parasympathetic (healing) mode while relaxing and rejuvenating yourself.

In sessions you will also be guided through Pilates based exercises with your therapist. The Pilates method helps to address and correct poor habits that either weakened the painful area, or which led your body to develop harmful compensations following injury. Through slow, controlled movement you will learn the proper way to do the simple things in life such as sitting, standing, lifting, carrying and reaching things, or even walking in a way that continually reinforces balance for your body.

While performing physical exercise with your therapist, you will also be looking at how various mental and emotional components of your life and response mechanisms either aid or hinder your healing. You will improve your mind and body's ability to work together towards wellness and balance for quick and powerful results.

With patients who experience balance/coordination deficits due to trauma, disease or other impairments, the focus is on balance activities, sensory training, ambulation training with or without an assistive device, and exercises specific to those goals of improved balance and coordination.

All patients are placed on a home exercise program, which includes stretches, strengthening exercises and mindful new habits tailored to each individual's needs. Positive physical therapy results are largely dependent on a person's compliance to a specific exercise regime that is established by his/her physical therapist. Individual home programs are written, taught, and monitored closely by the therapist throughout the duration of the patient's therapy with progressive modifications made as needed. These home programs allow patients to establish wellness regimens that will continue to help after therapy at PTPT has completed. This will help support progress towards independence while improving daily routines with long-term self-support.

"The greatest thing about the treatment at PTPT is that if I ever had questions or a block in my progress, they always offered a different method of getting to the root of the problem and overcoming it. In this way, the patient becomes actively involved in the healing with the healer." - Joanna, satisfied client

What about components of healing that don't entail physical therapy, such as nutrition?

In conjunction with the philosophy behind PTPT, we fully understand the limitations of physical therapy and manual treatments while taking into account the needs of the body as a multi-leveled system. That is why we offer a wide range of body support products and nutritional support products. These services and products help ensure that your body has the best chance of working efficiently to assist in your healing and long-term wellness.

Does my insurance cover treatment at PTPT?

Almost all PPO insurance plans have some physical therapy coverage. We are preferred providers for Aetna, some Blue Cross, Blue Shield, CIGNA, Heath Net, United Healthcare and many others. We are a great referral source for those with Medicare/Medicaid or Medical. We accept workers compensation and some motor vehicle accident cases.

There is a Patient Information Form, which you can download from our list of forms. Email or fax to our office your completed form. This will enable us to verify your benefits. If you don't have insurance, we accept payment by cash, checks or credit card.

PTPT takes all the different variables of your needs into account (e.g. level of discomfort, location to the clinic, budget etc.) Even if you lack insurance coverage, an evaluation and just a few visits will have a tremendous impact on your recovery with the knowledge, skills and focus we provide. Allow us to place you on an effective home program that will help you achieve getting out of pain with minimal out of pocket costs while learning about your own body - knowledge that you will have forever.