However, the problem I have with that model is the lack of long term wellness and maintenance after the patient is done with the course of physical therapy. The patient does the work over a period of time to regain function, but all too often the journey stops at discharge from PT. Maybe they get a piece of paper with a few exercises, sometimes not even that. For the most part, the patient education and the follow up system is not enough. This leaves people vulnerable to reinjury, or development of new issues. This in turn leads to the development of “frequent flyers” in physical therapy: people that end up in an endless cycle of returning to pain and disability because they don’t achieve independent self management. When there is a culture of dependency in a practice, it does a disservice to the patient and leads to unnecessary health care costs.

My goal is to not only utilize physical therapy treatment to help reach their goals, but to also bridge the gap between when physical therapy ends and achieving long term results. I want to create a culture of independence. This means the patient goes through their course of physical therapy to achieve their goals, and along the way also receives the education and self management strategies to both understand their condition and have the ability to troubleshoot flare ups in the future. Too many people show up in PT with a prescription without the diagnosis explained to them. Too many people are not compliant with the lifestyle changes that are required to keep the pain from coming back. Too many people stop exercising the day that PT is done. How do we create buy-in with the patients that get missed in the traditional model of physical therapy?

Enter Cafe Physio. Cafe Physio was established in 2020 as a multimodal platform of physical therapy services. We offer both in-person and telehealth physical therapy services to evaluate and treat musculoskeletal conditions and chronic pain. We have also created a YouTube channel to produce a library of educational videos on common questions and diagnoses. The difference with us is we want to make sure that each patient has a full anatomical understanding of their condition, understand the internal and external factors that are contributing to the condition, and the ability to self manage once the condition is under control.

Our passion is to get people back to doing the things they love. However, it is in the best interest of the patient to train them for self management at the conclusion of physical therapy, as opposed to providers that keep you roped in to treatment forever for the sake of their bottom line. We will always provide treatments that are medically indicated and necessary, with the intention of empowering you to tackle your orthopedic issues and live your best life. We are here when things go wrong, but the goal is for you to not need us at the end!