What is a Wellness Visit, Anyway?

At Neuro Advantage Rehab, one of the services we offer is wellness visits. Most people are somewhat familiar with traditional physical or occupational therapy sessions, but wellness visits

are less common in the therapy world. What is a wellness visit and how is it different from traditional therapy? How do you know which option is right for you?

Let’s start with a quick summary of the traditional role of physical and occupational therapy in the healthcare system:

1. Usually a doctor refers a person to therapy after a major healthcare event happens. Maybe you experienced an injury, had surgery, were recently in the hospital or were sick and need therapy to help you recover and return to your normal daily activities. Maybe you have a new diagnosis such as Parkinson’s Disease or Multiple Sclerosis and need therapy to help manage the symptoms.

2. You see a therapist a few times each week for a few weeks and visits focus on the main problem that the doctor referred you for.

3. Once you have met the goals of therapy for that specific problem, you are discharged from therapy, usually with a list of exercises to continue to do on your own.

Wellness visits go above and beyond traditional therapy services, and can focus on more general health, wellness, and activity goals you might have. You do not need a doctor’s referral to participate in wellness visits.

Here are some common reasons people participate in wellness visits:

1. You have completed your course of physical or occupational therapy, but want to continue to work on improving your strength, balance, and/or endurance.

2. You want to be more active and start exercising, but are unable to or are uncomfortable with joining a commercial gym or fitness center.

3. You don’t qualify for traditional therapy services, but want to work on improving your fitness level or your ability to perform a certain skill such as your balance, coordination, or ability to return to a recreational activity.

4. You attended therapy in the past, but haven’t kept up with exercising as well as you wanted to and are looking to get started again.

5. You have a chronic medical condition or mobility limitations and want to learn how to exercise safely.

With wellness visits, everything we do is based on your goals. Maybe you want to have enough stamina to take your dog for a walk. Maybe you want to improve your balance to be able to walk across grass, dirt, and other outdoor surfaces to go to your child’s/grandchild’s soccer game. Maybe you want to improve your strength. Maybe you want to get in the habit of exercising on a regular basis to have a healthier lifestyle. Whatever you want to accomplish, we can design an individualized program to help you work toward your goals.

Why come to Neuro Advantage Rehabilitation for wellness visits? Physical and occupational therapists are movement specialists, and our therapists have advanced training for working with people with neurologic conditions. We are familiar with various medical conditions, injuries, and mobility difficulties that can impact exercise and will design a program for you that will fit your needs and take these personal factors and your abilities into consideration to ensure you can exercise safely.

Contact us to learn more or schedule your first wellness visit today!