- Traverse City, MI |
-
3899 West Front St:
(231) 944-6541
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| 401 Munson Ave: (231) 421-9300
West: (231) 944-6541
Central: (231) 421-9300
(231) 944-6541
(231) 421-9300
West: (231) 944-6541
Central: (231) 421-9300
Superior Physical Therapy, Traverse City
We hold a handful of free 20-minute assessments every week for people who have been told to live with it.
You sit down with a Doctor of Physical Therapy, we watch how you actually move, and you leave knowing what is driving the pain and what your options are. You will not leave with a treatment plan you have to buy. If you do not need us, we will tell you that.
Tell us what is going on and we will call you to set a time at the location you pick.
The question we actually ask
We are going to ask what you have stopped doing.
Almost every week somebody sits down across from us and says they have had the same hip for four years. They rested it. They iced it. Somebody told them it was arthritis and that was the end of the conversation. And they have been quietly rearranging life around it ever since.
Nobody ever actually watched them move.
That answer tells us more than the pain does, and it is the part we can change.
What the twenty minutes looks like
What hurts, how long, what you have already tried, and what you have stopped doing because of it. That last one is the one we care about.
Standing, stepping, reaching, turning. On your feet and loaded, not lying on a table. We look above and below whatever hurts, because that is where the cause usually lives.
Out loud, in plain English, while you are standing there. You keep that answer whether or not you ever come back. If we do not think we can help you, we say so and point you toward whoever can.
Why we look somewhere else
Every joint borrows motion from the joints above and below it. A stiff ankle means the knee absorbs what the ankle stopped absorbing. A stiff hip means the low back does the extra work.
The place that hurts is usually the place that had to cover for somewhere else.
That is why twenty minutes of watching you move is worth more than twenty minutes of pressing on the sore spot.
Who it is for
Past patients of Superior Physical Therapy who have not had a session in the last two months. And your family, friends, neighbors and co-workers, whether or not they have ever been here. If you are currently in a plan of care with us, keep your regular appointments and pass this along to someone who needs it.
Where to go
Pick a location when you ask and we will confirm the exact suite and your time when we call.
The questions people actually ask
Really free. We do not bill your insurance, we do not ask for a card, and nothing gets sent to you afterward. It costs us time on the schedule and we keep a few of these open every week on purpose.
No. Michigan is a direct access state, which means you have never needed a referral to see a physical therapist here. Not for this, and not any other day.
The opposite. The whole point of the twenty minutes is to find out what is driving the problem and how much of it can be changed by moving differently, before anyone reaches for a prescription pad. If you do need a surgeon, we will tell you that too.
Come anyway if you want a second read on what is driving it. We will tell you what we see and you can take that back to whoever you are working with. We are not trying to move you.
You get told what we found and what your options are. If one of those options is working with us, we will say so and you can think about it. If we do not think we can help you, we will say that too and point you toward whoever can.
It is arguably the best use of twenty minutes. A 2025 review pooled 19 randomized trials covering 1,110 hip replacement patients, and the ones who did a structured exercise program before surgery had fewer complications and recovered function faster afterward. The finding that matters: education alone changed nothing, the benefit came from supervised exercise. Most people on a surgical schedule have four to eight weeks, which is enough time.
Something you can move in and shoes you actually walk in. We are going to watch you step, turn and reach, so leave the dress shoes at home.
A handful of these open up every week and they go to whoever asks first. Ask now and we will call you to set a time.
