We are lucky at Smith Physical Therapy and Running Academy . . . we get to spend a full hour with our patients.  We do not use therapy technicians/aids and we only see one patient at a time.  All of our therapists have worked at other facilities where we were required to see 2, 3, sometimes 4 patients an hour, depending on the time of day.  So we all burned out from this and wanted a place where we could give our patients the personalized time that they deserved.  This was the main mission in founding this company: empowering, educating, and engaging our patients to be smarter about how they move.  And we do this one patient at a time.  We are fulfilled as therapists and you get better faster – EVERYBODY IS HAPPY!

But even though we have a full hour with you, we sometimes feel like we could use 2 hours with you!  We truly love our jobs and get excited helping you but to be more efficient with our time, we have a few suggestions on how we can maximize our time together.

1. Practice your exercises/drills before you come to see us so we can answer any questions you have on them
2. Keep a log of your symptoms (either written down or in your head) so we can track the patterns of what you are filming
3. Don’t be nervous to ask questions! We love all things physical therapy so let’s nerd out together over these things!
4. If we forget to send you your exercises or get you some other information that we promised, please remind us. We really try hard not to do this and feel awful when we do it.  But we stick to our promises so let’s hold each other accountable.
5. Please let us know at least 24 hours in advance if you need to reschedule your appointment – this way we can get your rescheduled to a different time that works better for you and allows someone else to get their PT (AKA physical torture, pain and torture, etc – we’ve heard all the jokes!!).
6. Be honest when we ask you how things are progressing. We appreciate that you don’t want to hurt our feelings, but this is the time to discuss what is better and what still needs to be addressed.  We have thousands of ways to work with your body and lots of tools in our PT toolbox, so if something is not working, tell us.  Our goal is to get you better faster so let’s save you time and money by opening discussing what you are feeling.
7. Do not be offended if we refer you to a different practioner. This can range from a dentist to your family practioner or to a mental performance coach, chiropractor, throwing technique specialist, orthopedic specialist, pilates or yoga class, massage therapist or even to a different physical therapist.  We are lucky in McHenry County to be surrounded by some of the BEST healthcare professionals and we trust our partners to take good care of you – either as an adjunct to what we doing or as a second opinion to our treatment.  We appreciate your trust in us and we want to maintain that by working with your entire medical team to keep you healthy.  We are stronger as a team!
8. Utilize our patient care specialists and billing team – they are a wealth of knowledge when it comes to your insurance, payment plans, or any other part of your plan of care. They are always available to answer your questions, help you schedule your appointments, and help you manage your account.

Thank you again for trusting us with your physical therapy.  You deserve a highly-trained specialist and we work hard to be the best at what we do.  We appreciate that you have chosen us to guide you in your recovery.

If you have any suggestions or comments on how we can continue to improve the experience you are having at Smith Physical Therapy and Running Academy, I would love to hear from you.  My email is denise.smith@smithptrun.com or I can be reached at 815.893.9075.

Here is to you!

Denise Smith – Founder of Smith Physical Therapy and Running Academy