Frequently Asked Questions
These are the questions people actually ask us on the phone before they book, answered the way we would answer them in person. Referrals, insurance, what to wear, what happens in the room, and how you will know when you are done. If yours is not here, call (847) 295-1241 and we will answer it before you commit to anything.
Everything patients ask before their first visit.
Your first session is an evaluation, not a workout. We ask what happened, what makes it worse, and what you are trying to get back to. Then we watch you move and test the joint, the muscle and the tissue around it until the picture makes sense. You leave that visit knowing what we believe is driving your pain and what the plan is. After that, sessions blend hands-on treatment with movement you do yourself, and the balance shifts toward the active side as you get stronger. Care here is one to one, and the person who evaluates you is the person who treats you.
In most cases, no. Illinois is a direct access state, so you can start physical therapy with us without a physician referral. Some insurance plans do still require one before they will pay, so we check your specific policy before your first visit and tell you exactly where you stand.
Wear something you can move in and that lets your therapist see the area we are treating. Shorts or loose pants for a knee, hip or ankle. A tank or a loose top for a neck, shoulder or back. Bring a photo ID and your insurance card, plus anything a physician has already sent you about the problem: a prescription, an imaging report, an operative note. If you are coming in for Pilates or massage, dress the same way and bring the ID.
Two things help more than anything else. First, put a rough timeline together: when it started, what you were doing, what has made it better or worse since, and what you have already tried. Second, decide what you want back. Sleeping through the night, lifting your child, getting through a round of golf, standing through a shift. A specific goal gives us something to measure against. Beyond that, eat something, drink water, and give yourself a few extra minutes to finish your intake paperwork before your start time.
That depends on what you booked and what you are coming in for, so we do not quote a single stock number. What we can tell you is where the time goes. An evaluation spends most of it on history, testing and explaining what we found, with treatment started the same day when that makes sense. A follow up visit spends it on hands-on work, movement retraining and teaching you the part you take home. Every visit is one to one. When you book, our front desk confirms how long your appointment is scheduled for, so you can plan the rest of your day around it.
Yes, and they are a real part of the plan rather than a printout handed to you on the way out. Your therapist chooses a small number of exercises that target what your testing showed, demonstrates them in person, watches your form, and progresses them as you improve. We would rather give you a short list you will actually do than a long one you will not. If something hurts in a way that does not feel right, stop it and tell us.
Call the clinic at (847) 295-1241 or email info@wellnesssolutionspt.com. We are open Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 7:00pm, and Saturday, 8:00am to 2:00pm. If your question is about an exercise, a flare after a session, or something a physician told you between visits, we would rather hear it than have you sit on it until your next appointment.
Coverage varies plan to plan, and the only honest answer comes from checking yours. Send us your plan details or call (847) 295-1241 and we will verify your benefits before you come in, then tell you what is covered, what is not, and what you would owe. Self-pay options are available too.
Your therapist sets that at your evaluation, because it depends on how irritable the problem is, how much of it is strength and control, and what your week realistically allows. Early on, when the goal is calming things down and getting motion back, visits sit closer together. As you take over more of the work yourself, they spread out. We would rather see you the right number of times than the most times, and we will tell you when it is time to taper.
That depends on what is wrong, how long it has been going on, and what you need to get back to. Rather than guess, we set baselines at your evaluation and re-test them as you go, so you can see whether the plan is working instead of wondering. If it is not moving, we change it.
Yes. Explaining is part of the treatment, not an extra. You should leave able to say in your own words what is wrong, why it started, and what the plan is doing about it, because people who understand their problem follow through on it. Ask about the imaging report nobody walked you through, the diagnosis you were given years ago, the thing you read online at midnight. If the honest answer is that we do not know yet, or that the question belongs with your physician, we will say so.
Tell your therapist the moment it happens. Some treatment is uncomfortable, and tissue can feel tender for a day after hands-on work, but sharp, guarding pain is not the goal and is not a sign the session is working. We adjust the position, the load or the technique on the spot. Nothing here requires you to push through pain to prove something, and nothing is done to you that you have not agreed to.
Because we set baselines at your evaluation and re-test them, you will see it before we say it. Discharge comes when the tests you failed at the start come back clean, when the goal you named is something you are doing again, and when you can carry the maintenance work yourself. You leave with that maintenance plan and an open door: if it flares months later, call us and we will look at it rather than start you over from scratch.