As prices continue to rise on everything from gas to groceries, a lot of us are looking for ways to save, but not many of us think of making changes to our approach to health care as a way of doing this. 

Healthcare has a long-standing history of high prices and deductibles and copays seem to get higher each year. At the same time, it seems that you get less and less one-on-one time with your healthcare provider. What if I told you that going to the physical therapist could actually SAVE you money?!

Here in Colorado (and many other states), you can see a physical therapist without a prescription or referral from your physician. This means that you can see someone who is a specialist in the musculoskeletal system and movement as soon as you’re injured and skip the doctor’s visit where all they do is tell you to rest, ice, and take ibuprofen. Physical therapists, like those found at BE YOU, are doctors of physical therapy and are trained to evaluate your injury and determine a course of action, whether that be physical therapy, imaging, or a referral to a physician if warranted. They can also provide immediate interventions to help reduce or eliminate your pain or limitation.

A study in the Spine Journal found that people who were referred to PT within 14 days of when low back pain started, spent less on healthcare costs related to the low back pain than those who sought PT later or not at all. The average savings was $2,700! Another study showed that those who skipped the doctor’s office first and went straight to PT saved even more money!

Physical therapy has also been shown to not only lower costs, but also reduce the number of physician appointments, advanced imaging, and injections, as well as less opioid use. What would you do to avoid having to take opioids?

Even if you know surgery is in your future, having physical therapy before surgery has been correlated with lower costs following surgery as shown in a study published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery. Pre-hab as we like to call it can help reduce swelling and improve muscle activation before surgery, making your recovery go that much quicker. 

So what would you do with a couple of thousand extra dollars in your pocket? All it takes is the next time you feel that nagging pain, don’t ignore it, and just hope it gets better – call your local physical therapist!

Interested in setting up an evaluation with a Doctor of Physical Therapy? Click here and answer just a few short questions to get you on your way to feeling like YOU again!