FAQ's

Wisconsin has allowed patients to be evaluated without a referral since 1989. However, your insurance plan may still require a referral as part of its policy for payment, but many do not. Our insurance specialist will help you determine the requirements of your plan. Frequently, physical therapists in our practice see patients directly before another provider, but if your insurance requires a referral, or you have been referred, we will send your provider our initial evaluation with findings, diagnosis, assessment, and plan of care as appropriate. In short, no referral is legally required, but our insurance specialist will help you understand your plan details, and your physical therapist will include any provider you wish in your plan of care.

Bring comfortable exercise clothes that are loose-fitting, since the injured area will need to be examined. Athletic shoes and socks will be helpful as well. Also bring your insurance cards, medication list, your referral or prescription if you have one, and a way to pay for your session if you're not using insurance.

Your first appointment is usually a little longer than subsequent ones because it includes a thorough initial examination and development of your plan of care. This is very important, as it helps set the course for your program, and outlines your responsibilities and how we will help you. The first appointment generally lasts an hour to an hour and a half. Follow-up appointments usually last from 30 to 90 minutes depending on your program.

Loose fitting clothes (e.g. sweats, T-shirts) and comfortable walking or athletic type shoes are generally best. Because you may be involved in a variety of activities… on the equipment, stretching on the mat tables, etc., we ask that you be modest in your choice of clothing. Please bring shorts for anything waist or below.

For safety, confidentiality, efficiency, and liability purposes, we must ask that family members remain in the waiting area and refrain from entering patient treatment areas of the clinic, unless requested to do so for educational purposes in the clinic or for home programs.

Also, as our primary attention must be directed towards serving our patients, unless your children are able to sit quietly in the waiting area unsupervised, we must ask that you make other arrangements for them.

Uninsured or underinsured clients will receive our lowest possible fee for service (about a 40% reduction) if they complete our self-pay documentation and they are willing to pay at the time of service. Government programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and others, discount rates and indirectly shift costs to private insurers. All private insurance depends on your deductible, co-pay, and plan coverage choices. We are providers for over 400 insurances, and if we are not an “in-Network” or preferred provider, let our insurance specialist know, and you can call your insurance to see if we can apply to become included. Our front office staff is not only friendly, but they are able to happily assist you in determining your physical therapy coverage.

As a courtesy to you, our office staff will call your insurance carrier to verify your benefits. At that time, such limitations as the number of visits, co-pays, or deductibles will be documented. Our office staff will assist you in monitoring them. You can always call your insurance company directly if you have any questions as to whether or not we are in your particular Provider Network or a provider for your plan. We are currently a provider for over 400 plans, and if we're not currently listed with your plan, you can have them contact us. We will work with insurance companies to become a provider, or a preferred provider as a means of securing the proper care for our patients.

Yes. We do this as a courtesy, at no charge to you, but you must provide us with ALL potential insurances of record in your case including primary, secondary, accidental/liability, workman’s compensation, and you must disclose any legal action and the name and contact information of any attorney(s) for letter(s) of protection; We are providers for Medicare, most state insurance, and for over 400 private insurance carriers. Our experienced and friendly front office staff is happy to help advise you of your physical therapy coverage. However, you are ultimately responsible financially for your plan of care.

Security Health is a company that requires a physician referral for the physician managed H-M-O. Medicare does not require a referral for evaluation and treatment, but your physician must sign a physical therapists plan of care within 30 days of your initial evaluation. Our office staff will gladly work with you on any insurance questions you may have. If you are uninsured, or choose not to use your insurance, a special cash rate is available with payment on the day of service.

Spine & Sport was initially founded in part to offer affordable neuromusculoskeletal care for the uninsured or the underinsured. We are able to offer a discounted or cash rate for those without insurance if they are willing to complete our standard documentation and pay on the date of service. This offers a tremendous value for the patient (about a 40% average savings) and saves our insurance specialist and front office staff the tremendous amount of time and effort we invest in collecting payments from government and private pay insurances.

Yes. Medicare will pay but has a limit of $1810 a year for physical therapy treatments unless a patient has a documented exemption. A patient may qualify for an exemption from that limit if it is documented that his or her condition requires continued care. In our experience, Medicare allows appropriate exemptions for care when beneficiaries have needed it. Your physical therapist will decide with our front office, and Medicare, if you qualify for extended care.

If we have verified that you have insurance coverage, you may pay your portion of the bill monthly after we have submitted them to your insurance plan. In these cases, payment is not required at the time of your appointments, but you will receive a statement after submission to your insurance company for your financial responsibility. If your insurance requires that you make a co-pay each visit, then they also require us to collect it per visit.

If you choose to become a documented self-pay client/patient then you will be responsible to pay on the date of service.

If you are involved in a litigation case such as a lawsuit or automobile accident in which payment is expected in the future, we do require a letter of protection from your attorney. If the settlement is not as expected, we do require you to assume any financial responsibility for your plan of care.

No. Spine & Sport has private physical therapy clinics that are owned by the physical therapists in the practice. Although we accept referrals from a variety of medical doctors, alternative practitioners, and healthcare facilities, none of them profit directly or indirectly from their referral of patients to us. There is no conflict of interest, and if patients are referred to us, we communicate with the referral source unless directed not to by the client.

PT means your therapist has a minimum of a Bachelors Degree in Physical Therapy from an accredited University, MPT or MSPT is a minimum of a Masters Degree, and DPT indicates that your physical therapist has a Doctorate Degree in Physical Therapy which is the highest level of clinical education in the field of Physical Therapy. Over 90% of physical therapists now graduate with a Doctoral from the over 200 programs in the U.S.A. when they begin practice. All Physical Therapists and assistants (PTA) must graduate from an accredited program, and be licensed to practice in Wisconsin. In addition, ALL of our professional staff have advanced degrees and/or credentials and continue to advance their practice with additional training and education.

Our founder and CEO Tim Thorsen is National Board Certified in Orthopedic Physical Therapy (OCS) by the APTA, as are Gary Schindler, M.S.P.T., John Rugotzke, D.P.T., and Neil Wahlstrom, P.T. Tim Thorsen is also certified as a manual therapist (MTC – University St. Augustine) and Kurt Klemm, P.T. as a diplomat (Cred. M.D.T. with the McKenzie Institute). Remove from "Neil Wahlstrom . . . OCS. After the next sentence on John, remove "he is currently" and replace it with, "John completed our Affiliated residency in orthopedics with UWHC/Mariter in Madison, Wisconsin, in 2010. Gary had completed his Athletic Training with over 2000 hours on the field, and passed NATA certification (ATC) at NDSU prior to physical therapy school at LaCrosse. In addition, Amber Scholten and Sue Schumake in Eagle River and Rhinelander assist the therapists as certified and licensed physical therapist assistants (PTAs), both having graduated from Western Technical College in LaCrosee.

Come to Spine and Sport because it is your right to choose and you deserve the best! All of our licensed therapists have Doctoral degrees or certifications beyond entry level. We are a group of dedicated specialists who meet regularly to share cases, discuss current literature, advances in our field, and innovative treatment techniques.

Most definitely… An hour initial evaluation with one of our Physical Therapists will be the best way to determine if Physical Therapy can help you. Our clinics also offer a ten minute assessment screening which may be helpful in determining your needs. Call to schedule a time with one of our professionals. Our Physical Therapists have a broad knowledge base and are trained to screen for disease or illness beyond their specialty areas of the nervous, muscular, and skeletal systems. In addition, the insurance specialists and front office staff at Spine and Sport will be glad to assist you with scheduling and coordinating appointments , insurance filing, and providing you with various payment options.

We specialize in treating patients from newborn to 100 plus for all ambulatory care requiring Outpatient Orthopedic Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation. This includes physical therapy for primarily non-operative or post-surgical problems. We have traditional and specialized intervention techniques to treat a wide array of conditions. In your plan of care, your physical therapist will explain these techniques for you after a thorough initial evaluation. He or she will also explain the vital role that you play in attaining your goals.

Manipulation, or “the skilled passive movement of a joint” is one treatment technique a Physical Therapist may use in treatment of the neuromusculoskeletal systems; whereas “vertebral subluxation” is the primary cause of discomfort in chiropractic theory. Physical therapists are trained within the medical model of traditional university settings, incorporating system integration for care, and with the ability to screen and appropriately refer for illness or disease processes . Physical therapists focus on teaching patients responsibility for their health, with active intervention to achieve client independence, and self-care as soon as appropriate. The techniques utilized can be similar to a chiropractor, but the entire plan of care, motivation, and philosophy, can be very different.

No. In Wisconsin, Physical Therapists may evaluate and treat patients without a referral, and many insurance companies will reimburse for physical therapy without a referral. However, you are ultimately responsible for knowing the requirements of your policy and coverage of your insurance.

Medicare does not require a referral for evaluation and treatment, but your physician must sign a physical therapists plan of care within 30 days of your initial evaluation. Security Health is a company that requires a physician referral for the physician managed H-M-O. Our office staff will gladly work with you on any insurance questions you may have. If you are uninsured, or choose not to use your insurance, a special cash rate is available with payment on the day of service.

We utilize an active treatment approach, with the patient taking responsibility for the choices in his or her health. Client education, coaching, and specific techniques are individualized to each patient's needs. They may include soft-tissue-mobilization, joint manipulation, trigger-point therapy, stretching, strain-counter-strain, progressive resistive exercise, traction, balance training, foot orthotics, trigger-point dry needling (TDN), ergonomic consults, and more. Specific to your needs, such treatment modalities as electrical stimulation, ultrasound, iontophoresis, laser, light, and phonophoresis may also be used. Regardless of techniques, our goal is getting to the cause of the problem and returning you to all of your activities as soon as possible.

This varies for each individual. After your initial evaluation during your first appointment, an individualized program will be set up to specifically address your particular needs. At that point, your therapist will be able to discuss treatment goals and the expected duration of your program. The number of visits can be more or less based on your response to therapy and your progression toward total independence… maximizing your potential-which is our goal from day one!