So, I met the PT coordinator at the Sports Medicine place last night and got the tour. She answered lots of questions about how it all works, how they coordinate with the doctor, who determines the rehab plan, etc. etc. Stuff that those of you who've gone through this before know, but it's all new to me. She did say that the therapists that work there have additional sport-oriented certifications, but didn't say specifically which ones. One of them is a triathlete - I think I saw him behind the desk - man, is he in shape!
I did not realize that I/they/the doctor could appeal to extend the number of visits allowed if they felt I still needed more at the end. Wonder how often that actually works? I need to find out how many I have left - think I have 26 for the year, but then used some up before knowing that I'd need surgery, so it's probably close to 20 that are left. But I did learn that after therapy is over that they extend a free 30 day membership to the Y (where the office is located) so I can continue to come in and strengthen everything.
Because they are located in the Y, they have access to all of the machines and the pool, so not just what they have in the therapy office. She again confirmed that they are 1:1 sessions, and they do a lot of hands on manual therapy. They also have private rooms so if I turn out to be a screamer I won't scare the other patients! Sounds like they have some nice things - they have a gait analysis room, and they're set up to be able to (somehow) do that even if someone isn't totally weight-bearing, which I don't understand at all, but it involves some sort of hoist. Hope I get to see that in action on someone while I'm there.