Physical Therapy
Physical Therapy Gainsville
We help people aged 65+ to become more active and mobile, without the nasty side-effects of drugs or risks associated with surgery.
Dr. Weiwei Guan
- Doctor of Physical Therapy from University of Florida (2011)
- Fifth-Generation of China’s Top Ranked Acupuncture Family
- Orthopedic Physical Therapy
Residency at UF Shands (2012) - Nationally Board Certified Oriental Medicine Diplomat
- Licensed Physical Therapist
- Licensed Acupuncturist
Are you looking for a safe and effective way to treat chronic pain?
Are you worried that the painkillers you take for chronic pain could do more harm than good to your body?
Have you been told that you need surgery but you want to try everything else before taking the risk?
Have you had enough with the frequent visits to the physician’s office?
We have helped hundreds of patients in Gainesville since 2011. If you are happy with getting treatments from students or assistants at a mill-like clinic, we are not for you. If you are looking for personalized care and full attention from the doctor of physical therapy, please check us out. Yes, we take Medicare, in case you are wondering.
- 100% One-on-One time with a Doctor of Physical Therapy in Gainesville. You will NEVER be passed to aides, students, exercise specialists, or assistants. You want an expert, you get an expert, not an assistant.
- Personalized treatment plans. Since we do not use aides or assistants at our clinic, there is no cookie cutter programs for them to follow. We will tailor the plan of care to your specific needs and can adjust it at every session as needed.
- FREE 20-minute Discovery Visit with a UF-educated/ Shands-trained physical therapist. The purpose of this visit is for you to ask questions to ensure that we are a good fit. No obligations to proceed with treatment.
- Environment specifically designed for retirees. Our ultimate goal is providing the best care to the patients, not selling gym membership. We have all the essential equipment in two private rooms specifically selected for people aged 65+, so the patients can focus on their treatment, not distracted by the grunts of gym buffs. There will be no sharing room or equipment. Each room is equipped with an air purifier that filters out droplets and disinfects with UV light.
- Combined Physical Therapy and Acupuncture. If it is suitable to your condition, you will get the benefits of combination treatment from a leading expert in providing integrated solution to musculoskeletal problems.
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What are the benefits of seeing physical therapists in Gainesville?
- Physical therapists can diagnose. While many people visit a physical therapist to heal an existing injury or condition, physiotherapy can be proactive. In the state of Florida, you can go directly to a physical therapist under a law that grants “Direct Access.” This means she or he can diagnose your ailment (and save you a trip to the family physician). Physiotherapists can perform differential diagnosis. Differential diagnosis is the process of distinguishing a particular disease or condition from others that present with similar symptoms. Simply put, you may think you have an orthopedic or musculoskeletal injury or condition, but that’s not actually the case.
- Physical therapists create individualized treatment plans. When people get hurt, one of the first things they do is Google, “Pain in lower back,” Then, they often say, “My neighbor had the same injury, so I’ll just do what she did.” We get it. You want to save money and be self-sufficient, but you can’t be your own doctor. Diagnosing and treating yourself can be costly. Only a physiotherapist can create an individualized treatment plan to fit your unique needs.
- Physiotherapy can improve balance and walking. It can make you stronger, increase your mobility, and help you feel better. If you are recovering from an injury, it is important you gain your sense of balance to prevent falling or injuring yourself further. At our physiotherapy clinic in Gainesville we teach exercises that help improve balance and coordination to improve walking and other daily activities.
- Physical therapy prevents symptoms and the progression of impairments. Without proper medical care, many diseases, disorders, conditions, and injuries get worse. Physiotherapy treatment is a way to eliminate symptoms and slow the progression of long-term conditions. Effective therapy not only helps you heal, but avoid injuries in the future.
- Physical therapy helps patients avoid invasive surgeries and prescription medications. Also, it can help you avoid unnecessary, costly, and invasive surgery. While many people engage in physiotherapy after a surgery (as rehabilitation), many others use it as an alternative to invasive and costly surgeries. Did you know that physical therapy can be just as effective as surgery for injuries including meniscus tears and knee osteoarthritis, rotator cuff tears, spinal stenosis, and degenerative disk disease? It can be an alternative to opioid prescriptions, especially when opioids are prescribed to mask pain, rather than heal the actual injury.
- Physical therapy can save you time and money. If you visit an orthopedic doctor or pain specialist, costs can quickly add up. From the initial consultation to requested imaging, prescribed medications, and possible surgery, the total cost of seeing a doctor can exceed the cost of seeing a licensed physical therapist. Relative to other medical treatments, physiotherapy can be an affordable option.
Who are physical therapists?
Who are physical therapists?When I tell people that I am a physical therapist in Gainesville, many of them do not know what I do. Some think that I do massage. While I sometimes do use massage to soften stiff muscles, I did not go through 4 years of pre-med in college, 3 years of physical therapy school, and 1 year of residency to give a good massage with a doctorate degree. Others think that we help people exercise. Though exercise program is very important for most conditions that we treat, we have a lot more tools to help our patients. Half of my classmates at PT school had their bachelor’s degree in exercise science or kinesiology and were exercise specialists already before attending PT school.
Then what did we go to school for? Why did University of Florida give us a Doctorate degree when we graduated? We learned to make clinical diagnoses and develop individualized treatment plans. Though we later became clinical specialists in different medical fields, we all have something in common: we were educated to be musculoskeletal system and neurological system experts. We spent 95% of time of our year in the anatomy lab to study these two systems only and glance over other systems and more than half of our courses focused on these two systems.
A study published in 2005 found that “Experienced physical therapists had higher levels of knowledge in managing musculoskeletal conditions than medical students, physician interns and residents, and all physician specialists except for orthopaedists.”
What do physical therapists do?
Physical Therapists also known as physiotherapist work in different settings ranging from hospitals and rehab centers to private clinics and patients’ homes, and we specialize in a wide range of fields, including orthopedic, geriatric, neurological, cardiovascular, pediatric, pelvic floor, etc. Below is a list of specialty services that we currently provide at our clinic.
Orthopedic physical therapy treats musculoskeletal injuries, involving the muscles, bones, ligaments, fascias, and tendons. It is suitable for medical conditions such as sprains, tendonitis, bursitis, chronic medical problems, and rehabilitation or recovery from orthopedic surgery. Patients may undergo treatment with joint mobilizations, manual therapy, strength training, mobility training, and other modalities.
Geriatric physical therapy can help older patients who develop conditions that affect their mobility and physical function, including arthritis, osteoporosis, hip and joint replacement, and balance disorders. This type of intervention aims to restore mobility, reduce pain and increase physical fitness levels.
Decongestive therapy can help to drain accumulated fluid in patients with lymphedema and other conditions that involve fluid accumulation.
How do we treat?
In addition to manual therapy techniques and exercises programs, physical therapists, including physiotherapist in Gainesville, use many other physical means to treat patients, such as:
- Mechanical devices, such as traction table to help people to correct spine deformation or herniated discs
- Electrical stimulation, or E-stim, which uses topical electrodes on the skin to reduce pain and increase functional capabilities. One type of E-stim is transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS). At times, anti-inflammatory medications are used with certain E-stim modalities and is referred to as iontophoresis. Electric stimulation with acupuncture needles that work deeper and more effectively than TENS is used at our clinic
- Heat, moist heat and cold therapy
- Light therapy, in which special lights and lasers are used to treat certain medical conditions
Why are we different from all other PT clinics?
- 100% One-on-One time with a Doctor of Physical Therapy. You will NEVER be passed to aides, students or assistants. You want an expert, you get an expert, not an assistant.
- Personalized treatment plans. Since we do not use aides or assistants at our clinic, there is no cookie cutter programs for them to follow. We will tailor the plan of care to your specific needs and can adjust it at every session as needed.
- FREE 20-minute Discovery Visit with Dr. Weiwei Guan, who is the leading expert in deciding if you could benefit from physical therapy, acupuncture, both, or neither.
- Focus on hands-on treatments. You do not want to see a PT and just spend 30-40 minutes on exercises though you know they are important. We will ensure that you know how to do the appropriate exercise at home, while focusing on hands-on treatments.
- Combined Physical Therapy and Acupuncture. If it is suitable to your condition, you will get the benefits of combination treatment from a leading expert in providing integrated solution to musculoskeletal problems.
Guan Physical Therapy & Acupuncture Gainesville
At our physiotherapy clinic in Gainesville, we also offer services such as Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine.
If you would like learn more about our Physiotherapist Clinic in Gainesville or schedule an appointment, please Contact Us today!
