My dentist sent me to an oral and maxillofacial surgeon because I had been having severe tooth sensitivity for many years. My previous dentist had done root canals on the affected teeth. When I wound up at a new dentist and additional teeth began to experience the extreme sensitivity, my dentist suspected something else was occurring, since I’d never had any decay. The tooth nerves weren’t behaving normally; they were highly highly sensitive and couldn’t even be cleaned w/o numbing the nerves in my mouth. The maxillofacial surgeon wound up referring me to Pathways PT because he suspected my neck muscle spasming was greatly affecting my mouth muscles and nerves. I thought that theory sounded farfetched, but I really wanted to exhaust all avenues.
Over the course of my life, I’ve had a LOT of PT for various things at a large number of different clinics. My experiences with PT had been dismal. In every case, the physical therapist (or their assistant) assigned me exercises, then spent a small time observing me do them at each visit while they joked and talked w/co-workers, tossed towels at each other and sat in front of their computer documenting my ‘progress’ during most of my visit. I’m disciplined about doing my exercises and can apply heat/cold packs at home, so these appointments felt like a BIG waste of time and money. Occasionally, I’d receive a few minutes of light massage or ultrasound, but rarely. When the surgeon mentioned PT, I shared my previous experiences w/him. When he looked me right in the eye and told me Linda Craig has made a big difference for a lot of his patients, I decided to try Pathways PT. I figured I could always stop going if it was more of the same.
WOW!!! The surgeon was 1000% right. Pathways PT is NOTHING like any PT I’ve received anywhere else. My appointments are all hands on, deep tissue massage, and a whole lot of things I have no idea what they’re called, but they involve stretching muscles, tendons, immobilizing one area while working on another, increasing my range of motion, etc. Linda uses many approaches, different therapies and has an endless amount of knowledge she applies to my problem areas. I leave my appointments feeling amazing.
Because of Linda’s work on my neck, mouth and jaw muscles, I’ve been able to stop seeing my chiropractor and massage therapist, which saves me a lot of time, money and weren’t working anyway. I’m vigilant about doing my exercises, and guess what? I no longer have sensitive teeth. The ‘farfetched’ suspicion of my dentist and the surgeon were spot on. I have chosen to continue my therapy w/Linda because I have scar tissue in my neck from a severe whiplash years ago. Linda’s techniques keep me well oiled, tuned up and in good working order. My neck pain is reduced, my supporting muscles stronger, I have increased flexibility and range of motion.
I use my employers plan to deduct tax free dollars from my paycheck, then use tax free money for my medical expenses. I have no hesitation to use Pathways PT as an out of network provider because my quality of life is greatly improved as a result. And all those root canals? I no longer need them.
If you have a persistent issue and/or need physical therapy, the value you get at Pathways PT is enormous, not to mention not wasting time and money w/appointments for ‘therapies’ you can do at home, and in many cases don’t help the root of the problem, but only address the symptoms. I highly recommend giving Pathways PT a try. I think you’ll see a difference in their approach and how you feel.
– Andrea P.
