Southwest Physical Therapy

It’s a great place if want to be lied to about how much it costs and get a massive bill in the mail. These guys are straight up thieves, AVOID AT ALL COSTS! I very specifically asked prior to receiving an optional treatment how much this would cost. I despite the fact that they had all of my insurance information and knew what I would be responsible for, they told me I would only owe $ 11.50 per visit. Several months after finishing the 6 visits that my insurance allowed I received a bill for $ 290.
Upon receiving this I call their parent company Pysiotherapy Corp and explained this to them. They said they would contact the office and have then call me. Instead, several days later I received copies of paperwork. They didn’t even have the decency to call me.
So just to reiterate my point NEVER GO HERE! They are liars and thieves.

My HMO insurance assigned me to this Physical Therapy office. I called them several times trying to get in. They never had the decency to call me back. It has been 3 weeks, they never even contacted me. Even if they are booked and not taking new patients — have the decency to call back someone who is trying to get into your office because they are in pain.

I had ACL reconstruction (using a patellar tendon graft) and a medial menisectomy on December 17, 2013. My doctor and insurance company recommended that I go to Southwest Physical Therapy for my post-​op physical therapy. At first, things seemed to go pretty well. The staff was friendly and seemed knowledgeable. The office was always clean, with hardly any wait time. I performed my at-​home exercises religiously (every single day), and did everything that Chris (the PT) said to do. During the first couple of months, my progress was noticeable, my knee was improving, & I felt good about my treatment, despite the scarcity of equipment.
As far as the office, it is fairly small. I expected more sports related equipment. My doctor had/​has me on an athlete’s recovery protocol, so I expected more of an athlete-​friendly environment. There is only 1 physiotherapist. One. Scheduling can be tough, as they do not accept appointments on Thursdays at all, unless it is your first post-​op appointment. Also, the office closes early on Tuesdays, and every day they take a 2 hour break for lunch.
Back to the actual rehab… I would go in with the protocol as laid out by my doctor, and constantly ask if & what could and should be added into my rehab. According to my doctor, I was supposed to start resisted walking. When I asked the PT about it, he explained it to me & told me to do it on my own, at the gym. Granted, I go to the gym on a regular basis (5x/​week), however when something is laid out «Physical Therapy: Resisted walking» in my post-​operative rehab protocol, and I am paying a physical therapy office, I expect them to help me with my physical therapy. NOT to tell me to go and do it on my own. At the very least, show me once, so I know exactly what to do on my own. & if the equipment is not available at that location, then that’s a whole other issue. What really sealed the deal for me not returning to Southwest Physical Therapy, happened during my 2^nd post-​op appointment with my nurse practitioner. A little background, first… It said that I was supposed to «progress to open chain activity» in my rehab protocol from the doctor. No specific exercises were listed. Chris, the PT at Southwest Physical Therapy, had instructed me to do leg extensions on a leg extension machine, on my own, at the gym. So, I did. And it hurt. I returned to PT and asked if I could do them there (seeing as how they have a leg extension machine — not sure why he didn’t SHOW me the first time, instead of just instructing that I do them on my own. If it’s a part of PT and you have the equipment, why am I not doing it during my PT appointment? I digress). He tells me to lower the weight and not do full reps. Fast forward to my 2^nd post-​op appointment, and I, being the weightlifting junkie that I am, ask, «what exercises should I be avoiding?» The nurse practitioner responds, «The only exercise that we do not want you doing is the leg extension machine.» Then proceeds to explain all of the reasons why. One of the very obvious reasons, I had a graft of my patellar tendon & leg extensions irritate and inflammate that very area… which is why it hurt when I did them. After that I decided I would not be returning to Southwest Physical Therapy.

My orthopedic doctor made me promise to attend physical therapy after my 2 level lumbar spine surgery with instrumentation and I did not want to go. I seriously resisted for I had worked for a very posh PT group and thought I knew what I needed to do after my surgery on this last July 8^th 2013. «wrong!!!» I met Chris Kamen, my therapist and clinic director, and was profoundly impressed. Chris genuinely was interested in helping me to get my back in shape and strengthen my muscles. He taught me so much on just my first visit last August 22 that I was thrilled that I had made the promise to my surgeon. Chris is very educated and has his doctorate in physical therapy among other degrees. Chris is so sincere in his approach to helping you heal and at the same time teaches you how to lessen the pains that you are having as a result of your surgery. The staff is knowledgeable and caring, and the facility is bright and clean I look forward to my appointments and always come away with new ideas as to how to move forward in what is going to be a 6 month to 1 year process to healing. Chris Kamen, DPT, COMT, ATC is top notch in his ability and I am so happy with my progress and all that I have learned. I would insist that anyone visit this location off Oso and Cabot road in Laguna Hills, CA for you will be rewarded with a lot of tender loving care. I am a 62 year old female who was riding my beach cruiser bike for 1 ½ hours each day and with Chris’ treatments and advice I know that I will be on my bike again. Robin Stewart