Human Function and Performance Physical Therapy operates under the Out-of-Network process for insurance claim filing. What that means specifically is that we do not accept the terms of insurance companies when deciding what is best for our patients. How this benefits you is simple. We are able to see you for 60 minute appointments with absolutely no hand-offs to unlicensed "rehab specialists" or "technicians" and we do not perform time consuming treatments in order to meet insurance requirements for billing. Rather, we perform only the necessary treatments you need to get better at the hands of a licensed Physical Therapist. Due to our desire to do what is best for patients, and not for billing, we do not agree that patients need to be seen several times a week in order to get the best results. By being Out-of-Network, we are able to get you better, faster, with less time spent in the clinic. Finally, given the current insurance climate where most plans utilize a high deductible cost deflection strategy for outpatient services, our method of billing is the most economical and the most effective. This is truly a win-win for patients and Doctors. *Most people don't realize PT clinics associated with physicians are able to bill a higher rate thus you will go through you deductible faster. It's best to understand how your insurance works since many people go in thinking they will only pay a co-pay and get stuck with a large bill in the backend. Here at Human Function and Performance there are no surprises and we will work with you to figure out your best solution! We accept HSA and FSA. To verify your benefits, submit your info here and we will give you a call as quickly as possible. If you have any questions, please feel free to call us at (469) 626-7254.

Patients are seen for a one-hour evaluation followed by one-hour treatment appointments. Most patients attend one to two treatments per week while utilizing a detailed home program with exercises videos bases off their condition and progress. A big benefit you have with Human Function and Performance is the ability to have text/email access to your Physical Therapist. Our brand of Physical Therapy provides you the opportunity to take control over your health, get to the bottom of your issue and achieve a lasting solution. Thus we treat both the symptom and the underlying issue all while educating you on it so that you have a better understanding of what's going on, how to address it quickly, and also how to avoid it again in the future. If you have any questions, please feel free to call us at (469) 626-7254.

No, the state of Texas has joined the rest of the nation on September 1st, 2019 and granted Direct Access to Physical Therapy. All you need is to schedule your initial evaluation to get started. For treatment programs that will last longer than 10 business days, a referral is required. We will work with you to obtain a referral from a physician. Most conditions won't require greater than this period as people move more into a mobility and performance period specializing in recovery. If you have any questions, please feel free to call us at (469) 626-7254.

The first thing you need to understand is your body is absolutely amazing. It might not feel that way at this very minute, but the human body's ability to recover is remarkable. Over the course of our lives we adopt certain behaviors that drive how our body is able to move and perform activity. These activities could be as dynamic as running or doing push-ups, or can be as simple as lying down to sleep at night. Either way, when it hurts, there is a reason. Your brain has one job to do that precedes all others. Survive. When our survival is questioned we will roll out protection mechanisms, such as pain, to prevent further injuring ourselves. Our body can develop some very serious and hard to break compensations to ensure our survival. As your Physical Therapist, it is my job to identify exactly what compensations and mechanisms you have adopted that are present and impacting your symptoms. From there, we can gain an understanding of why you developed them in the first place. Through treatment, we roll back the compensations, and end by getting to the initial dysfunction that started all of the compensations. Because we are all human, we all have the same body parts, similar activities, similar demands, this process is not as complicated as it sounds. At least not for us. With our guidance you can regain access to your athletic, resilient self. You can be free from recurring injury and pain and you can return to the healthy lifestyle you have always wanted. If you have any questions, please feel free to call us at (469) 626-7254.

Referring out is not easy. Not having a perfect understanding of what your patient is going to get, how they are going to be treated, and what outcome they will obtain all make for a tough decision. Physical therapy, like all medicine, is not a perfect science. Sure, we know exercise makes many people feel better, we even have pretty good theories as to why. But what about when it doesn't work? The truth of the matter is that the human body is an incredibly complex organism that has a few basic needs, and from there can express some incredible variability. Despite this complexity there are a few constants that appear to have strong correlations with how our body feels and performs. These constants are in regards to how we survive. How we breathe and how we walk. Our bodies have to be able to move relatively symmetrically over each one of our legs in order to alternate respiratory function, spine rotation, and utilize our natural coiling and uncoiling properties. Just like a wind up toy, we are programmed to rotate well to one side (the right side), and we use reflex mechanisms to spring us over the other side. Where we find issues is when we lose the ability to rotate over one hip or the other, and that begins to stress soft tissues throughout our body. By restoring appropriate rotation of the pelvis over the legs, the rib cage over the pelvis and the spine we can relieve tension, stress and strain throughout the human system. Head to toe. This rehabilitation process does not reverse disease process such as osteoarthritis, degenerative disc disease, or bony abnormalities but what does change, is how the body feels about them. We know these conditions are present is a large population of non-symptomatic people. Why is it painful for some but not others? Pain is a survival mechanism that encourages us to avoid behaviors that produce or could produce injury. We use tension, tightness, and restriction to promote safety. Tension, tightness and restriction are often experienced as pain. Therefore, there is a cycle that is produced. By resolving why the tension, tightness and restriction are present, we can offer our patients the opportunity to feel safe in their bodies. By restoring appropriate function of the pelvis over the legs, rib cage over the pelvis, and spine connecting them all, our patient's bodies will not sense impending injury, and will not need to strain their body to avoid such injury. Consider this, if you had a broken femoral head on the right side, your body would naturally eliminate rotation over that hip to avoid placing your full weight on the unstable bone. Similarly, right after a patient receives ACL or knee replacement surgery. The quad muscle becomes inhibited by swelling to prevent the joint from full weight bearing. To a lesser degree, many of us do this every day. We limit range of motion in our joints and inhibit muscles to avoid full use of a joint and its soft tissues. This causes more demand on other joints and soft tissues and leads to stress and strain. Why this begins isn't always obvious, but there is a reason. Whether the reason why this cycle begins is identifiable or not, the compensations that arise can be identified and addressed. Therefore, symptoms can be resolved, patients can understand why they are in pain and they can understand what to do about it. This may sound very mechanical, and there is a great deal of objective measuring that guides treatment. However, the nervous system is the main target of our treatments. By restoring appropriate function of the pelvis over the legs, we restore appropriate pelvic floor function. The pelvic floor acts as a trampoline for the thoracic diaphragm to bounce pressure and air into. This promotes normal breathing function. Normal, quiet breathing allows our body to enter a parasympathetic state, and therefore promote adequate rest and recovery. If the pelvis and rib cage do not function normally, the respiratory diaphragm can alter its function to stabilize (restrict motion) at the spine. This helps our bodies remain upright under extreme duress, but also creates an overall feeling of extreme duress known as sympathetic drive. This a key driver in persistent pain. When the human body accumulates minor stress and injury over time, the body responds. When the body suffers a major stress at one time, the body must also respond. That is why we see these similar patterns of compensation in almost all injuries. Once they are resolved, patients not only feel better, they understand what their body likes to do under stress. They also understand what becomes compromised when this occurs, and most importantly, they understand how to address it. If you are considering sending a patient or client of yours to us, understand that we do not fear monger, we do not eliminate positive behaviors (exercise, massage, activity), we never give opinions on the necessity of treatment that is outside of our scope, and we do not discriminate against patients for any reason. Although we market our services to the active population, we are open to assisting individuals from all walks of life. We are always looking to learn more about the human system and are open to sharing our knowledge with anyone interested. If you would like to schedule a phone call or a Lunch and Learn with our Physical Therapist, please email sheldon@humanfunctionandperformance.com

Physical Therapy is an effective way to address chronic tightness in the neck and shoulders through a range of techniques and exercises. At Human Function and Performance, we start with a thorough evaluation of your posture, movement patterns, strength, and mobility to identify the underlying causes of your tightness. This can include poor posture, overuse, muscle imbalances, or even stress. Once we've identified the root cause, we create a personalized treatment plan that may include manual therapy, such as massage or joint mobilization, stretching and flexibility exercises, and strengthening exercises to improve stability in the affected area. We may also include education on posture, ergonomics, and lifestyle modifications to prevent future tightness or discomfort. At Human Function and Performance, we believe in empowering our clients through education, customized care, and evidence-based treatment approaches. Our goal is to help you improve your function and performance, so you can live your best life, free from pain and limitations. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you address your chronic neck and shoulder tightness.

At some point or another most people's do. Our quads and hamstrings have a big job to do holding us up against gravity. Occasionally they become imbalanced to a degree that we experience pain. It is important to understand that your body has an incredible ability to heal itself if put in the right position. If the diagnosis is osteoarthritis then you are in luck. Exercise is the best intervention. The correct exercise will reduce your pain, build self-confidence with your activities and prevent or delay a major surgery. We are living longer than ever, our activity level needs to match in order to limit the negative effects of aging.

If the front of your hip pinches or "impinges" you likely require pelvis and leg exercises designed to reposition the alignment of your skeletal structure during static and dynamic movement. A common compensation seen in humans is rotating the hip bones forward while leveraging the hip flexors and low back. This results in strain at the outside of the hips, reduction of space at the groin and often correlates with low back issues as well. If your are experiencing these symptoms an MRI and a cortisone shot will be a costly, temporary distraction to the movement dysfunction that needs to be addressed.

Sciatica? This means pain in your sciatic nerve. There are multiple causes of why your sciatic nerve gets irritated but none of them start with inflammation. Therefore, a cortizone shot is not a solution. It is only a band-aid for a movement dysfunction that you don't need to live with. Appropriately retraining the back, hip and core musculature to move freely will reduce irritation and compression of the sciatic nerve.

Plantar fasciitis is rarely a symptom of a simple foot dysfunction. Your feet are your tires, if there is a misalignment you will get abnormal wear. You likely need specific pelvis and/or core work to move over your feet symmetrically and avoid irritating the bottom of the chain.

The human body is an amazing system. It constantly seeks to adapt to the imposed demands placed on it. Not all of the adaptations are cooperative with one another. Training for balance is often overlooked, no matter how inclusive your program is. The human body will always seek to be energy efficient and the muscular relationships in your body need guidance to stay on a path of fluid motion and balanced control.

This list is just a snapshot of the dysfunctions and problems that we successfully resolve for people. If you don't see yourself on this please call us and find out if we can help. The service that we provide is not magic, it is simply well educated and holistic. We treat the entire human body for musculoskeletal dysfunction because your entire body is connected. If we refused to understand one area we would not be as successful as we are.

Physical therapy, like any industry, has variability when it comes to strategy and effectiveness. Many clinics believe that people just need to move, and the lack of movement is causing the issue. Having these patients work out in the clinic on their own with guidance from technicians and maybe 10-15 minutes with the doctor will get results in this population. If this doesn't sound like you, say you are already working out, there are other options. Options that seek to understand at a deep biomechanical level what is causing dysfunction and systematically addressing the issue. General exercise may be the answer, but it might also be breath work, neuromuscular pattern training, autonomic nervous system regulation, lifestyle intervention, nutrition counseling, sleep hygiene, or a multitude of other contributing factors. By enabling you to spend all of your treatment time with a doctor, you have the best opportunity for resolving your pain long term here at Human Function and Performance Physical Therapy. This revolutionary service is available right here, in Dallas, Texas.

This list is just a snapshot of the dysfunctions and problems that we successfully resolve for people. If you don't see yourself on this please call us and find out if we can help. The service that we provide is not magic, it is simply well educated and holistic. We treat the entire human body for musculoskeletal dysfunction because your entire body is connected. If we refused to understand one area we would not be as successful as we are.

While surgery can be the only option for some patients, ex: quickly progressing neurologic symptoms (weakness, loss of sensation, numbness in sensitive areas) it is rare. Too often surgeons go to what they know, and that is slice and dice, send them to rehab. The truth is, surgery does not always improve the outcomes of rehabilitation. In fact, those who elect to not have surgery have the opportunity to attain similar outcomes. So why perform these costly, time-consuming, invasive surgeries? Rotator cuff injuries, hip and knee osteoarthritis, bulging and herniated discs, bone spurs. All of these dysfunctions have positive outcomes with necessary and appropriate movement training. The notion that you can get better without invading your body is something that everyone needs to understand.

The human body is an amazing system. It constantly seeks to adapt to the imposed demands placed on it. Not all of the adaptations are cooperative with one another. Training for balance is often overlooked, no matter how inclusive your program is. The human body will always seek to be energy efficient and the muscular relationships in your body need guidance to stay on a path of fluid motion and balanced control.

Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD) is present even in people without back pain. In fact, almost all high level athletes place loads on their spines great enough to produce degenerative changes on an X-ray or MRI, but they don't have pain. They have movement competence and freedom to offset the pressure. DDD is a normal process, everything in life wears down, but not everything needs to hurt or limit you. Physical Therapy is a proven option for reducing symptoms associated with DDD by offsetting the pressure through mobility exercises and focusing on proper alignment.

If your back is taking a beating, it's very likely your hips are not pulling their weight. Limited hip mobility and back pain go hand in hand. If your back pain is a chronic issue that you have tried everything under the sun for, then you need a therapist who specializes in human movement as well as the multiple factors that generate pain. It's a simple fix due to your hand dominance pattern that offsets your pelvic alignment and thus limits your hip mobility keeping constant pressure on your low back.

We hear this all the time. A name that has little meaning to you can sound like a death sentence. To us, it is a common dysfunction that weighs more on ones' mind than their actual spine and structural alignment. People without symptoms present with these radiographic signs all the time. It does not have to limit you. It's a simple alignment issue that's loading an area of your spine allowing it to be compressed. Once you restore proper alignment you can remove your nerve irritation.

When it comes to the treatment of scoliosis many health care practitioners are frozen. They understand the mechanics of the spine leading to often progressively worse curves, but are not well educated in the physical treatment of such dysfunctions. If caught at a young age, PRI trained clinicians have either arrested or reversed children's curves. This is because our advanced knowledge of the ribcage and pelvis allow us to appropriately treat the mechanical and neurological dysfunctions creating the scoliosis. For those who have had scoliosis for a number of years there is something that can be done. Please contact us for more information as individual cases vary greatly.

Back pain has become one of the most common reasons for limitation and frustration across the planet. Often, a potential cause is identified but addressing that "cause" does not resolve the issue. The truth of this matter is pain and damage are not correlated 1 to 1. That means more pain does not necessarily mean more damage. With persistent back pain, pain lasting more than 4 months up to several years, there is more that needs to be addressed than the diagnosis given to the mechanical structures in your back. Our philosophy is as follows 1) Educate and come to an understanding of all the identifiable factors leading to persistent back pain. 2) Clean up the biomechanics (make it move right). 3) Reintegrate limited activities to improve function. 4) Provide long term strategies for you to self manage any flare-ups should they occur.

If the front of your hip pinches or "impinges" you likely require pelvis and leg exercises designed to reposition the alignment of your skeletal structure during static and dynamic movement. A common compensation seen in humans is rotating the hip bones forward while leveraging the hip flexors and low back. This results in strain at the outside of the hips, reduction of space at the groin and often correlates with low back issues as well. If your are experiencing these symptoms an MRI and a cortisone shot will be a costly, temporary distraction to the movement dysfunction that needs to be addressed.

Sciatica? This means pain in your sciatic nerve. There are multiple causes of why your sciatic nerve gets irritated but none of them start with inflammation. Therefore, a cortizone shot is not a solution. It is only a band-aid for a movement dysfunction that you don't need to live with. Appropriately retraining the back, hip and core musculature to move freely will reduce irritation and compression of the sciatic nerve.

The most often overlooked scenario of the shoulder isn't the shoulder itself, but the ribcage that it sits on. In order to have appropriate movement of the ball in the socket, the socket has to sit cleanly on its foundation. Rotator cuff tendinitis, labral tears, and sub-acromial impingement can all be moderated by appropriate re-education of the entire system, not just ER and IR with a band.

There are several reasons why your shoulder may pop or click. It could be due to a tendon or ligament moving around a bone, which is typically harmless. It's also possible that the clicking or popping is associated with a rotator cuff tear or labral tear. Physical therapy can help determine the cause of your clicking and provide a proper treatment plan. At Human Function and Performance, our team of expert physical therapists will conduct a thorough evaluation of your shoulder and identify the underlying cause of your symptoms. We use evidence-based treatment techniques to provide customized treatment plans tailored to your specific needs and goals. Through a combination of manual therapy, therapeutic exercise, and patient education, we can help to reduce your pain, restore your mobility, and improve your overall function. With our guidance and support, you can get back to doing the activities you love without the discomfort of popping or clicking in your shoulder.

Your neck and shoulders hold your head up, help you breathe, help you rotate, and help keep you upright. That's a lot of jobs that they may be compensating for when other muscular structures are not pulling their weight. The stress of our lives combined with how our bodies compensate to perform the above functions can lead to uncomfortable overuse of our neck and shoulder muscles. This dysfunction can be resolved with the appropriate exercise and lifestyle interventions.

At some point or another most people's do. Our quads and hamstrings have a big job to do holding us up against gravity. Occasionally they become imbalanced to a degree that we experience pain. It is important to understand that your body has an incredible ability to heal itself if put in the right position. If the diagnosis is osteoarthritis then you are in luck. Exercise is the best intervention. The correct exercise will reduce your pain, build self-confidence with your activities and prevent or delay a major surgery. We are living longer than ever, our activity level needs to match in order to limit the negative effects of aging.

Golf is a sport that requires adequate hip, trunk and shoulder rotation for smooth mechanics. After evaluation it is often uncovered that asymmetrical weakness in the abdominals and hip musculature are creating stress and strain at various locations in the body. A thorough evaluation is necessary to identify all contributing factors before intitating a treatment program.

Running is the most natural exercise our physiological selves can perform. However, that does not make it natural for everyone. The first line of defense to running injury is running technique. If your technique is relatively sound but you continue to develop upper trap, hip, IT Band, knee, lower leg, ankle or foot pain, there is an underlying muscular imbalance that needs to be addressed. Many high level athletes will go most of their lives without experiencing significant pain from these imbalances, others will be doomed to 5 miles without addressing them. HFAP has success treating runners for a variety of injuries because our approach addresses the entire body, not just the body part in question.

If you talk to just about any power lifter over the age of 50 you will hear nothing but complaints about various joint pain. While power lifting is an impressive sport that loads functional movement patterns, the way to move the most weight is not always the most functional way to move. Power lifting needs to be complemented by functional movement training. HFAP uses a whole body assessment to identify any disadvantageous limitations that may be reducing performance, increasing the opportunity for injury, and setting the stage for future pain. From there, a systematic supplemental treatment program that works around training is prescribed to address these issues.

HFAP began working out with Camp Gladiator our first week open. The tough workout paired with the community feel was infectious. Exercising outside proves to be more challenging than the typical rubber gym floor and therefore provides greater opportunity for functional gains. When injury arises it is often the product of prior muscle and movement imbalances that are not addressed through the varying exercise routines. The exercises are designed to hit your whole body, but your whole body isn't always ready to hit the exercises back. Where HFAP makes its mark is identifying all restrictions in the body and providing a logical, systematic treatment plan to remove limitation and strain.

Crossfit is a challenging sport that incorporates dynamic functional activities performed under high intensity. Our personal experience training Crossfit has shown HFAP that Crossfit is an incredible exercise program that is safe and effective for improving athletic capacity and functional capability. While every box is different, the athletes are all human, and therefore are subject to laws of human adaptability. If asymmetry of the core and extremities is present in an athlete then the opportunity for injury or poor performance is increased. At HFAP we utilize a whole-body assessment for any injury to determine all contributing factors prior to initiating a treatment program.

The Truth About Strength Training As big of a proponent as I am to doing strength training, I feel like there’s a better approach than to consistently beat the body up. Understanding how the body works is a better, strategic way to getting the strength gains you want while also avoiding injury! The key to understanding this is joint alignment vs. muscle alignment. When your joints are aligned you’re able to get the joint receptors to connect with the nervous system more efficiently. This increased feedback gives a better contraction and thus more strength. No matter how much more weight you add or how hard you try, the muscles will only fire at the rate the nerves are able to feed them. Similarly this applies to muscle alignment. There are 2 concepts you want to be familiar with; Passive Insufficiency and Active Insufficiency. When your joint alignment is off it throws off your muscle alignment. Muscles go where the bones go. If the muscle is displaced on too much of a stretch it’s called Passive Insufficiency since the muscle fibers don’t align up well enough to contract whereas if they’re too close together it’s called Active Insufficiency. Either way the muscle won’t contract like you want it to and thus are more prone to injury. Focusing on key concepts such as joint and muscle alignment can go a long way when you're focused on getting the most out of your workouts and strength gains. Working on mobility exercises and progressive warmups as simple as they sound can actually be a stronger approach!

Plantar fasciitis is rarely a symptom of a simple foot dysfunction. Your feet are your tires, if there is a misalignment you will get abnormal wear. You likely need specific pelvis and/or core work to move over your feet symmetrically and avoid irritating the bottom of the chain.