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Direct Access to Physical Therapy In New York State, like most states, people can access physical therapy services directly without the need for physician referral. There are several advantages to direct access.  There is a growing body of evidence that physical therapy direct access can be part of the solution to the high costs and inefficiencies of our current health care system. First, a more direct route to the physical therapist reduces the time between an injury, or the onset of a p...

Guest essay: Consumers need to drive health care reform By Marcia Miller Spoto, PT, DC, OCS Posted Nov. 11, 2014 @ 12:24 pm by Daily Messanger Canandaigua, N.Y. As a health care provider and educator in the greater Rochester area for over 30 years, I see both the promises and the pitfalls of health care reform. The movement toward cost-effective, value-based care is very positive. A positive development is the change towards payment models that reward providers for keeping people health...

"No Pain, No Gain" Debunked Pain is described in the dictionary as "the physical feeling caused by disease, injury, or something that hurts the body." Pain is the body's warning system telling us that something is wrong. Pain is never normal and should not be downplayed or ignored. After sustaining an injury, the body's natural response is to create a painful stimuli which then starts a chain reaction, altering normal function. In this viscous cycle,  pain creates inhibition, which in turn...

Be sure to tune into Channel 9 news tonight between 5:00-5:30. Channel 9 will be airing a story on how the changes in the health care system are effecting out of pocket costs for patients seeking Physical Therapy treatment. This segment was filmed here at STAR and STAR owner and president Marcia Miller Spoto was interviewed!

Importance of Home Exercise Program Compliance During my career as a physical therapist, I have heard many comments such as " I'm too busy" or "I'm too tired" or " I have pain" or" I forgot" or " I just don't want to do them". These are just some of the reasons why people do not perform their home exercise program.  Although the majority of excuses are valid most of the time, it does not take away the importance of a consistent home exercise program. When I started working at STAR 25 year...