What is the Physical Therapy process like at Core Health Partners?

If you tell PT Melicent Bussey your back hurts, she’s going to look at your feet. “We keep our shoes for way too long,” she says, and many people don’t realize that their worn-out shoes are causing them back pain.

In a recent presentation at the YMCA of South Collier, Bussey explained how she thinks of her role as a Physical Therapist as an investigator, who will ask you lots of questions when you come in and say something like “my neck hurts,” because although she may be able to work on your neck and make it feel better in the short term, until she can change what in your lifestyle is causing the pain, the problem you are having will likely keep coming back. “We look at the environment you function in,” says Bussey, “if you come to me for a neck issue, I’m going to look at what kind of sports do you do; how do you sit when you read; and how do you sleep. I can go in and treat the neck; but if you don’t change the environment, we are going to see you back, because we didn’t really fix anything,” she says.

“I call PT an investigative process; we are digging and sometimes interrogating, what you should do, to help the issue, not just put a band-aid on it.”

Melicent Bussey’s role with Core Health Partners includes development of the YMCA education and program for the Clinic to Community Model of service. She explains how the clinic to community model is different in treating the whole patient and helping bring about lifestyle changes.

“Our healthcare system currently operates in a reactive mode, its designed to address acute illnesses,” she says. “So, our emergency rooms and hospitals are full of acute emergencies —which is not a bad thing— but they are not designed for chronic disease.” Chronic diseases are ones that will continue to affect patients’ health long after any acute care is done, for example arthritis, or diabetes. Just treating these conditions with medication doesn’t address how they affect the whole body.

Bussey likes to explain how different it is to come into the Core Health Partners clinic, where a whole team of specialists is available specifically to help patients understand and manage their chronic conditions. For example, Core Health Partners has a diabetes education program and dietitians at the ready, to help diabetics make better choices, which will in turn effect all other aspects of their health.

This clinic to community model is one Bussey really believes in, and that she sees making a direct impact on patients’ health every day. If you would like doctors who partner with you in your total wellness, make an appointment with Core Health Partners’ team today. Or, use this form to request a medical referral from your doctor.