Argan's physical therapy resource hub
Straight answers to the questions people actually ask about physical therapy
Most people put off physical therapy not because they doubt it works, but because of unanswered practical questions. Do I need a diagnosis first? Is my problem bad enough? What if PT already failed me once? Here are honest short answers to the questions we hear most, with deeper guides when you want the full picture.
Start with the question on your mind
"Is my problem even bad enough for physical therapy?"
Here's a simple test: have you started working around something instead of doing it? Taking stairs one at a time, using both hands to stand up, shortening your walks, skipping the activity that used to be routine. The workaround phase is actually the best time to be evaluated, because the pattern hasn't hardened yet. Waiting until you can't do the thing at all just makes the road back longer.
"Do I need to see a doctor and get a diagnosis first?"
In Texas, usually no. Direct access laws let you start physical therapy without a referral in most situations. More importantly, you don't need medical vocabulary to start. "I can't get up from the sofa without pushing off with both hands" is a better starting point than most diagnosis names, because it tells a therapist exactly what to look at.
"I did PT before and it didn't work. Why would it work now?"
Fair question, and the answer shouldn't be "just try again." A useful second attempt starts by figuring out what limited the first one. Was the wrong thing treated? Was anything measured, so anyone could tell whether it was working? Did life get in the way of the home program, and did anyone adjust for that? If the second plan is identical to the first, skepticism is the right response.
"I got weaker after a hospital stay or illness. Is that just aging now?"
Usually no, and this assumption costs people years of function. Deconditioning after a hospital stay is common, fast, and largely reversible at any age. The strength you lost in two weeks of bed rest didn't disappear because you turned a corner. It disappeared because it wasn't used, and it responds to being used again.
"Daily life is fine. It's the sport I can't get back to."
That gap is real and it's the most common one we see. Walking comfortably and playing pickleball are different physical jobs. The stop, the pivot, the low reach, and doing all of it repeatedly while tired are separate abilities that need to be rebuilt and tested separately. Feeling fine at the grocery store proves very little about the court, the mat, or the course.
"What's the difference between mobile PT and home health?"
They sound alike and get confused constantly. Home health is a specific insurance category, generally for people who can't easily leave home, with its own eligibility rules. Mobile physical therapy is ordinary outpatient care that travels to you by choice, because seeing your actual stairs, chair, and gym often tells a therapist more than a clinic simulation can.
One idea runs through everything on this site
If you read only one thing here, make it this: the best information in physical therapy comes from watching you do the actual thing that's hard, in the place where it's hard. Not a pain scale. Not a generic test. The real chair, the real stairs, the real serve.
That's why every guide on this site keeps pushing you toward the same first step, whoever you end up working with. Get specific about the exact action that changed. "My knee hurts" starts a vague conversation. "I turn sideways going down stairs since March" starts a useful one. If you take nothing else from this page, take that sentence-building habit. It will improve the care you get anywhere.
Practical questions about working with Argan
What happens during the first visit?
About an hour: your story first, then watching you do the activity that changed, then only the physical checks that help explain it, then a plan you can repeat back in your own words. If you want the full walkthrough, the evaluation guide covers it.
Where do visits happen?
Your home, your workplace, a private gym you use, or wherever the problem actually shows up, anywhere in DFW. We don't operate a walk-in clinic, which is a deliberate choice, not a limitation.
Do you take my insurance, and what does it cost?
Ask us directly before booking and we'll give you a straight answer for your specific situation. Any practice that gets vague about cost before you commit is telling you something.
How do I book?
Book online, call, or text. The most useful message includes three things: your ZIP code, the specific action that changed, and where that action happens.
