Insurance Providers: In-Network

Accepted Medicare Type Plans

Blue Cross Medicare Advantage, Health Net Medicare Advantage, Medicare, MODA Medicare Plans, United Healthcare AARP

Accepted Insurance Plans

Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield (all), Cigna, GEHA, Health Net, HMA, MODA, Pacific Source, Tricare

Workers Compensation Insurance (W/C)

We accept most W/C insurances (Except SAIF MCO-Majoris and out of state workers compensation plans)

Insurance Providers: Out-of-Network

Accepted Out-of-Network Medicare Plans

Humana Medicare, Providence Medicare Advantage, Pacific Source Medicare Advantage

Accepted Out-of-Network Insurance plans

Assurant Health, Healthcomp, Humana, Pacific Source Legacy Health, Providence, Providence Preferred, United Healthcare

Non-covered Insurance Plans

SAIF MCO (MAJORIS)

Client Forms

FAQ

Do I need a doctor’s referral/prescription to come to Bodywise?

Oregon allows direct access for physical therapy. This means clients can get physical therapy services without a prescription. If you choose to refer yourself to Bodywise, we will send a copy of the initial physical therapy evaluation and subsequent progress reports to your physician for their records, and to keep them up to date on your care.

Will insurance cover my Physical Therapy visits without a referral?

Most insurance providers cover physical therapy without a referral from an approved provider (see the list of who can refer you to PT below). Our office will contact your insurance carrier, and help you understand your benefits, but we recommend you verify your benefits as well.

If your insurance requires a referral/authorization, you’ll need to contact your primary care provider. They may issue a referral/authorization based on your call, or may require you to come in for a visit.

Medicare recipients are required to have a referral to physical therapy in order to have the services covered under Medicare benefits.

Click insurance for a list of insurance companies we are affiliated with.

Who can refer me to Physical Therapy?

Physician (MD, DO)
Physicians Assistant
Nurse Practitioner
Podiatrist (DPM) – for lower extremity injuries only
Chiropractor – except for Worker’s Compensation and MVA
Naturopathic Physician

What should I expect when I call to inquire about Physical Therapy?

When you call to schedule, our office will do an intake regarding your diagnosis, or complaint, your doctor, and your insurance. We then contact your insurance to confirm your benefits, and will call you back, usually within the hour, to help you understand your benefits, and let you know which forms you will need to complete prior to your first visit. You can download these from the about section of this site, or we can mail them to you. If you choose, you may email them back to our office, or bring them to your visit.

Prior to arriving at your first appointment, we will reach out to your providers to acquire pertinent records i.e. surgical report, and imaging studies so that we are prepared for your evaluation.

What should I expect at my Physical Therapy sessions?

At your initial evaluation, your physical therapist will listen to your concerns, and ask pertinent questions about your history, current complaints, functional limitations, and goals. We will perform a comprehensive bio-mechanical examination, and educate you along the way about what we are seeing, how it relates to your symptoms, and what we will be focusing on to make improvements, and reach your goals.

Subsequently, based on our findings, and your goals we will recommend a frequency and duration of follow-up sessions. These appointments are typically a combination of ongoing education, manual intervention, foundational postural integration, and movement patterning training related to sport or work specific functional activities. Please take a moment to view our website to understand the unique integrated approach we offer.

How long are the appointments?

All your visits will be 60 minutes, one-on-one with your PT. We do not hire aides or assistants.

Do you typically run on time?

We are very respectful of your time, and will always try to stay on schedule 🙂

What should I bring?

Insurance card (if you have not already emailed a copy to our office)
Referral if applicable
Loose comfortable shorts. We have some you can borrow if you don’t have any or forget yours.
Females – a tank top or sports bra for a neck or shoulder issues. We may ask you to wear a gown to be able to more thoroughly see/treat you.
Running shoes or the typical shoes you wear especially if you have foot, or lower extremity issues.

Places we Recommend

Exercise Videos

Amp up your Abs!

Balance Your Backside!

Free Your Knees!

Align Your Spine!

Un-stick Your Hamstrings!

Conquer the Climb!

Exercises

Superman

[Strength, Stability, Motor Re-programming]

This is a core exercise. It strengthens the spinal stabilizers, transverse abdominals, legs, scapula, neck, and arms, and prepares the body for some of our most basic activities i.e. getting in and out of a car, up and down from a chair, brushing your teeth, gardening, cycling, and almost any other activity you can think of. With repetition, Superman re-trains your body to move in the way it was designed to.

Position:

Kneel behind the ball with feet against a wall.
Tuck the ball under your waist and lean over it, folding at the hips while keeping your neutral spinal alignment
Check yourself in the mirror
- Visualize a line from your ear to your hip as if a stick were on your back
As you exhale, ground your HEELS into the wall as you squeeze your gluts, and think of driving your pelvis/pubic bone into the ball to extend your body out over the ball maintaining neutral alignment
- Visualize a line between your ear and your feet
Reach arms parallel to your side, next to the seem of your pants — not behind you
Open your chest by turning your palms toward the outer walls of the room. Notice how this opens your chest and engages your shoulder blades. Notice and avoid the tendency to arch your back. Check in that upper abdominals (between ribs) are still engaged.
Hold five seconds
Return to the start position by bending your knees and bringing them to the floor
Focus on folding/hinging at your hips and moving your pelvis back to your feet as your chest comes to rest on the ball without losing your neutral position or the connection to your abdominals.
Check that your neck is neutral; fist with thumb on top fills the space from the notch on your chest to your chin.
Spinal alignment is neutral and abdominals engaged throughout the exercise.
You can increase the difficulty of the exercise by raising your arms over your head
Your spinal alignment should be neutral throughout the exercise.

What you should feel	Heels into wall, gluts, quads, abdominals, back muscles (but not as much as the gluts), scapular region, triceps.
Maintenance	30 x 3x a week
Repetition	Goal: 25 – 2x a day. Build up to 50 at one time.
Goal	1. To strengthen the core and improve postural endurance. 2. To train the body how to bend at the hip, and not the spine.

What to avoid	Solution
Hyper-extension (overarching) of the lumbar spine.	Squeeze the gluts and the abdominals as you push from the wall.
Looking forward: hyper-extension of the neck.	Keep your eyes in line with your chest.
Flexing the spine as you return to the start position.	Hinge at the hip.
Pain	Check your form or stop the exercise.

Praying Mantis

[Strength, Stability]

This is a more advanced abdominal strengthening exercise. It focuses on hinging at the hip and stabilizing the spine. This is called disassociation.

Position:

Kneel behind the ball and sit back on your heels.
Place your forearm on the ball.
Lean toward the ball from your hip. Visualize a line from your ear to your hip.
As you exhale, squeeze your abdominals and gluts to move your pelvis to the ball. Visualize a line from your ear to your knee.
Hold five seconds.
Inhale as you hinge at your hips to return to the start position.

What you should feel	Abdominals, arms, gluts.
Hold time	5 seconds.
Repetition	20-30 x
Goal	To strengthen the abdominals and stabilize the spine, while moving through the hips.

What to avoid	Solutions
Hyper-extension of the spine as you move toward the ball.	Exhale. Squeeze the abdominals and gluts.
Rounding your spine as you return to the start position.	Inhale, hinge at the hips.
Pain.	Check your form /stop exercise.

The Squat

[Strength, Stability]

Most People Don’t Know “Squat” About How To Squat!

Squatting is a basic movement, but that doesn’t mean it comes naturally to people. A squat is what we do, or should be doing, every time we get in and out of a car, pick something up, brush our teeth etc. I think that if more people knew how to squat, we would have a lot fewer cases of back pain. There are many components to a good squat, and they are all important. Here are a few tips to help you get started:

Position

Hold a broomstick against your back, with one hand over your head, and the other hand between your lumbar spine and the stick.
The stick should touch:
- The back of your head
- Your mid back
- Your tailbone
There should be a small space between:
- The stick and your neck
- The stick and your low back.
Stand with your toes just in front of a chair.
If you can have a mirror to your side, that is helpful too.

Here are the rules:

The contact points and spaces between your spine and the stick cannot change.
You cannot pass your knees over your toes.

The first thing you want to think about is hinging your hips, like you’re pointing your butt back into a chair. Next, the knees begin to bend (but they shift forward very little). In order to balance, you lean your trunk slightly forward, hinging at the hips while maintaining neutral alignment. Remember, it is okay to bend over when you squat, as long as the bend is at your hips, and not through your spine.

Notice that the angle of your trunk is about the same as the angle of your shin.

To return to standing, squeeze your gluts (imagine pinching a penny in your buns), and use your abdominals (pulling your bellybutton back to your spine). Make sure you come all the way upright (don’t stop bent over), and make sure you don’t lock your knees. If you follow these guidelines, you can’t go wrong. The trick is repetition to re-train your body to move in ways that support the structures. If you do twenty repetitions three times a day for a month, you’ll find that you won’t even need the stick, because you will automatically use good form. Before long you will find yourself incorporating this new pattern of movement into your daily life.

Hanging Stretch

[Strength, Stability]

Position

You can use a chin-up bar that mounts in a doorway or a 2 foot long dowel rod in your door strap, a stair rail, or even your kitchen sink. The important thing is the form.

Stand under the bar or in front of the stair rail/ kitchen sink.
Grasp the bar/rail/lip of the sink.
Fold over your hips and stick your butt backward, maintaining neutral spine (don’t look at the bar).
Let your bodyweight hang back from your hands and think of melting your chest forward toward the floor.
Stand up before you let go.

What you should feel	Stretch in the arm, arm pit, chest, or low back.
Hold time	60 seconds (you may be limited by your grip).
Repetitions	Beginning: 5 x day Maintenance: 1 x day
Goal	Create a line from your hands to your hips.

What to avoid	Solution
Pinch in the shoulder.	Decrease the angle between your hands and hip.

“Snow Angels”

[Pectoral Stretch]

The pectoral muscles attach from the sternum (breastplate and ribs) to the scapula (shoulder blade) and humerus (arm). If they are too tight (as they are on most people) this holds the shoulders forward and maintains a thoracic kyphosis (hunch back). They are one of the most critical areas to stretch for anyone with back or neck problems, and it’s easy too! Click here to buy roller for this exercise (round 36″x6″).

Position

Lay on your roller (6” in diameter) so that your head and the tailbone are supported.
Knees are bent, and feet are on the floor.
The back and neck are neutral (all eyes face the ceiling).
The roller should contact your tailbone, mid back, and head, with a small space behind your low back and neck. You may need to support your head with a towel or small pillow.
Drop your arms out to the side, palms up. Keep the entire back of your hands down on the floor.
Slowly move your arms up like a snow angel. This will change where you feel the stretch.

What to feel	A strong stretch across the front of your chest.
Hold time	5 minutes in varying positions of your arms.
Goal	To touch your hands together over your head, keeping the back of your hands on the floor the entire time.

What to avoid:	Solution:
Cervical hyperextension.	Place a towel behind your head.
Lumbar hyperextension.	Tighten the abdominals to stabilize the lumbar spine.
A “pinch” in the shoulder.	Stay below the angle where you feel a pinch.
Tingling in the hands.	Take a rest and / or decrease the hold time.

Neck Stretch 1

[Muscle Flexibility]

This stretch lengthens the muscles and connective tissue in the back of the cervical spine.

Position

Sit in neutral spinal alignment.
Intentionally reach both of your arms toward the floor with your palms facing away from you.
Visualize sliding your scapula down and back
Inhale and imagine growing taller through the top of your head.
Exhale as you curl your head toward your chest, one vertebra at a time.
Inhale to re-stack the vertebrae one at a time as you return to the start position.

What you should feel	A stretch in the back of your neck and thoracic spine.
Hold	10 slow breaths.
Repetitions	Beginning 2 – 3 x day Maintenance 1 x daily
Goal	To open the facets and stretch the cervical spine without moving the thoracic or lumbar spine.

What to avoid	Solution
Bending the cervical spine backward.	Stop at neutral as you return to the start position.
Radiating pain into the arms or legs.	Stop exercise immediately.

Contraindication

Cervical disc herniation.

Neck Stretch 2

[Muscle Flexibility]

This stretch lengthens the muscles and connective tissue on the side and front of the cervical spine. It may also stretch the cervical nerve roots.

Position

Sit in neutral spinal alignment.
Reaching your hands to the floor and your shoulder blades to your back pockets.
Palms face forward.
Tip your head directly to your right shoulder.
Maintaining the tip of your head, rotate your face down toward floor — Imagine a globe turning on its axis.
Maintain the tip of your head and rotate your face up toward the ceiling

What you should feel	A stretch on the side of your neck that shifts backward as you look down, and forward as you look up.
Hold time	30 seconds in each position.
Repetitions	2 x each side.
Goal	To open the facets and stretch the cervical spine.

What to avoid	Solution
A “pinch” on the side you are bending toward.	Stop the exercise and check your form. Discontinue if your complaints continue.
Radiating pain into your arms.	Stop/ check form/ discontinue.
Moving your neck forward or back as you rotate.	Check your form.

Contraindications

Cervical disc, bone spurs, stenosis.

Quadricep

[Muscle Flexibility]

The quad muscles cross the hip and the knee joints. If the quads are too tight, they hold the pelvis forward in an anterior tilt position. This causes increased low back extension and compression.

Position

On your side, with both knees as close to your chest as you can comfortably get them.
Block your bottom foot on something like a wall or a couch.
(This keeps your spine stable during the stretch.)
Place your bottom hand under your head to support your neck.
Pull the top leg back with your top hand as you squeeze your glutes.
Visualize reaching your foot to the wall behind you.
Keep your top leg parallel to the floor.

What you should feel	A strong stretch in the front of the thigh.
Hold time	60 seconds
Repetitions	Beginning: 2-3 x day Maintenance: 2-3x week
Goal	To have your top leg in line with your trunk.

What to avoid	Solutions
Arching your back.	Block your knee closer to your chest. Exhale/Engage your abdominals.
Knee pain.	Decrease the angle of knee flexion: Block behind your knee with a towel or small ball. b. Use a rope instead of your hand.

Iliopsoas

[Hip Flexor]

The hip flexors are tight on most people. Like the quads, if they are tight, they hold the pelvis forward, increasing extension and compression in the lumbar spine. Good length in the hip flexors is key to achieving a neutral pelvis and spinal alignment.

Position

Standing with one foot on something tall, i.e. the arm or back of a couch, bed, etc.
The foot on the floor faces forward, or slightly turned out, with knees slightly bent
Shift your trunk forward by squeezing your gluts.
Visualize leading from the pubic bone, not the belly button.

What you should feel	A stretch in the front of your hip.
Hold time	60 seconds.
Repetitions	Beginning: 2-3 x day Maintenance: 2-3 x week
Goal	Increased length in the hip flexors to allow for neutral pelvic and spinal alignment.

What to avoid	Solutions
Arching your back.	Engage abdominals and the gluts of the standing leg.
Back pain.	Check your form / Stop the exercise.

Hip Rotator Stretch

[Movement, Alignment]

The hip rotators attach from the outer hip (trochanter) to the sacrum and pelvis. Good length allows greater freedom of movement in your hip while maintaining neutral alignment of the pelvis and spine.

Position:

On your back with one knee bent, and the foot blocked on a wall or couch.
Cross your opposite ankle over that knee.
Push the knee away.

What you should feel	A stretch around your hip/butt of the side you are pushing.
Hold time	60 seconds.
Repetitions	Beginning: 2-3 x day Maintenance: 2-3 x week
Goal	The resting hip at a 90º angle, and the leg you are stretching at arm’s length.

What to avoid	Solution
Losing the neutral alignment of the pelvis and spine.	Move further away from the wall.
Knee pain.	Decrease force of the hand, pushing on the knee.

Hamstring Stretch

[Movement, Alignment]

The hamstrings attach from the base of the pelvis (your sit-bones) to behind your knee. If they are tight, they block movement of your hip and force excessive movement to your lumbar spine.

Position:

On your back in a doorway.
One leg on the door frame with the opposite leg on the floor passing through the door.
The leg on the wall should be straight but not locked.
Maintain the pelvis and spine in neutral.
Gently flex your ankle, pointing your toes toward your nose.

What you should feel	A gentle stretch along the back of your leg that increases when you pull your toes toward you.
Hold time	2 – 3 second hold/release with the foot. 2 minutes total.
Repetitions	Beginning: 2 x day Maintenance: 3 x week
Goals	#1 – Hip at 90º with leg in contact with the wall. #2 – Pelvis/spine neutral.

What to avoid	Solution
Rounding your back.	Scoot away from the wall until you can get your knee straight and pelvis neutral.
Bending your knee.	Tighten the quads.
Locking your knee.	Unlock your knee.

Accepted Medicare Type Plans

Accepted Insurance Plans

Workers Compensation Insurance (W/C)

Accepted Out-of-Network Medicare Plans

Accepted Out-of-Network Insurance plans

Non-covered Insurance Plans

Primary Care Providers

Specialty Practitioners

Naturopathic Practitioners

Acupuncture

Psychiatry

Psychology/ Counseling

Massage Therapy

Pilates Studios

Spinning Studios

Personal Training

Yoga Studio

Breath Work

Podiatry

Doula

Running Store

Ergonomic Furniture

Shoe Modification

Amp up your Abs!

Balance Your Backside!

Free Your Knees!

Align Your Spine!

Un-stick Your Hamstrings!

Conquer the Climb!

Superman

[Strength, Stability, Motor Re-programming]

Praying Mantis

[Strength, Stability]

Position:

The Squat

[Strength, Stability]

Position

Hanging Stretch

[Strength, Stability]

Position

“Snow Angels”

[Pectoral Stretch]

Position

Neck Stretch 1

[Muscle Flexibility]

Position

Neck Stretch 2

[Muscle Flexibility]

Position

Quadricep

[Muscle Flexibility]

Position

Iliopsoas

[Hip Flexor]

Position

Hip Rotator Stretch

[Movement, Alignment]

Hamstring Stretch

[Movement, Alignment]