No. Every case is different, and not everyone needs a three-hour assessment. The comprehensive assessment is generally designed for people who have been dealing with persistent or recurring back pain, have already tried several treatment options without finding answers, or simply can't figure out why their symptoms aren't changing. If, for example, you injured your back last week and want to get ahead of the problem, three hours probably isn't necessary. We'll recommend the level of assessment that makes sense for your situation.

Probably less often than you think. Every case is different, but follow-up visits are commonly spaced 6–12 weeks apart. If your problem requires more hands-on treatment, we may recommend seeing you more frequently, but that's less common than many people assume. A major goal of the assessment is to give you the knowledge and tools to manage your symptoms and make progress on your own between visits. Every patient also gets Tyler's personal cell number, and he encourages frequent communication between appointments so questions can be answered and the plan can evolve as you progress.

That's not a problem. Whether you live in our backyard or across the state, the follow-up process is often fairly similar. Because visits are typically spaced out and much of the work happens between appointments, living farther away doesn't necessarily mean making frequent trips to Winston-Salem. If you need more frequent hands-on treatment, Tyler can also coordinate with a provider closer to home so you can get that care locally while continuing to follow the overall plan.

No. You can contact Shelton Movement & Performance directly without a referral. If you were referred by a physician or another healthcare professional, Tyler can provide assessment findings, treatment notes, and recommendations to your referring provider so everyone involved in your care understands what was found and stays on the same page.

Yes. Information from imaging and other healthcare providers can be extremely valuable, but we don't want it to bias the assessment before we've had an opportunity to understand how your body actually behaves. We begin by letting the history and physical assessment tell us what we need to know. Then, when appropriate, we incorporate your imaging, previous diagnoses, treatment history, and the opinions of your other providers. If movement is part of the problem, imaging can't show us how you move. It's useful information—but sometimes we need more information than imaging alone can provide.

Many of the people who come to Shelton Movement & Performance have already tried physical therapy or other treatments. You can read our Google reviews to hear directly from them about their experiences. What makes our approach different is that we're more interested in understanding what is driving your symptoms than simply treating the pain itself. Pain is a symptom. The first question is why it's there. That also means we don't begin an assessment assuming physical therapy is necessarily the answer. We're not trying to fit your problem into the treatments we happen to provide. For example, if your assessment suggests that an arthritic hip is actually driving your back symptoms and requires care outside our scope, that's still a valuable outcome. We may not be the ones who ultimately solve that problem—but now we have a much clearer idea of what needs to be addressed and who may be best equipped to address it. Finding the right answer is more important than making sure that answer is us.