Opening-Slide1
Dr. Anna Staehli Wiser
Discover Osteopractic Physical Therapy

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a doctor’s referral?

  • No, you have direct access to physical therapy in the State of Maine

What kind of conditions do you treat?

Image

Why choose DOPT?

DOPT is a one stop shop of sorts for pain relief. DOPT delivers premier, highest level care. Research and empirical evidence has proven over time that the most effective treatments for pain are exercise, massage, acupuncture, and chiropractic manipulation. Research has also proven that a multi-modal approach which incorporates all of these effective treatments is superior to one treatment approach alone. When people are in pain they will go see their massage therapist, their acupuncturist, their chiropractor, and also their physical therapist. This is no longer necessary when the best of all of these different treatments can be accessed in one location - at DOPT!

At DOPT you will receive one on one care for the entire treatment session which will last 1 hour or more. At other facilities you will find that clinicians (physical therapists, chiropractors, acupuncturists) are seeing up to 4 patients per hour.

What is an Osteopractor?

An Osteopractor is a Physical Therapist, Medical Doctor or Doctor of Osteopathic medicine that has completed an extensive, evidence-based post graduate training in manual therapy for the diagnosis and treatment of neuromuscular conditions of the spine and extremities. Only after completing the intensive training program consisting of Dry Needling series, Spinal Manipulation course work, Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization, Extremity Manipulation, Differential Diagnosis and Multi-Modal Management, as well as passing strict written, practical and oral exams, will the clinician earn the Diploma in Osteopractic and be able to call themselves an Osteopractor.

What is the difference between acupuncture and dry needling?

While both dry needling and acupuncture use needles to penetrate the skin in order to achieve pain relief, acupuncture employs a philosophy of Eastern Medicine, where dry needling is a more modern approach that uses an impairment-based system to treat neuromusculoskeletal injury. Common injuries treated with dry needling include neck pain, headaches, shoulder impingement, tennis elbow, carpal tunnel syndrome, knee pain, shin splints, plantar fasciitis, and back pain. 

Is joint manipulation provided by a physical therapist different from a chiropractor? 

Spinal and extremity manipulation is a treatment technique used by many practitioners including osteopathic physicians, chiropractors, and physical therapists.

Why don’t you accept insurance?

Using a physical therapy establishment who accepts insurance sounds like a smart choice, right? The unfortunate reality is that working with insurance is very costly and time consuming. The administrative burden of dealing with insurance is part of the reason for soaring health care costs. The cost of one physical therapy session in a large rehabilitation facility can run more than $300. Another problem is that many commercial insurance companies have high deductibles, which can cause a scenario where the patient pays out of pocket for services until the deductible has been met. In addition, most insurance companies including Medicare and Blue Cross do not pay for dry needling, and do not pay for any services not deemed “medically necessary” by the insurance. At DOPT, Dr. Wiser (not the insurance company or case manager) will determine the most appropriate treatment for your specific condition and symptoms. Furthermore, Dr. Wiser will have the option to administer procedures (such as dry needling or spinal manipulation) that Medicare, BCBS and other third-party payers deem as “non-covered”.

Lastly, the patient who chooses care at DOPT will find their pain condition to significantly improve over 1 to 3 sessions in most cases. Traditional single modal care generally takes 12 or more sessions for the patient to experience significant improvement in their injury.

DOPT has chosen to focus on what counts, the patient care itself.

 

Dr. Anna Staehli Wiser
Anna Staehli Wiser
DPT, FAAOMPT, Dip. Osteopractic, Cert. SMT, Cert. DN

(207)  855-0715

(207) 690-5748 - fax

drwiser@DiscoverOPT.com

 Please call for an appointment

 

Leave a Review

20 North Avenue
Skowhegan, Maine 04976

facebookInstagram

Credit cards are accepted. Payment is due at time of service. I do not contract with insurance. Using a fee for service payment model allows me to spend more time with you and provide the individualized care specific to your needs.