Hip and knee pain treatment in Slidell.

Usually not, and it’s rarely the first step. Imaging finds joint wear in people who walk around with no pain at all, so the picture and the symptoms don’t always match. It also can’t show what treatment actually changes: how strong that leg is, how the joint moves, and what your knee does when you take a step. Those come out of a hands-on evaluation. We screen for the findings that belong with a physician, and if imaging is warranted, we help you get it.

No, and this is the fear worth clearing up. A joint isn’t a tire tread, and cartilage is living tissue that depends on movement to stay healthy. What wears a joint down is being loaded badly by a weak leg, not being loaded well by a strong one. Hurt doesn’t always mean harm here either. The work is dosed to what your knee and hip tolerate right now, one-on-one with a licensed physical therapist, and it gets adjusted in the room.

Strength takes the time strength takes, and we’ll be honest about that at your evaluation instead of guessing now. What you get is a plan with an endpoint: four phases, Pain, Prime, Perform, Prevent, each with a job and a way to know you’ve earned the next one. Progress gets measured against real things, like the stairs and getting out of a chair. We go over what it takes and what it costs before you commit to any of it.

No referral needed. Louisiana is a direct access state, so you can be evaluated by a licensed physical therapist without going through a physician first. We run a benefits check before your first visit, so you know your coverage in advance, and a Good Faith Estimate is available if you’re paying out of pocket. We accept Medicare, Medicaid, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Aetna, Cigna, Humana, UnitedHealthcare, TRICARE, TriWest and Peoples Health, plus workers’ compensation and auto accident claims.

Yes, and it counts either way. If surgery is in your future, the strength and motion you build now is exactly what you’ll be rehabbing from, and going in with a strong leg gives you a better starting point. If it isn’t, or isn’t yet, then loading that joint properly and getting the muscles around it doing their share is the treatment. Your surgeon and a licensed physical therapist aren’t competing here. We’ll tell you honestly what your exam shows.