If you are a golfer and you start having pain when you play in a certain position, you have a few options available to seek an answer. You can discuss it with your swing coach or a pro, try to compensate with a different position while you play, or Google your symptoms to figure out what’s wrong (we don’t recommend the last one).

Golf is a sport that looks easy but is certainly not. When playing the game, minute movements make all the difference - if your foot is only slightly turned at an angle, your whole swing could be off. Many golf instructors and swing coaches are great at teaching body mechanics and making sure your drives go where you want, and it really is challenging to play golf well without proper instruction. Where should you go when you want instruction that looks at your whole body?

If you’re anything like me, you enjoy supporting local small businesses in your area. You would much rather visit a local coffee shop than Starbucks, and you would visit family-owned restaurants over a national fast food chain any day. On the other hand, it is sometimes much more convenient to pick up your fresh produce from Trader Joe’s than to wait for the Saturday morning farmer’s market.

Making a lifestyle change can feel like a daunting task, especially when it comes to your health. If you have been doing things the same way for a long time, any change, positive or negative, can be difficult. When your lifestyle change involves getting physical therapy for a chronic condition, you may worry about how it will affect different areas of your life. Even though physical therapy can be a positive change for your health and wellbeing, some worries are completely normal.

If you’re anything like me, you enjoy checklists. Lists allow you to free up room in your brain and make sure that you have all of your ducks in a row, as the saying goes. Checking an item off one of your lists, especially your to-do lists, is one of the most satisfying feelings in the world. You probably find yourself wishing you had a checklist or guide whenever you go to a new doctor or medical professional. It can be intimidating walking into a new practice unsure of whether you have all the correct information for the doctor. If you are starting a physical therapy journey, this intimidation may ring true for you as well. You may wonder if you wore the right clothes or have the paperwork filled out correctly, along with the usual nerves that come with meeting someone for the first time.

We’ve all had that visit to a medical office: you wait in the waiting room for at least half an hour, only to see your provider for maybe five minutes. Finding personalized care in any medical field can be difficult, and physical therapy is no exception. Finding the right person for your treatment is imperative. But how do you choose? How do you know if a therapist you’re considering is the right one for you?

According to the CDC, 40.3% of American adults are obese, and extra weight can lead to many preventable health problems. Many overweight adults are nervous about receiving medical treatment because they have experienced stigmatization from multiple medical professionals. Physical therapy is no exception - some physical therapists use a patient’s weight as a scapegoat to take the blame for every underlying issue. It is unfortunate for anyone to experience this way of thinking, and if this is a part of your story, we can reassure you that you are not alone. A good physical therapist can help you move more throughout the day with less pain and will incorporate advice on sleep, nutrition, and recovery into your program. They will prioritize you as a person rather than just your number on the scale. If one of your goals is to lose weight and you’re considering physical therapy, we understand you may have reservations about the process. To help assuage some of your anxiety, we are answering some common questions about how physical therapy can help you move better and, therefore, feel better. Knowing these answers will give you confidence as you start a physical therapy treatment and give you hope for living the life you have imagined.

Editor's note: The author would like to thank Katherine Stone and Jesse Douglas for their contribution to this article.