Hi, I’m DR. andy, PT.

Whether you’ve recently been injured or you’ve been in pain for years, our physical therapy services in Orlando can very likely help…even if you’ve tried other forms of treatments. A number of things set us apart from most physical therapy clinics and treatment approaches: Full-hour sessions of one-on-one care with an expert physical therapist, highly effective hands-on Manual Therapy techniques, and a holistic approach to treating the entire person for a more complete and lasting return to the active life you desire. You won’t waste time laying on a heat pack at our clinic, or doing exercises you could do on your own time. You won’t be handed off to techs or assistants, and you won’t receive treatment from someone treating other patients at the same time. Your care will never be influenced by what an insurance company will pay for, and we will never tell you to “just rest and take the pain medications your doctor gave you.” At Orlando Physiotherapy, you get the full attention of your nationally accredited and internationally credentialed Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy Physical Therapist here in Orlando, focused on one thing: getting you back to the activities and lifestyles you deserve, without pain or limitations.

Understanding Joint Pain and Our Approach

Each joint in the body is composed of bones, muscles, and soft tissues. Some joints, like fingers and toes, have many bones and few ligaments, while others, like the shoulder, have few bones and many ligaments. Soft tissues around joints include skin, fascia, blood vessels, nerves, joint capsules, ligaments, and tendons, all of which can cause discomfort or pain if something is wrong.

nerve symptoms

Nerves often overlap from one area to another, connecting spinal issues to limb symptoms (e.g., sciatica). Misdiagnosing these connections can lead to unnecessary surgeries. For example, my father underwent multiple surgeries for wrist pain before finding relief through a neck fusion. Similarly, a foot surgery ended my military career and kept me from running.

radiculopathy/sciatica

At Orlando Physiotherapy, we perform a "5-minute" spinal screening for arm or leg symptoms to identify the correct source of your pain, helping you avoid unnecessary medical procedures and surgeries.

no movementS allowed in an X-ray, MRI, or CT Scan!

Managing Pain during your Recovery

If you are in constant pain, it needs to decrease or become intermittent (coming and going) before you begin to work on strength or flexibility.

If you're experiencing both good and bad days, recovery should be gradual and step-by-step.

At Orlando Physiotherapy, we guide you through each phase of recovery to ensure full resolution. Studies show that incomplete recovery increases the likelihood of your problem returning, potentially even worse.

  • This is a good thing. It means that you have a “moving problem” and you need a “movement solution” which we at Orlando Physiotherapy are experts with.

  • Numbness, or pins & needles, in the presence of a joint problem of an arm or leg does not happen without involvement of the spine.

  • Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy (MDT) is the most-reliable method for the assessment of muscle and joint issues in the extremities or spine according to researchers.

    Orthopedic surgeons, Neurologists, your Primary Care Provider, Neurosurgeons, and traditionally-trained physical therapists all have (1) thing in common. None of them...no matter where they were trained, have any documented or reliable method of examination that has objectively been shown superior to MDT. In other words, ask 5 different providers and you will get 5 different answers. Not with MDT!

    And MDT is a method. It is uniform. In Florida there are less than 100 providers. However, nationally and internationally MDT trained clinicians, in addition to physiotherapists, include medical doctors, surgeons, nurse practitioners, chiropractors, physician assistants, occupational therapists, and even athletic trainers!

A movement based assessment is more meaningful for those that suffer symptoms when they move, with mechanical conditions, according to research.

Our “Key Strategies” for Recovery

Our key strategy is the “Test/Retest.” It’s basically cause and effect, and the tool we use along with it is Repeated Movement Testing (also known the Patient Response Method). We look a the symptoms both before and after such testing, each session, which allows us to assess and predict the current state, or acuity, of your condition as well as determine your ultimate prognosis.

We monitor for steady and lasting improvements, such as constant pain decreasing or becoming intermittent, as well as other documented signs, to guide your recovery and keep you on track to achieve your goals (rather than randomly guessing what might work like the other guys).

Other unique strategies we employ at Orlando Physiotherapy include patient-specific education that’s tailored to your condition, lifestyle, and needs.

We aim to help you become your best self without anything holding you back.

Once symptoms resolve, your body can move freely, and you can accurately self-assess, you no longer need us, and that’s our goal!

Optimal JOINT Movement & HEALTH

Each body part, like the ankle, hip, or shoulder, should have a similar range of motion on both sides. While flexibility inherently varies from person to person, our physical therapy examination determines if your range of motion is normal for you.

If you have no loss of motion, or asymmetry, or it’s restored during therapy, you shouldn’t experience a key factor of poor symptoms management known as Pain During Motion. Pain indicates something is not right, but we can fix that. Joints and muscles should move, feel, and function the same from side to side.

One work of caution…even with full motion and no pain during movement, End Range Pain can signal unresolved issues such as scar tissue and poor rehabilitation, increasing the risk for further problems.

ELIMINATE UNCERTAINTY. Move better. Be better. For good. Now!

See Dr. Andy Harrison, PT, DPT, Cert MDT at Orlando Physiotherapy to get back to living the life you want.