Resources
Glossary
Plain-English definitions for the words you will hear in the clinic — and for the ones on this website. If a term you were given is missing, ask and it gets added.
Glossary · 01
Treatment you may be offered
The techniques behind the service names.
- Manual therapy
- Hands-on treatment: the therapist moves your joints and works the soft tissue directly to give back motion that has been lost. Joint mobilization, manipulation, soft-tissue work and myofascial release all sit under this heading.
- Joint mobilization and manipulation
- Graded, controlled movement applied to a stiff joint. Mobilization is slower and repeated; manipulation is a single quick movement, sometimes with a pop, which is gas moving in the joint rather than anything slipping out of place.
- Dry needling
- A thin, sterile, single-use needle placed into a taut band of muscle to make it let go. It is not acupuncture: the needles are the same fine gauge, but the target is the muscle and the reasoning is Western orthopaedic.
- Trigger point
- A tender, taut band inside a muscle that refers pain somewhere else — which is why a headache can come from the neck, or heel pain from the calf. Finding the source rather than the site is most of the work.
- Myofascial release
- Slow, sustained pressure that restores glide between muscle and the fascia around it. Fascia responds to time under tension rather than to force, so the technique is never rushed.
- Corrective exercise
- A short, specific program — usually three or four exercises — chosen from what your assessment showed and coached until you do them correctly. It is what makes hands-on treatment last.
- Graded loading
- Deliberately increasing what a tissue is asked to do, in planned steps. Tendons in particular get stronger under progressive load and worse under long rest, so loading is treatment rather than what comes after it.
Glossary · 02
Words from your evaluation
What the terms in your plan actually mean.
- Range of motion
- How far a joint moves, measured in degrees. Measuring it at the first visit is what makes progress a number rather than an impression.
- Directional preference
- The direction of movement that reduces your symptoms — often extension for one back and flexion for another. Finding it early usually shortens a course of care considerably.
- Radiculopathy
- Symptoms caused by an irritated nerve root at the spine rather than by the muscle where you feel them: pain, numbness, tingling or weakness travelling into an arm or leg.
- Tendinopathy and tendinitis
- An overloaded, painful tendon. "Tendinitis" implies inflammation; "tendinopathy" is the more accurate word for the long-standing form, where the tendon has changed structurally and needs loading rather than rest.
- Return-to-sport testing
- Objective criteria — strength, hop and change-of-direction tests compared against your other side and your own baseline — used instead of a date on the calendar to decide when you go back.
Glossary · 03
The letters after a name
What they take, and what they change about your visit.
- DScPT
- Doctor of Science in Physical Therapy — a research doctorate taken after the clinical one, which is why the treatment here is built on the evidence rather than on habit.
- OCS
- Board-certified Orthopaedic Clinical Specialist: advanced training and a national examination in orthopaedic physical therapy. It means the diagnosis is a specialist’s diagnosis.
- FAAOMPT
- Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapists — completion of a fellowship in manual therapy, the highest credential in hands-on orthopaedic care.
- CMTPT
- Certified Myofascial Trigger Point Therapist: formal certification in dry needling. Dr. Lee also teaches it as an assistant instructor at Myopain Seminars.
Glossary · 04
Paying for care
The billing words, without the fine print.
- Out of network
- The practice does not contract with insurers, so the length of your visit is a clinical decision rather than a plan rule. Prices are published and you know the cost before you book.
- Superbill
- An itemized receipt listing the services you received and their codes. You can send it to your insurer yourself to claim any out-of-network benefit your plan allows.
- Reimbursify
- The service used here to file out-of-network claims on your behalf, so the paperwork is not yours. Reimbursement still depends on your own plan.
- Direct access
- Maryland law lets you see a physical therapist without a physician’s referral. You can book a first visit today.
- HSA and FSA
- Pre-tax health spending accounts. Physical therapy is an eligible expense, and those cards are accepted here.
- Good-faith estimate
- Under the No Surprises Act you can ask for a written estimate of what your care will cost before it starts. Ask, and you will get one.
Not sure where to start?
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Ready when you are
Let’s get you back to what you love.
Whether that’s a full night’s sleep, the garden or the pickleball court, recovery starts with one uninterrupted 80-minute visit: evaluation and treatment the same day, and a clear plan before you leave. Not sure yet? Start with a free 20-minute phone consult.