R L Petzoldt Memorial Rehab

Fantastic experience: Petzoldt hand & back rehab was my 3rd choice just because of the distance! But I’m so glad that I had chosen his service. Mr. Petzoldt is very thorough in treating my elbow pain by seeing the body as a whole with all parts connected. Not only did my elbow pain subsided substantially, but also all the ache and sore on my back disappeared with stretching and strengthening excecises. Nowadays I keep practicing regularly what I have learned in my physical therapy sessions because of how helpful and effective his trainings are to my pain. One thing I like about this office is that you will be treated by Mr. Petzoldt in all your visits. I suffered elbow pain for a long time and feel very lucky to find his service. I highly recommend Petzoldt hand & back rehab.

Fantastic experience: This review is long overdue. I went to Tom in 2023 for a tendinitis injury in my wrist. I was apprehensive since the regular Physical therapy did not do much to the pain. After starting PT with Tom, I saw improvement within the first few sessions. After about 4-6 sessions, the pain had reduced considerably. Tom himself suggested that I stop the therapy as it was aggravating it. Now, I am more or less pain free. I highly recommend this place for hand related injuries.

Fantastic experience: I've known Tom for 10 years—he was my office neighbor back at Moorpark Ave. I first turned to him for help after injuring my forearm—I was in so much pain I couldn’t even hold a coffee mug. After just one therapy session, 50% of the pain was gone within a couple of days. Since then, I’ve used his physical therapy services multiple times, and he’s always been great at identifying issues and prescribing the right treatment plan. He even reminded me that as we get older, we need to adjust our strengthening exercises accordingly. Thanks, Tom, for all the treatment and advice over the past 10 years!

Fantastic experience: I fractured my left pinky from a mallet injury, which was catastrophic as a violinist in music school. Tom was able to get me back to playing my instrument at just as high a level. His treatment felt very personalized and thorough, and he was very calm and honest the whole time. After being in a splint for two months then having a couple weeks with a previous occupational therapist who was friendly but generic, I was very discouraged since I wasn't sure if I could play my instrument again. I felt that Tom really heard my concerns and worked with me on them though. He reassured me that my abysmal range of motion was normal at that stage and showed me steady progress with his treatment. We discussed what motions and strength I need to get back to playing violin, and he remained both optimistic and realistic in ensuring I don't start playing again too early. We did a mixture of stretching, loosening up the scar tissue/preventing future buildup, and strengthening, and he made it very clear how to do everything and how to know if it's working. By the end of treatment I got about 90-95% of my range of motion back and almost all of my strength back, and for the past couple months I've still done a few simple exercises every day before practicing violin to maintain everything. As someone whose life literally depends on my hands, I definitely recommend Tom.

Fantastic experience: Tom literally saved my elbow. I had been seeing another physical therapist for a tendon tear in my elbow. After two months, my pain was worse than when I started. Tom reevaluated that treatment plan and switched things up to where I started seeing improvement in the first two weeks of seeing him and i was able to avoid surgery. Not only that, he started to address other chronic issues in my neck that needed help, so I feel I got so much bang for my buck with him. Hopefully I can avoid future injuries, but if not, I will immediately go to him for help. He and his staff are kind, gentle and very personable. I highly recommend his practice.

Fantastic experience: Tom is kind and knowledgeable and can adapt as you are healing, educate you and correspond with your physician. The place has a vibe of a family practice with long time patients. Their desk is open 9-12 so call at that time.

Negative experience: Poor experience with Tom. I was pleased with the first few visits as it seemed that Tom was knowledgeable and skilled at diagnosing my symptoms, but after that it went downhill. I'd show up and Tom would have to ask what I was there to be treated for. He didn't seem to have a record of what we discussed at previous appointments — after spending 20 minutes on an exercise one week, he'd ask the next week whether he'd shown me that exercise already. When I asked for visit notes after I stopped going, it took several phone calls and nearly 2 months to get them, and when I finally did receive the notes, they were inconsistent with my recollection of the visits.

Positive experience: tom spends customized time and individualizes therapy to meet your goal. He uses the hand wax tub, builds splints and blocks, shows you exercises and has a little exercise therapy room so your larger muscles can be exercised also. relaxed setting, easy to park. paying co-payment up front via square. sometimes it is a little hard to get a hold of office by phone for scheduling.