ABC Physical Therapy

Positive experience: Everything was going really well until my masseuse left. I get that I’m limited for therapists because I’m using insurance. I now have to wait over a month for my next appointment. This is frustrating.

Fantastic experience: Abc physical therapy has the best customer service skills. Answered all my questions. My appointment was on time and I left after my massage with my back feeling a lot better than when I first walked in. Thank you, I was however a little unhappy when I was told last week that my massage therapist had left the practice And that they didn't have another therapist that does the same type of massage that I had been receiving. That puts me in a little bit of bind, but I understand things happen.

Fantastic experience: Nice people, work as a team so you get more than one idea for better improvements. Helped me do much with my headaches, forever grateful

Fantastic experience: Great work! My #1 referral for patients with back and neck problems. Dr. Owen Miller

Fantastic experience: Not only am I getting pain relief, I am learning a lot about how my body works.

Fantastic experience: I was able to find fascial and deep tissue massage here. It had helped reduce overall pins and needles in my leg.

Fantastic experience: Always have a good experience. :)

Fantastic experience: Best PT clinic in town

Fantastic experience: Literally EVERYONE there is nice. Front desk, the pt guys, and even the people getting pt. Its just a good environment especially if you are in the wake of a traumatic experience. Go here.

Fantastic experience: Everyone at ABC is super friendly and professional. Highly recommend for physical therapy needs.

Fantastic experience: I have worked with three different physical therapists. All have brought knowledge and help to my problem. I really enjoy going to this clinic and getting the help I need. Thank you

Fantastic experience: Caring and informative. Front staff very friendly and helpful.

Fantastic experience: Every therapist I had treatment with were outstanding. They cared about the problems of patients and made sure the problems were treated the way the patents expectations were. All therapists were professionally trained and treated patients respectfully. I will recommend anyone who needs physical therapy treatment. Whenever I have problems again, I will definitely go back to the Alternative Back Care clinic. Thank you, all staff.

Fantastic experience: Dustin is great. I am a retired nurse and seen many PT. He is great at finding ways to make it work for you and explain the very basics to work on. And just a great guy

Fantastic experience: Great experience! Patrick really helped my problems with my neck. He gave exercises for my neck and posture that help stretch and strengthen my neck and shoulder muscles. The pain I experienced when I turned my head is almost completely gone.

Fantastic experience: Tacoma ABC are leaps and bounds over other physical therapy programs. I have been on and off with PT for over 30 years for lower back pain with other PT . Sean and his team Shannon and Glen are the only ones that have truly improved my condition. I highly recommend ABC

Fantastic experience: The physical therapists and front desk staff are absolutely fantastic. I would recommend ABC Physical Therapy to anyone who has back issues.

Fantastic experience: ABC is great! The folks there just explain everything and I always walk away with less pain! Should have listened to my dear friend about how good they are and gone sooner!

Fantastic experience: I love ABC Physical Therapy. Everyone is good at what they do and are very kind and understanding about my health problems. I am encouraged and hopeful as well.

Fantastic experience: This place is awesome! With my first visit I was given three exercises. Those exercises relivied my back pain instantly. I was told when I was in pain to do those exercises at home. I have been off all medications since. They came highly recommended from a family member. They have a different approach to back care, as their name states, that other physical therapy places do not. I, myself, highly recommend Alternative Back Care. Update: I've been going to ABC Therapy for a couple of years now and I recommend them to anyone who has physical therapy needs, especially the back. I wish their type of therapy was more nationwide. I see my adult children with back issues and wish they could come here from Oregon. This has been a life changing event coming to ABC. My quality of life has improved so dramatically!

Fantastic experience: You won’t go wrong coming here. The place is worth it. The staff is highly professional very knowledgeable. They will help you with whatever you need and make sure you walk out of there 150% better than you were when you came in there they need no improvements they are perfectionist.. I appreciate all the help they’ve given me with my shoulder and my knee.. So if you have an ailment or a pulled muscle, a torn ligament back pain anything they will help you

Fantastic experience: The therapist here, and the care you receive is seriously top shelf. And “Leveling“ is the absolute best physical therapy I have ever had, and I’ve been in physical therapy for 33 years. In all those 33 years, and the untold numbers of “Sports Medicine” physical therapy clinics I have gone to, this is the first time I have felt a significant improvement with my conditions. I finally have some hope that I can get better! And I find myself interrupting people’s conversations out in the world, to recommend Alternative Back Care to strangers, talking about body pain. I sincerely cannot recommend them enough! Shannon, Sean and Glen are absolutely wonderful.

Fantastic experience: I think this is the best PT place that I have been to in that they are able to help show you what is going on in your body and they try to teach you to take care of some of the problem by yourself at home.

Fantastic experience: Concerned interest in my back health history has allowed the therapists to customize in-office treatments and provide me with at home exercises.

Fantastic experience: Knowledgeable and very personable staff.

Fantastic experience: Very professional team.

Fantastic experience: I won't go anywhere else! They truly work miracles at ABC!

Fantastic experience: Great clinic for back pain. I see Dustin regularly and he does a great job using their leveling technique as well as blending a few other styles to provide me with the best pain relief. Dustin also does Dry Needling which is hard to find at PT clinics and it gives you a deep release of the lower back, worth giving it a try if you have low back pain. I've seen Miranda also and she does a great job as well. Without my regular tune-ups I'd be in a lot more pain with my chronic back condition. Highly recommended. All the workers are friendly and I really enjoy talking with them when I'm at the facility, shoutout to Maddy for all the help with scheduling as well.

Fantastic experience: The whole team is really great! Very warm and welcoming. Helped me tremendously with my back and neck issues. I highly recommend them!!

Fantastic experience: I drive all the way from Tumwater because of the personal attention I get from pt practitioners.

Fantastic experience: Excellent PT’s w abundance of knowledge

Negative experience: I have been meaning to post a review of ABC Physical Therapy for a long time. Avoid this place. I wasted a year of my time there for lower back pain, and am still having to make up for it 1+ years later. Chris Ford, owner and lead DPT, operates under his trademark theory about back pain originating from a misaligned SI joint, which must be "stabilized" like a sprained ankle would. (He claims no one else in medicine realizes this simple but magic cure.) He demonstrated in my initial evaluation, using two scales to show one foot was bearing more weight than the other. He also had me sit on a chair to manually move my vertebrae into place, like a chiropractor. Without any diagnostic exercises or investigation into my history, Chris pronounced THIS was why my back hurt and prescribed his trademarks: Wearing a back brace 24/7 for weeks at a time, squeezing a ball between the knees for "pain relief", and relying on PTs' deep tissue massages to perfect the SI joint. In my year at ABC, I never got the sense my "treatment plan" was targeted to my actual body mechanics, but rather to fulfill Chris' SI dogma. There are some skilled PTAs working there, but I had to proactively assert myself to get them to do exercises instead of massage. My last session at ABC was the final straw. I told the PT my back was extremely tight and showed her a stretch that felt amazing. She prohibited it, saying it went against Chris' "treatment plan" (his SI dogma). Mind you, this "treatment plan" was never updated in the entire year I was there. I was never reassessed against Chris' initial scale values, the PTA's range-of-motion measurements, etc. Each "check in" with a DPT (supposedly a reevaluation) was the same as every other session: almost exclusively massage, ball squeezing, manually assessing my alignment. (I was tempted to walk out my the one actual PT session I had with Chris Ford. He did not make any eye contact and was terrible at explaining himself. Rather than listen and adapt the exercises as is common in PT, he threw up his hands: "It's not working because you're not doing what I said," with no attempt to explain himself better. I had words with him, it was so egregious. I suspect he felt entitled to condescend in his own medical clinic because I am a woman.) What prompted me to finally post this review is my current care team. My pain specialist said it is NOT advisable to wear a back brace for more than a couple hours, since that weakens the core muscles. A new PT said I NEEDED to be bending over, and prescribed EXERCISES to target my hip muscles, which are still weak after a year at ABC, because Chris' team has drunk the Koolaid. I try not to think about where I would be now if I had simply seen Chris' dogma for what it is: a poorly-skilled clinician's attempt to woo patients without having to actually be responsive to them.

Fantastic experience: They are great therapists for back issues. Best help that I have received for my back problems. And they are helping me greatly with my shoulder replacement

Fantastic experience: Friendly. Clean aesthetic. Knowledgeable, helpful therapists. Highly recommend.

Fantastic experience: This place really helped me with my back pain plus it is a nice place to visit, convenient parking around the back too. Nice people, good therapy, pleasant surroundings.

Fantastic experience: I used several of the therapists there and had very good results.

Fantastic experience: Super friendly staff. Very knowledgeable and professional. I felt better after one visit. Peter did a great job, and gave me hope that I’ll be back to normal in no time.

Fantastic experience: Great staff, it’s working!

Fantastic experience: I found the therapists at ABC highly competent, well-informed, gentle, and personable. The administrative staff is tip-top as well. I believe you'll receive the best possible care at ABC Physical Therapy. After many months of fine treatment, they have my 5 Star recommendation. - Mary E. Evans

Negative experience: What a joke! Do yourselves a favor and go elsewhere! Anywhere else is better

Fantastic experience: Dustin is the best!!!!

Fantastic experience: I have mixed feelings about chiropractors based on my experience, but Chris and his team have things dialed-in. You'll be glad you came.

Fantastic experience: I'm on my second referral to ABC PT Tacoma. I was first seen by Jesse for my back, and now I'm seeing Craig for my knee. The entire staff is courteous, helpful and professional.

Fantastic experience: So far my experience with ABC Therapy has been excellent. Everyone is very friendly and so helpful working with you to improve your pain and eventually getting you to fulfil your goal to be pain free.

Fantastic experience: This (ABC in Gig Harbor) is the best physical therapy that I've ever been to. All the staff are super friendly and very good at what they do. I actually get relief and lasting results for my sciatica. Look no further.

Fantastic experience: I recently relocated to Seattle and found ABC through an online search for clinics that specialize in treating the spine. I had been going to physical therapy outside of WA for a few years and needed a clinic that could help alleviate pain in my lower back. Since October, I have been commuting 60 miles (round trip) two times a week to get treatments from Craig. Craig has been practicing for decades and is extremely knowledgeable about the human body. He customizes each session based on how I’m feeling that day. The treatments consist of hands-on massage and simple exercises. Many times I feel like I’m not doing the exercises correctly and he’s available to help guide me, as well as explain the outcome(s) of each exercise. Craig’s philosophy is to do exercises that help the human body perform everyday movements. He also sends videos of the exercises that I complete at home. Also the front office staff is friendly and helpful when it comes to scheduling and insurance related matters. Overall I’m very pleased with ABC and have experienced a decrease in my pain. I highly recommend Craig if you’re looking for a Physical Therapist to help alleviate pain and/or to gain knowledge about how to move effortlessly and effectively on a daily basis.

Fantastic experience: Motto should be "Expect Miracles".

Positive experience: Professional and friendly. Their technique is effective. My hip/leg pain was alleviated greatly. (And their masseuses are terrific, too.)

Fantastic experience: I came to ABC after a sacroiliac injury from a long road trip. Ryan managed my care and things went very well. Between the in-clinic work and the home exercises, things started to improve well. A few other issue surfaced as a result of my "overcompensating" when the injury first surfaced. Ryan was able to quickly identify and take measures to help those issues as well. I worked with Justin and Tyler a couple of times as well. All of the people working at ABC were nice, helpful, and a pleasure to work with.

Fantastic experience: I love ABC Back Therapy--everyone there is so helpful and friendly. I always enjoy watching the way the staff banter with each other, too--it's part of the fun of my PT appointments. I always leave my appointments with less pain, better posture, motivation to keep practicing at home, and a good mood.

Negative experience: I had my initial consultation and was pleased with my therapist and the program he had lined out. Scheduled 3 weeks of appointments before leaving. Get to my first appointment just to be told I did not have an appointment and they could work me in later, but I had already taken off work and drove 25 minutes. The front desk person did not seem to care that I had been inconvenienced. I got home emailed them my printed schedule and didn't even so much as get an apology. I will not return there.

Fantastic experience: Excellent personalized care. Great staff support. Comfortable facility with convenient parking.

Fantastic experience: The real deal!!! Not a franchise that has its set protocols for everyone. I came in unable to walk 2 blocks and after the evaluation, a plan for me and a couple weeks of therapy I was able to once again live my normal life.

Fantastic experience: A great place for spine or other area treatment. The staff is welcoming and the therapists are skilled. So much better than hospital based.

Fantastic experience: Everyone is friendly, gracious and helpful. I’ve been using the facility for two different injuries in the past six months and they’ve been amazing gratitude, especially to Tyler.

Fantastic experience: If it wasn't for ABC Physical Therapy, I would not be walking today. I got introduced to ABC Physical Therapy after a really nasty MVA and sustained cervical/thoracic and spinal injuries that still cause me chronic pain. With regular therapy and leveling sessions, I am able to keep somewhat mobile, while I work on strengthening the rest of my injured areas of the body. Thank you ABC Physical Therapy, I am truly grateful for the care y'all have provided!

Fantastic experience: Wonderful staff. This place is highly recommended

Fantastic experience: Dustin is the best physical therapist I have ever had. Everyone at ABC is great! I highly recommend this practice.

Negative experience: These people are nice and all but I feel like a lot of the MPTs are quacks. My wife goes in for severe lower back pain and every time she comes home from Physical Therapy her pain is either worse or hasn’t changed. The ‘techniques’ will clearly be causing her pain and discomfort but they go on with doing them anyway. I’m sure they help some people out there but spinal issues seem a little out of their scope.

Fantastic experience: This is the best PT place, I have been too. I walked out on a couple other PT place's, a few year's ago. I was reluctant to go, for PT, this time. Again, this is the best place to go, for PT.

Fantastic experience: Very good agent . Patient and helpful also knowledgeable .

Fantastic experience: Arthritis can be a major pain. With Chris Ford and his crew, they are able to align with out pain or damage to spine. They teach ‘self care exersizes’ to maintain pain free lifestyle.

Fantastic experience: I highly recommend Alternative Back Care! I had a lot of pain in both shoulders. My primary care doctor sent me to an orthopedic surgeon who said it was arthritis and I needed shoulder replacements in both; he said I could try Physical Therapy but it wouldn't help much. At 77 years old, I did not want surgery unless I had to! I tried cortisone shots every 4 months, but it became less and less effective. My primary care doctor then sent me to a Physiatrist, a D.O. that specializes in nerves, muscles, and skeleton, treating a person holistically. He recommended Physical Therapy, and thought I could become pain free without surgery. I had tried PT previously and it just caused more pain. He sent me to Alternative Back Care (ABC) and IT WAS A TOTALLY DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE! After the first visit to ABC, I went home with substantially less pain! After the second visit, Mike sent me home with NO PAIN! They believe in getting you out of pain FIRST, then working on the problem causing the pain. Obviously my pain was not from arthritis! I believe I do have arthritis because it shows up in xrays, but it wasn't causing my pain! I have a lot of work ahead to rehab my shoulders after 2.5 years of using them less and less, and I do have soreness from using my shoulders, but soreness is not pain! Each session, Mike or Jesse starts with getting rid of the soreness I'm feeling, then we work on extending my movement, bit by bit. They are also teaching me how to get rid of any pain I cause by moving incorrectly, as I've been doing for 2.5 years! If you have pain, try ABC! I'd be very surprised if they couldn't help you!

Fantastic experience: Great PT experience. Very professional, extremely knowledgeable, experts in every way. 7 months of therapy and education about my body leaves my neck pain free. Life-changing.

Fantastic experience: ABC squeezed me in yesterday evening with Chaz and I could not be more pleased. My back had been out for two weeks with some of the most intense pain of my life and I was staring down the barrel of a five hour flight across the country with two under two. Well, I just took that flight and my back hasn’t felt this good in weeks. Thank you, Chaz and ABC.

Fantastic experience: I had an amazing experience with ABC Physical Therapy. They were professional and very friendly. The quality of their work exceeded my expectations, and I would highly recommend them to anyone.

Fantastic experience: They have lots of tricks to bring back broken bodies. There is a assortment of knowledge there, so there very aware of the human body.

Fantastic experience: Great staff and knowledgeable practitioners. I’ve definitely received pain relief and highly recommend Ryan, his intern, and Miranda.

Fantastic experience: The therapists have been extremely good at finding and treating my back, hip and neck issues. Along with personal therapy, they provide the tools and easy exercises to use at home. I highly recommend ABC and I am very happy that my primary care doctor recommended them.

Fantastic experience: I always feel so much better after a visit and leave with more mobility, I always try to go to Sean, he's so good at what he does, he's knowledgeable and goes above and beyond, not only is he very thorough but he also answers any questions I have about tools I can use at home. The company as a whole makes you feel at ease with a casual, calm yet fun environment. The front desk ladies are also always phenomenal!

Positive experience: I have been to many different physical therapy clinics and ABC is the best in the area. The therapists sincerely listen and work with me.

Fantastic experience: Friendly staff. Ryan has helped me already in just 2 sessions. Can’t wait to go back.

Fantastic experience: Seth is a great massage therapist. One of the best massages I've ever had. Highly recommend!

Fantastic experience: ABC does a lot more than just showing you how to stretch. They really study how you move and show you ways to improve your posture and gait to help you heal. they also use massage and devices to reduce swelling. My body feel so much better.

Fantastic experience: The staff at ABC have had made such a difference in my mobility, health and sense of well-being. I had severe leg and foot pain, balance and mobility issues when I first saw them. I'm now free of those issues and enjoying life once again. Kudos to all of the staff. They are a wonderful and talented group of individuals!

Fantastic experience: Excellent and friendly team that cares about my recovery and progress. My family and I have used them for years. An excellent outfit, all-around!

Fantastic experience: I really enjoyed working with ABC employees, as the therapists both know how to help you rid your body of your aches and pains and you generally can enjoy the process of doing so. Even the secretaries are pleasant and helpful! AND it is even EASY to PARK in their parking lot!!!

Fantastic experience: I was just referred by my doctor to Alternative Back Care for Sciatica/ piriformis. Wonderful, fun group of people so you actually have FUN getting rid of pain. Go to them for help and do the work they give you! You will not be disappointed.

Fantastic experience: Incredible. Staff are so warm, welcoming so trained in all the care they do. I have been coming for several years because I have 4 collapsed lumbar vertebrae and do not want surgery. The treatments are life changing, freedom from spasms, severe pain and wth exercises printed to do at home. I go once a week. I had as a child and up to my starting time there severe curvature of my spine and after 6 months my spine was straightened. Then after open heart surgery in 2015 my 4 clips they closed my sternum with were crooked and those are now straightened. They are phenomenal and A plus always.

Fantastic experience: Awesome care always offering excellent at home suggestions to keep up the maintenance oyo

Fantastic experience: These guys really helped when more traditional forms of physical therapy for my back were going nowhere.

Fantastic experience: Great people, great place, great care.

Fantastic experience: ABC Backcare has been a great blessing to me. I suffered from severe knee pain for decades. I visited numerous doctors without results. Yet Dustin was able figure out and relieve the pain in only a couple of visits. I occasionally have pain from working out at my advanced age yet always get training and clear explanations to resolve it from the ABC therapists. They are very knowledgeable and compassionate. I tell everyone I know about my positive experiences at this practice.

Fantastic experience: I have been going to ABC for 6 weeks and I have been doing so much better. No longer walking with my cane. They give me things to help my back and I can do them at home. They have taught me to help myself. Thank you guys!!

Fantastic experience: Jesse, Shannon and other staff members are professional, knowledgeable & friendly. A great place to continue your therapy

Fantastic experience: Excellent service and care by the whole team! Love these guys!

Fantastic experience: I injured my low back in February of this year. I was on the floor for about a month, could not bend over, and was in pain every second. When I came to ABC I had to use a walking stick to help me walk anywhere. I was somewhat skeptical of the things they told me to do but I did, to the best of my limited ability at the time, do the exercises. It has been a long, hard, painful journey the last 8 months or so but I have made tremendous progess and am optimistic that I will be whole again someday. Though as with all PT, I had to do the work at home. I had to find the discipline and mindfulness to keep up with my exercises and change my movements and behavior. But without my visits to ABC and the care they have provided I do not think I would be where I am today. The techniques utilized at ABC are unlike any other PT I have visited (and I have visited several). The ball squeezes and the leveling technique are little short of amazing. I would recommend this outfit to anyone who is suffering and seeking physical therapy.

Fantastic experience: I had some range of motion and pain issues with my shoulder for quite some time, went to ABC Physical Therapy and saw Jesse one time and there was such an improvement I couldn’t believe it! I recommend this place to anyone!

Fantastic experience: This group exudes patience, confidence and care. As a patient I am treated with the same.

Negative experience: I've decided to quit using ABC physical therapy. The people that make your appointments, deal with insurance etc. OMG! Before they got their new system, they were still very unorganized, you get different answers from different people. I've been told I haven't been approved when I have been by my insurance but they wouldn't take the time to look through their paperwork. When the new system went in they didn't have a clue. And then there's the physical therapist the first one was Jesse he had me so overwhelmed I cried they had to send a different person in to deal with me. I think that they joke around with each other too much when they should be focusing on their clients. It started to be for my experience anxiety provoking just thinking about coming in. I had Shannon for my PT and she was very nice. But I could not seem to get any of the therapists to understand that my back isn't the only thing wrong with me doing some of their exercises was causing me extreme pain. And I ended up having to walk with a cane because of the exercises. So I'm going to go back to anchor physical therapy in Lakewood where I was receiving care from Nate Swanson who is amazing and focused. And their people at the front desk and it was usually just one handled everything beautifully I always knew when my appointments were my insurance was handled. So maybe ABC could take a lesson from anchor physical therapy on how to handle their front desk area. I want to add though that no one was ever mean to me I was always greeted with a smile when I was checked in. That's why I gave two stars instead of one.

Fantastic experience: Shannon and Jesse have kept me going. Thank you

Fantastic experience: Amazingly helpful.

Fantastic experience: Has made my SI joint better

Fantastic experience: Anna Shields was very helpful in working with me to address my SI joint injury, and very supportive of me getting back to my pre-injury activity level, which I'm glad to say I'm back to!

Fantastic experience: Great experience, I really enjoy the therapists I have worked with so far.

Fantastic experience: I have been going 8 times now and Glen is a miracle worker! I have had improvement with every visit! I highly recommend this business and their results plus you doing your own homework is amazing! Thanks

Fantastic experience: Friendly and knowledgeable. Quick to get right into treatment. Therapist steadily seeks feedback and makes adjustments. Watches for cues. My third PT office to deal w back pain. This one helped where others did not. Highly recommend.

Fantastic experience: I appreciate the approach that ABC uses to strengthen the core and straighten the spine. I am 69 years old and issues started being resolved at the first visit. Jesse explains things thoroughly and is enthusiastic about achieving my goals.

Fantastic experience: Great therapists, who besides being effective, are also very friendly.

Fantastic experience: Each time I've attended a therapy session (4 so far) the staff has been non-judgemental, patient and thorough. Their charting must be detailed, as each therapist knows the level of progress and points of focus. Thank you.