We recently connected with Hannah Sweitzer and have shared our conversation below.
Hannah, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
We live in a society of sickcare, not healthcare. Health Insurance companies want to control as much as possible while reimbursing the provider as little as possible. They don’t consider any type of maintenance or preventative care medically necessary and they will only reimburse for care that brings you back to “baseline.”
Walk into any outpatient physical therapy clinic. You will probably see 3-5 patients per physical therapist. You’re lucky if you even see a Doctor of Physical Therapy at each visit, and if you do, it’s only for 10-20 minutes. Most of your time is spent doing pointless things like riding a bike, sitting on a heating pad, laying with e-stim, or doing the same light resistance band exercises for the 10th visit in a row – none of which is actually helping your body heal or improve your function.
Let me be very clear, the clinics and physical therapists are not at fault. They are simply doing what they have to do to keep their doors open and pay their employees.
I chose to open a cash pay physical therapy clinic so that people can receive the care they need, the care they deserve, and the care they are desperately hoping to receive when no one else is listening to their pains and frustrations. At Revive Physiotherapy, we work for patients not insurance companies.
We know that many people bounce between primary care physicians, orthopedic surgeons, pain specialists, physical therapists, chiropractors, acupuncturists, massage therapists AND STILL HAVE PAIN.
Why? Because most of these providers don’t take the time to evaluate and treat them like a human being with a holistic solution. Patients are often dismissed after speaking for 5 minutes about their pain. Many are prescribed medication or injections without the doctor even looking at how they move. Pain with movement requires a movement solution, not a drug.
Revive Physiotherapy was founded on a simple concept: Thoroughly listen to patients and provide the best evidence based treatment in an intimate setting where the patients feel valued and cared for.
That is exactly what we do. We help active adults decrease pain, increase recovery, and optimize performance without medication, injections, or surgery so they can full enjoy the active life they crave.
Our Doctors of Physical Therapy work directly with their patients one-on-one until their goals are achieved. This could look like running a half marathon, squatting 225 pounds, clean and jerk 135 pounds, getting on and off the floor to play with grandchildren, or hiking 14k ft elevation trails. We don’t just help our patients get out of pain, we provide them with the tools to stay pain free.
I knew this concept would work because there are so many people who seek help and are given the wrong treatment or advice. People want to feel better and move better, they just need someone who understands their pain and has the right treatment approach.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
My name is Hannah Sweitzer. I am a Doctor of Physical Therapy, Board Certified Orthopedic Clinical Specialist, and Strength and Conditioning Specialist. I own a Physical Therapy Clinic in Fort Lauderdale, Revive Physiotherapy, where we help people decrease pain, increase recovery, and optimize performance without medications, injections, or surgery. We combine the use of manual therapy, electro-dry needling, spinal manipulation, and progressive exercise for fast pain relief and life changing results.
I got into physical therapy because it was a perfect blend of fitness and healthcare. I’ve been training in the gym since 9th grade around the same time I became interested in human anatomy and physiology. Health and fitness has been apart of my life ever since. I played sports in high school , became a personal trainer and group fitness coach in college, then a fitness director, and graduated from NSU in 2018 as a Doctor of Physical Therapy.
Most people’s pain and limitations can be solved by movement, but you have to know what the true problem is. I don’t look at people as body parts. Everything is connected and each joint or muscle has an effect on the surrounding joints and muscles. Our physical therapists are skilled in analyzing movement to determine what the root cause of your problem is. We treat the site of pain and everything that is contributing to your pain so that we resolve the issue for good.
We don’t provide our patients with quick fixes. I always tell my patients, making your pain go away is easy. We can do that with a spinal adjustment, a deep tissue massage, or one dry needling session (like a lot of other providers with temporary solutions). What sets my practice apart from others is the individualized plan that is going to keep the pain away, elevate your fitness, and prevent future injury. We understand that pain can be very complex and quality of movement matters. That is why every visit our patients receive one-on-one care and full attention from their Doctor of Physical Therapy.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
During the 4 years that I worked at a private outpatient practice, I was involved in a variety of fitness studios/ gyms in the community. I had built relationships with multiple trainers, coaches, and facility owners that became a referral source when I started my own practice. Once on my own, I put a lot of effort into strengthening these relationships and also branching out in the local fitness community to build new relationships. I knew these people had my target market: active adults in pain. The better they know me and the quality of my work, the more likely they will refer me patients.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
Two days after I quit my full time job at the private outpatient practice, my father passed away. I went back to Pennsylvania to spend 10 days with my family. When I returned to Florida, it was go time. I had no other job, source of income, or back up plan. I used his experience with the healthcare system to fuel my passion for helping others. The business took off and I never looked back.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.revivephysiotherapy.com
- Instagram: @revive_physio
- Facebook: @Revivephysiotherapy
- Youtube: @Revivephysiotherapy
Image Credits
Snackback Films