Spine & Sport Physical Therapy - Encinitas (Camino Real)

I will begin physical therapy next week and it was refreshing to see great reviews! I just had a knee replacement November 20th and I'm looking forward to getting back to work! It was nice having my first 5 and 1/2 weeks home health care to start me off so I'm looking forward to getting that last bit of range of motion so that I can walk and hike again! 🙏🙏🙏🙏

This place is so amazing, I don't even know where to start! I guess I'll first point out that while another reviewer gave only 1 star, that particular user has submitted mostly 1 star reviews so they apparently don't have anything nice to say about anyone lol It seems like everyone else loves it here, and you can add me to that list! Why do I love it here? You get to work with different PTs each time so its easier to find what works for you, plus you have more ears listening to you, and more eyes noticing things that doctors don't have the time for, which is what finally made the difference for me. I have been suffering from seemingly unrelated symptoms and pain my whole life (40 years), but recently had developed nerve pain in my left foot, and a frozen right shoulder. I have been back and forth to different doctors for decades with no answers, but after a couple months of PT working with me and listening to my complaints each day, they started to point out some other things I never noticed, like the way my left foot drops. Once I noticed my foot drop I discussed it with my doctor again, which led to a discussion about the way I sit. I mentioned w-sitting as a child, which led to discussion about my hyperflexibility, and then here's where the clouds in the sky parted and the angels came singing from the heavens... she asked if I had ever heard about Ehlers Danlos Syndrome! After a quick google search, and then an even more thorough one, I finally had a name for something that could finally explain all my seemingly unrelated symptoms. At my next PT appointment I passed the Beighton test, so the doctor referred me to a geneticist to get me tested for all the different types of EDS. As soon as I get tested and get results I will update this review. But even if that isn't it, it is still wonderful to have so many people who want to see me get better, and I am already seeing improvement on my frozen shoulder! On top of that, it is such a positive and fun environment to be around, the PTs seem like they're having fun and love what they do. Patrick has probably worked on me the most, but I have also worked with Steve, Eliza, Carly, Brett, Brendan, and another wonderful person whose name just doesn't want to come to my foggy brain at the moment, but everyone is truly amazing. I couldn't imagine anyone giving this place 1 star. Thank you guys for listening to me and working with me and helping me get closer to my answer!

Spine & Sport is the best place. They will certainly help you get back to your normal activities in no time. I thank the team with all my heart for their professionalism and great attitude! Thank so much

Prior to switching to Spine & Sport I had been in physical therapy for well over 2 years with 2 other providers who barely helped, and I was almost resigned to live with the pain and physical limitations. I am so happy that I made the switch. First of all, Marissa the receptionist is a treasure of personability (is that even a word?) and competence. I never had any problems making appointments that worked for my schedule, and she was always prompt to communicate on any relevant matters. Everyone there is super friendly and fun. I always felt welcome and I was actually excited to go to physical therapy. It was literally the highlight of my day. As far as the PT itself, I was blown away. Dr. Eric Schleicher is extremely knowledgeable and he explained things very clearly and effectively. I learned a lot about the area around my shoulder injury and the whys and wherefores of the exercise regimen he designed for me. When you really understand the mechanics of the things you are doing, you can do them far better. It allowed me to achieve *full recovery* with pain-free workouts, in only about 3 months after nearly 3 years of suffering. He gave me very clear "maintenance" techniques for positioning my shoulder properly for day-to-day tasks to avoid re-injuring myself, and as long as I am diligent with it I have no problem at all. On the rare occasion that I start feeling some familiar discomfort, I know exactly what exercises to do to fix that. I know it may seem hyperbolic, but he really changed my life. Chronic pain can really affect your mental health and I had been in a pretty dark place for a while before going to Spine & Sport. I cannot say enough good things about that place and its staff (clearly). Two thumbs way up. Go there; you won't regret it.

Electra, Angela, and Eliza are really good. The newer therapists, Jenna and Elise, still need a lot of work experience. It would be good if they didn’t laugh at older clients, nor physically crowd them so that they felt backed against the wall, it would be good if they had an outline of exercises that they thought they might like to have the patient do and discuss that with the patient instead of asking the patient, what does the patient want to do? The patient is coming to them because they are supposedly more experienced in knowing what kind of exercises the patient should be doing or that could be doing to help their condition. It would also be good if Elise and Jenna were not condescending. No one needs to be talked down to, no one needs to be treated differently, and then have the script flipped around to make the patient look like the bad guy because the patient has already asked seven times. What exercises are we going to try today? Further, Elise is so over eager that she misses important social cues, and doesn’t grasp that when she asked how I was, I said that my knee was sore and swollen before any exercise. I pulled my pants leg up and showed her the swelling. She then proceeded to direct me to the bicycle machine for 10 minutes. I would think that decreasing swelling would be the agenda if the roles were reversed, so I left there with an even more swollen knee! While we’re at it, the reception woman, I do not know her name, with a dark brown hair and a nose ring, she is friendly to anyone who is white, but I’m not white, and boy, she is so grumpy. I even thought about buying her a little Starbucks something to try and sweeten her up. Because she is just grumpy all the time towards me when I’m checking in. She tries to talk down to me like I’m stupid and don’t know where to check in, when she moved the iPad to a different location. And then when someone else came in behind me, it was a white lady. She was very friendly and helpful and encouraging and smiling. Electra, Angela, and Eliza are more mature and possibly more seasoned therapists. They listen they’re respectful they talk about what they want to do before they do it. If you need to get Physical Therapy, choose one of these three people, you won’t be disappointed.