Top-Rated Physical Therapy in Tacoma, WA

We Solve Problems Other PTs Can't

We provide 60-minute, one-on-one sessions with expert physical therapists who understand your active lifestyle and performance goals.

paulina working with pt patient - pt services
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Don't Settle for Generic Treatment

Traditional physical therapy often means rushed appointments, passive treatments, and slow progress that can leave you frustrated.

Cookie-cutter programs rarely address your unique needs.

Quick fixes lead to recurring pain and repeated visits.

Rushed appointments limit your progress and recovery.

Specialized Physical Therapy

The Right Care Makes All the Difference

Our approach to physical therapy in Tacoma focuses on you as an individual with personalized care that gets to the root cause of your pain.

1-on-1 Treatment

Every session is with your therapist - never double-booked.

Root Cause Focus

We address why you're in pain, not just the symptoms.

Active Approach

Movement-based therapy designed for lasting results.

Fewer Visits

Quality care means better outcomes in fewer sessions.

The Path Difference

Physical Therapy in Tacoma for People Who Refuse to Sit Still

We understand active individuals because we are active individuals. Our physical therapy approach combines clinical expertise with real-world movement knowledge to help you heal, strengthen, and perform.

How We Work

Your Path to Pain-Free Movement

Book Your Free Phone Consult

A no-pressure conversation about your goals and challenges - no referral needed!

Complete Your In-Person Evaluation

We'll assess your movement, identify the root cause of your pain, and create a personalized treatment plan.

Get Your Custom Plan

Receive personalized care and treatment tailored to your specific needs and goals.

Return to What You Love

Move confidently again with the strength, knowledge, and support to stay pain-free.

Verified Google Reviews

Hear From People Just Like You

Real stories from active individuals who found their path back to pain-free movement and performance.

“PT with Dr Brooks has been a fantastic experience. Very quickly, he was able to diagnose my unknown issues and create a targeted plan that has gotten me back to enjoying the sport that I love! I am very grateful for his expertise, and every visit has been a positive and uplifting session.”
Andrew Meador
“The Path is amazing and efficient! Dr. Brooks has been able to help me conquer my knee pain and shin splints while training for The Rut Mountain Ultra and the Columbia Gorge Half Marathon this year! I think my legs would’ve fallen off if I didn’t start with The Path! Thank you to Dr. Brooks and the team!:)”
Zoe Charbonneau-Linford
"As an ex-collegiate, I've been dealing with lower back and shoulder pain for the last 10 years. I've worked with multiple PTs who were minimally helpful and I had basically just accepted that I would live in pain everyday for the rest of my life. Dr. Cody has been the only person to actually figure out what is going on and give me personalized exercises to not only make it so I am pain free, but also to optimize my athletic performance! The PATH is the only place I will go for PT now. I cannot say enough good things about this phenomenal team! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!"
Nikki Antolin
"I've had a great experience with Dr. Paulina at The Path in healing my dance-related injury I received earlier this year. Every step of the way from the evaluation, plan of action, down to our 1-1 sessions and assigned exercises, are so personalized and adaptable to my changing needs and situations. I love how the "homework" is based on what equipment/space I have access to, and she's very thorough in describing the benefits of each movement. My confidence, mobility, and strength has significantly improved in just a few weeks—most significantly, I don't feel any abnormal pain anymore, which is a huge win! I can't recommend this place enough and I am so happy I chose to pursue PT here."
Brinley Froelich
"I’m 63 years old and I have suffered with severe hip pain for several years. The pain was not the result of an injury and traditional physical therapy did not help. I gave The Path a try and boy am I glad I did. Dr. Paulina was able to pinpoint exactly what I needed. Now four months later and I am pain-free. I learned a lot about my specific issues and understand I will need to continue to do my exercises, which by the way, are easy to do at home. If you are in pain, please don’t hesitate to give The Path a try. You won’t be disappointed."
Sandra Gilbert
"Love this place! I worked with Brooks who was amazing. He made a custom plan for me based on my injury, goals, active sports I participate in, and what he thought I was capable of. I made progress pretty much every single week, and feel stronger and more stable than I did before my injury!"
Jerry Clay Ross

Ready to Move Without Pain?

Take the first step toward recovery with physical therapy that's designed for your active lifestyle.

FAQs

What is Performance Physical Therapy?

Performance physical therapy is a hybrid training model which allows us to treat you as a whole person in any way you need. We are cash based which eliminates all insurance restrictions on the amount or type of care you may require. This allows us to take a holistic approach in our treatment methods. No matter what sports or hobbies you enjoy, we can tailor our treatment specific to your needs.

Through our performance PT model we will get you out of pain and help you stay that way long term. We believe at our core that movement is the best medicine so we will take an active approach to your treatment to keep you active.

Why choose The PATH?

We are the best in Tacoma. Simple as that.

You will not find another clinic that provides this level of care, 1 on 1, with one hour sessions and your goals at the epicenter. Our goal is to give you the confidence to reach your own goals, with us there to facilitate that in any way we can.

What will a session look like?

At an insurance based clinic, a physical therapy session may include a few minutes with the PT, some exercises with support staff and some passive modalities. While passive modalities might feel good, they will not fix you.

At The PATH, your session will be spent actually addressing your root problem and helping to fix it through exercise, education and manual techniques.

We do not use passive modalities or aides in your care because your time is valuable and should be spent making lasting change toward fixing your problems, not just temporary fixes.

Can I do injury prevention or wellness sessions?

Most insurances do not cover musculoskeletal wellness or injury prevention sessions performed by physical therapists. However those services are so incredibly important.

At The PATH we are an active group who love being outdoors and as a whole have played almost every sport out there and understand your passion for them. It is much less expensive to prevent an injury through proper mobility and training than rehab one after it occurs. We offer wellness, maintenance and injury risk-reduction to keep you happy, healthy and moving.

Does The PATH accept health insurance?

No, The PATH is out of network with all health insurances. You can still use your out of network benefits to submit a claim to your insurance and they will reimburse you directly based on their rates.

What is cash based physical therapy?

In a cash based treatment model, the physical therapist enters into a contract with the patient directly. The patient pays at the time of service allowing the therapist to focus all their attention on providing the best service and minimizing time spent on insurance reimbursement.

This also allows you, as the patient, to know exactly what the treatment will cost you without any blind bills. While going through insurance, the amount billed will vary based on the codes billed each session. This often results in confusing bills for the patient based on these varied rates. Cash based billing eliminates all confusion and allows for clarity in decision making for the patient.

Will I end up paying more for cash-based PT?

Research says NO! Cash based PT has demonstrated it requires less sessions to meet your goals, get you out of pain and get you moving better so overall the total cost ends up reduced compared to insurance based clinics! Twice a week for 12 weeks is not the right prescription for everyone! Of course, this will vary depending on your out of network coverage.

What is the difference between cash-based and insurance-based?

Cash based physical therapy has a lot of benefits over insurance based. There are no limitations on what type of services we can provide, the quantity of the services, or the duration we feel you need them. This allows us to use our vast knowledge and training to give you the highest level of care in direct reference to your goals.

The PATH therapists are out-of-network providers; what does that mean?

This just means the therapists here have not entered into a contract with individual insurance companies to receive reimbursement through their contracted rates. There are SO many insurance companies with varied rates and policies and regulations- The PATH’s energy is best spent on providing high level care.

You pay us directly out of pocket and you can then submit a claim yourself to your insurance. We will help to instruct you in this process, but by taking us out of the reimbursement equation it gives us the time to provide you with the highest level of care.

Can my insurance be billed for cash-based PT?

The PATH does not accept or bill through insurance. However most insurances with the exception of medicare, Medicaid and some HMO’s, will provide some payment for services received “out of network”.

Therefore you can submit your sessions at The PATH to your insurance company and they will reimburse you directly at their out of network physical therapy rates. The end goal of documentation and billing is the same; however, to get paid in this system, it is the patient waiting for reimbursement instead of the provider.

Why would I choose to go out of pocket when I can use my insurance at another clinic?

Cash based physical therapy has actually shown to cost the patient less versus going through insurance. We provide only one-on-one treatment sessions for 60-minutes each visit. These one-on-one treatments may include individualized movement protocols, cupping, joint mobilizations and other manual techniques with the entirety of the session involving a hands-on engaged approach.

Many other clinics have their physical therapists seeing 4-5 patients per hour, vastly limiting any one-on-one time. The sessions may be spent with a rehab aide training you on how to perform the same cookie-cutter exercises with no individualization and minimal results. They will try and book you 2-3 times per week for 8-12 weeks and still have lower patient satisfaction rates and worse outcomes toward pain relief and functional activity tolerance.

The PATH will require less overall sessions to meet your goals than traditional insurance PT because of the increased time spent on your care. Come experience what physical therapy is really like with the  individualized, genuine, one-on-one care of a Doctor of Physical Therapy.

Still have questions?

Shoot us an email or give us a call!