Duke Physical Therapy Sports Medicine at the Center for Living

"I am writing about the experience of my son in law. Two weeks ago on the morning he was scheduled for his first PT session the clinic called him and cancelled his appointment and rescheduled for this week, August 1st. Then when he was driving to the appointment, he got a text cancelling the appointment again. On both days I planned my day around caring for my grandson so his dad could go to his PT appointment. My son in law is in a great deal of back pain which appears to be of no concern to Duke physical therapy. There is no excuse for the unprofessional and cavalier attitude Duke PT has towards its patients. They have now rescheduled in yet another week. Another week my son in law will not be treated and will be in pain. Who knows whether Duke PT will honor the next appointment. I have urged my son in law to find another clinic and I hope he does."

"So I don't normally do this but I had to say something. My mother went in for a simple procedure; which was booked months in advance, and was sent away saying that they weren't going to do it because she was "overweight". Is this our future doctors? Just telling people your in pain because your fat?"

"I strongly recommend the physical therapists at Duke Sports Medicine. They have been an incredible blessing to our family. We have an active household of boys ranging from 14-18 years old competing in baseball, cross country, and track, plus as parents we try to keep up with our kids, setting us up for injuries along the way. Drs. Zach Boyd, Christopher Antonnelli, and Kimberly Keyser have helped us recover from injuries and surgical rehabilitation. As a member of the healthcare field, words cannot describe how impressed I have been with the level of knowledge and technical skill these individuals possess. The complexity and depth of their physical exams and their repeated testing and measurement of their differential diagnoses and adaptation of treatment paradigms are under-appreciated and rarely given time in other busy healthcare practices. They are up to date on the new approaches within their discipline and are willing to research on their own time to make sure patients receive the highest quality care. Equally important is the excellent bedside manner and communication skills they have acquired from years of practice. I have seen and experienced them motivate each member of our family differently with what worked best for the individual; there is no cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all style here. Physical therapy is hard work for the patient and these doctors know how to keep their patients working hard, assist in managing the patient’s frustration when the road is not easy, and help find ways to motivate (and have fun) along the way. We are very thankful to have crossed paths with these talented individuals and are glad they are using their skills to help people return to active, healthy lifestyles."

"I had a terrible experience with the Physical Therapist Emileigh Dowling. She was incredibly dismissive towards me. The initial exercise plan she suggested for my shoulder issues significantly worsened my pain, so I stopped doing the exercises and scheduled another appointment with her so we could figure out something different for me. She made a judgy comment about me stopping the exercises and seemed to insinuate that I stopped doing them out of laziness. She also ignored some of the symptoms I was mentioning to her, saying they didn't make sense. I ended up seeing an orthopedic doctor who explained exactly why the exercises suggested by Emileigh did more harm than good and confirmed that all of my symtoms aligned with my diagosis (even those Emileigh said "made no sense.") I have no doubt that Emileigh is a knowledgeable and experienced Physical Therapist, but she doesn't seem to actually listen to her patients and can be very disrespectful in her language. One time, I pointed out something my shoulder was doing to her and asked if it was normal. She said: "if you were normal, you wouldn't be here" and otherwise didn't explain what the issue was. All of that being said, I've heard the other Physical Therapists there are wonderful."

"Emily Dowling a physical therapist was very disrespectful when I attended my water sessions in July 2019. She told me that I did not live in. the water, so i could not keep doing water therapy..She proceeded to say, that it is very expensive to continue it and she said I know your insurance will not cover it..(side note,.. she doesn't know anything about my insurance). She also said I needed to go to another facility (Lennox Baker) were Christine another water therapy specialist works. This conversation took placeI during one of our therapy sessions in front of other patients. I reported to the manager or supervisor of the physical therapist all he said, was she has a review coming up in two weeks. Nothing was done ."