One-on-One Physical Therapy in Orange County

By Evolution Physical Therapy

>> Request an Appointment

Orange County, California is one of the most active cities in the nation, with tons of sports and outdoor activities, indoor rec, and niche gyms. Surfing, hiking, basketball, soccer – there’s no end to the fun. With cities like Irvine, Huntington Beach, and Anaheim, it is a densely populated place to live. When you put those two things together, you’ve got masses of people playing hard, being active, and unfortunately, getting hurt.

Consequently, it’s not uncommon to fight for an appointment slot with your favorite physical therapist when you need it the most, whether you go somewhere around the corner from your home or make the drive to a larger clinic. Additionally, most places in the region are what are considered ‘high volume’ offices, seeing a lot of patients per day and either not working on a customized treatment plan, sometimes slotting multiple patients together in the same appointment hour. In some cases, you might not realize both of these things are even happening to you, but it can degrade the quality of care, and most importantly, your potential to recover. So what’s the solution? It’s one-on-one pt, what you may have thought you were getting all along, and what may be most beneficial for your health, depending on your injury, illness, or preventative treatment.

Pt and patient one-on-one physical therapy in orange county


What Is One-on-One Physical Therapy?

One-on-one is exactly what you might envision when you think of a physical therapy treatment. You check in to your appointment, you’re greeted by your therapist and you go over your health history together, go through physical examination, and are prescribed a routine which will include exercises, stretches, and assessments, such as through movement, that set you on a path toward recovery. You come back once or twice per week to the same therapist, working through your exercises together, adding new ones, checking your progress along the way, and learning about how to care for yourself and understand how your care fits into the overall process. If you’ve never been to physical therapy, this might be what you’d expect, along with how you’ve heard physical therapy is non-invasive and even invigorating.

If this is what you’re picturing, you’d be correct, if you go to a one-on-one clinic. Alternatively, you might end up at a PT mill, where your routine isn’t truly custom, your therapist is half-checked out, and you find yourself forgetting how to do the exercises your pt just showed you, but can’t ask them about it because they’re across the room, with another patient.

It is worth noting that not ALL group therapy isn’t inherently bad or wrong, but one-on-one or group therapy in a limited setting may be more appropriate for an individual, and ideally, you may need or want that option.

Is Physical Therapy Supposed to Be One-on-One?

Physical therapy treatment should always be personalized, and ideally, specialized, so that you work with a therapist that has experience treating your type of injury or illness. When you reach out to any Evolution Physical Therapy locations, we’ll take your full history into consideration. For our locations that offer one-on-one treatment, such as Evolution Irvine, La Brea, Beverly Hills, or Maven, your insurance may cover one-on-one, or you may want to opt into working directly with a single therapist throughout your recovery journey.

Do You Need One-on-One Physical Therapy?

There are some conditions that require one-on-one pt, such as treatment for a total knee replacement, or any total joint replacement in general. Post-surgical rehab treatments for ACL reconstruction or spinal fusion, for example, need the highest level of attentiveness as possible from your therapist. Additionally, individuals with MS, Parkinsons, or those in recovery from a stroke need the extra attention from a customized rehabilitation plan.

When it comes to common conditions that focus on patient education and self-management in correlation with physical therapy, chronic pain, such as of the back or neck, or fibromyalgia sufferers would do better with one-on-one therapy in almost all circumstances. There are many other conditions that have much better outcomes by working one-on-one with your physical therapist – ACL tears, sprains and strains, recovery from a break or fracture, shoulder impingement, plantar fasciitis, and more. And in the case of pediatric conditions, including torticollis or cerebral palsy, your child should always work one-on-one with a specialized pt.

Orange County – Home to High-Volume Physical Therapy Clinics

Orange Country has always been a fitness mecca and home to a number of physical therapy clinics that include national chains and private practices. Evolution Physical Therapy takes the best parts of each, including the high standard of excellence and adherence that is often found at chains or hospitals, and the specialization and attention to care found with private practices. As we have several locations in a few larger cities in California, Colorado, and on the East Coast, we have not fallen into the trap of being a ‘mill clinic’, that is, an office that churns through high volumes of patients that see whatever therapist is on rotation, and in a group setting. Instead, we see a reasonable number of patients, with group physical therapy offered when it will most benefit the patient. We have several locations, such as our one in Irvine, that offer one-on-one therapy, as well as group therapy when appropriate.

Difference Between Group Physical Therapy and One-on-One


Group Therapy

  • Involves multiple patients with similar conditions.
  • Therapists divide attention among participants.
  • Exercises are semi-customized or standardized.
  • Suited for general strengthening or maintenance.
  • Requires more independence from patients.
  • More affordable and accessible.

One-on-One Therapy

  • One patient works directly with a therapist.
  • Therapist provides undivided attention and monitoring.
  • Treatment is fully customized to the patient’s needs.
  • Ideal for complex conditions or post-surgical rehab.
  • Includes hands-on techniques like manual therapy.
  • Typically more expensive due to individualized care.

Advantages of One-on-One Therapy

The TLDR of one-on-one therapy can be summarized by saying one-on-one therapy allows for customized care, with the full attention of a therapist given to the patient. More complex health issues benefit especially well from this level of attention. In many cases, due to the level of individual attention, recovery outcomes are very positive and often accelerated. The biggest advantage, however, may be that a pt can spend a great deal of time educating his patient on the exercises, understanding their condition and treatment better, and build a solid path that helps prevent re-injury.  And while group therapy might be the only option covered by some insurances, or may be suitable for your specific type of injury or illness, it’s always nice to have an option like one-on-one, whether you choose it or not.

One-on-One Physical Therapy in Irvine, California


Evolution in Irvine, California is one of the few large practices that offers one-on-one physical therapy. With a balanced patient load and an emphasis on successful rehabilitation and patient education, our Orange County clinic in Irvine allows you to take advantage of one-on-one pt over other clinics that may seem to have similar options, but look closer at our clinic and you will see a step above – we allow patients to get the care they need using the most cutting edge equipment and current best-practices in the industry. Combine that with highly specialized pts and dpts, and you’ll see why our clinics, including our location in Irvine are so highly rated. Reach out today to request an appointment via our webform.

Related Posts

October 9, 2024
By Evolution Physical Therapy
September 17, 2024
By Evolution Physical Therapy
September 11, 2024
By Evolution Physical Therapy
September 11, 2024
By Evolution Physical Therapy