Introducing the
PT EffectAdvantage Plan
Better treatment, outside the limits of insurance.
Introducing the PT Effect Advantage Plan—an annual membership designed to empower your journey toward optimal health. Unlike traditional insurance-restricted care, this comprehensive program offers enhanced access to personalized treatments tailored to your unique needs. Experience a transformative approach that helps you maintain peak wellness, overcome barriers, and achieve your most ambitious health goals.
Choose between 2 or 4 sessions per month.
How we can help
The Benefits of Our Advantage Plan
The PT Effect Advantage Plan empowers you to take control of your health with a personalized, proactive approach to physical therapy. By bypassing the limitations of traditional insurance, this plan provides consistent, one-on-one care tailored specifically to your unique needs. Whether you choose two or four sessions per month, you benefit from dedicated attention that targets pain reduction, improved mobility, and long-term wellness.
With a focus on addressing the root causes of discomfort, our expert therapists work closely with you to develop a treatment plan that not only relieves symptoms but also helps prevent future issues, ensuring you achieve and maintain your health goals.
More Access to Your Therapist
The Advantage Plan provides you with enhanced, one-on-one access to your therapist. This personalized approach means your therapist can devote their full attention to your progress, tailoring each session specifically to your needs. The result is a more responsive treatment experience that accelerates recovery and promotes long-term wellness.
Fewer Insurance-Related Restrictions
Say goodbye to the common hurdles of insurance-based care. With the Advantage Plan, you’re not limited by the constraints and approval delays often associated with traditional insurance. This freedom allows your treatment to be truly guided by your health needs, ensuring that you receive timely and appropriate care without unnecessary bureaucracy.
Add More Sessions at a Discounted Rate
Flexibility is key to effective recovery, which is why the Advantage Plan offers the option to add more sessions at a discounted rate. This benefit enables you to intensify your treatment when needed—whether during an acute flare-up or as part of a long-term wellness strategy—without the burden of high out-of-pocket costs.
On-Demand Appointments
Life is unpredictable, and your care should be too. The Advantage Plan’s on-demand appointment feature ensures that you can schedule sessions when they matter most. Whether you need a quick follow-up or an urgent session during a pain flare-up, you have the flexibility to book appointments that fit seamlessly into your busy life.
Book Any of Our Services
With the Advantage Plan, you’re not limited to one type of treatment. You have the freedom to book any of our comprehensive services—from manual therapy and Gua Sha to Graston and cupping. This versatility allows you to craft a personalized treatment plan that addresses every aspect of your health, ensuring a holistic approach to your recovery.
Home Services
For added convenience, the Advantage Plan also offers home services. If visiting our clinic isn’t feasible, our expert therapists can bring their specialized care directly to your doorstep. This service ensures that you can maintain continuity in your treatment without disrupting your routine, making optimal health more accessible than ever.
Book any kind of session
Get the Care That Insurance Doesn’t Cover
Need services not covered by insurance? No problem. Your therapist will provide these services when appropriate at no extra cost to you.
Gua Sha
Gua Sha is a traditional Chinese technique that uses a smooth-edged tool to gently scrape the skin. This process boosts blood flow, reduces muscle tension, and alleviates pain by promoting natural healing. Temporary red marks or bruising often occur, indicating improved circulation.
Graston
Graston is an instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization technique that uses specially designed stainless steel tools to detect and treat scar tissue and adhesions. This process helps break down soft tissue restrictions, reduce inflammation, and improve mobility, supporting overall recovery and pain relief.
Cupping
Cupping is an ancient therapeutic technique that involves placing suction cups on the skin to create a vacuum effect. This suction draws blood and lymphatic fluid to the targeted area, enhancing circulation, reducing muscle tension, and promoting healing. Temporary circular marks may appear, indicating increased blood flow and the therapy’s effectiveness.
Kinesotape
Kinesotape is an elastic therapeutic tape applied to the skin to support muscles and joints. It gently lifts the skin, improving blood circulation and reducing inflammation, which can help alleviate pain and promote healing.
Leuko Tape
Leuko Tape is a supportive medical tape that offers a firmer hold than traditional elastic kinesiology tape. It’s applied to stabilize muscles and joints, helping to limit excessive movement while still allowing functional mobility. This added support can reduce strain on injured areas, decrease inflammation, and promote a more efficient healing process.
Class-4 Thermal Laser
Class-4 Thermal Laser is an advanced treatment that uses high-powered laser light to penetrate deeply into tissues. This focused energy stimulates cellular repair, reduces inflammation, and alleviates pain by enhancing circulation and accelerating the healing process.
Blood Flow
Blood Flow is a therapeutic approach that enhances circulation to targeted tissues. By stimulating the natural delivery of oxygen and nutrients, this treatment helps reduce inflammation, alleviate pain, and accelerate the healing process.
Work With An Expert Doctor
Why These Treatments May Not Be Covered by Your Insurance Plan
Standard insurance plans often have strict guidelines that prioritize treatments with extensive, standardized clinical evidence and established protocols. As a result, advanced modalities like gua sha, cupping, kinesotape, leuko tape, Graston, class-4 thermal laser, and blood flow therapy may not be covered under typical plans. These treatments are often classified as complementary or alternative therapies because they may not have the large-scale clinical trials required by many insurers, despite their proven benefits in practice.
This is why we offer our Advantage Plan—an annual membership designed to bridge that gap. With this plan, patients can choose between 2 or 4 sessions per month, ensuring consistent access to these innovative treatments without the restrictions imposed by standard insurance coverage.
Manual Therapy
How We Achieve a Better Diagnosis With Less Discomfort
What is manual therapy? Manual therapy is a method physical therapy that involves the therapist feeling exactly how your body reacts to specific movement and exercises. A lot of pain and discomfort comes from lack of mobility or a small range of motion. Through simple movements and exercises, we're able to get your body used to these motions again, reducing or completely removing your pain.
Manual therapy includes a detailed biomechanical assessment. This means that your therapist will watch and feel how you move in order to make the most accurate diagnosis possible. This leads to faster recovery times and improved outcomes.
Benefits of Manual Therapy
More accurate diagnoses and understanding of pain
Less discomfort and pain during treatment
Therapist can feel where there is tension and mobility issues
The Best Of The Best
Meet the Team
Learn more about the expert physical therapists and team members that you'll work with at our clinic. Every physical therapy session will be one-on-one with a Licensed Doctor of Physical Therapy.
Dr. Mark Shulman
Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT), Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapists (FAAOMPT), COMT, CSCS
Owner
Dr. Allison McKay
Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT), Pelvic Rehab Practitioner Certification (PRPC)
Dr. Jana Tokunaga
Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT)
Dr. Breanna Moore
Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT)
Dr. Ariane Baum
Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT), RYT
Rachel Berger
Office Manager
Real Reviews From Real Patients
See What Our Patients Are Saying
"The team at Physical Therapy Effect is top notch. They support the Padres Pedal the Cause event every year at Petco Park to raise money for cancer research and do exceptional work."
Padres P.
"My herniated disc has shown tremendous improvement, all because of the great work by Dr. Mark. Top off the treatment experience with an extremely professional and friendly staff!"
John W.
"You couldn't go to a better PT place to heal and feel better again. You want to heal and be with some of the most caring and friendliest and healing staff, this is the right place"
D B.
"Dr. Shulman and staff are a cut above everyone else. They will customize a treatment plan for the individual. I’ve had excellent results with my back pain and appreciate the care."
Steve M.
"Mark and the team at The Physical Therapy Effect are awesome people with a real passion for helping others. Their dedication to providing the best service possible is evident."
Megan P.
"This place and the people that work there are the best! Very friendly and great at what they do. It's an awesome environment and I would highly suggest."
Emmett C.
"I recently 'graduated' and feel completely back to normal and I wouldn't have been able to do it without him, his team, amazing staff, and adorable office dogs. I have already recommended him."
Kari C.
"To say that Dr. Shulman is a ‘miracle worker’ would not be an overstatement. Ok maybe a little, but he’s the only person who has been able to relieve my neck pain. Beyond that, the office is great."
Shelley M.
"Amazing staff! Extremely knowledgeable and experienced! One of the best physical therapy staffs I have utilized. From my back to my shoulder to my feet, they have helped me regain mobility."
