I specialize in treating pain consistent with the following conditions:

Ankle/Foot injuries, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Chronic Pain, Facial & Jaw Pain, Fibromyalgia, Headache, Knee Injuries, Back & Hip Pain, Lung Issues/Rib Pain, Neurological Disorders, Post-surgical Pain, Tendonitis, Shoulder/Elbow Injuries, Vertigo

Physical therapy is the first place you should consult when you have musculoskeletal aches and pains. It is considered primary care for your musculoskeletal system. Most MD’s only receive hours of education regarding the muskuloskeletal system (they have 11 other body systems to focus on), whereas a physical therapist has undergone years (7 to be exact) of training to address issues in this body system. It is a doctorate level profession equipped to assess and rule out “red-flag” i.e. fracture, cancer, emergent conditions or concerns that may warrant further specialty or imaging and make sure you appropriately see the correct provider for your needs. Physical therapists are movement experts that consider your health history, day to day tasks, occupational demands, life stressors, lifestyle factors, and assess the body’s state of being in regard to your primary complaint. It is individualized, comprehensive, whole body, task, person, and environment dependent care that customizes a plan to meet the goals that you have and are reasonable to accomplish. This plan requires action from the patient, guidance and adaptation from the physical therapist, and continual communication of both parties. Physical therapists practice evidence based care and are experts at managing pain and injury without sole reliance on injections, medications, and imaging. Physical therapists utilize continual re-assessments of your body to adapt treatments to meet your needs. Physical therapists utilize manual techniques and neuro-reeducation techniques to restore painful or impaired areas of the physical body, therapeutic movement and exercises to reconnect movement patterns and gain strength and body control for given tasks, and educate patients on pain, injury, and how to progress the patient to self management and address lifestyle and motivational factors contributing to overall health and patient wellness.

Physical therapy is not a one way street where the therapist fixes the patient. It is a two way street that does require the patient to have an active role in their outcomes and overall health and wellness. It is not cookie-cutter--one size fits all solution. Everybody is different and dictates individualized, customized, and progressive care. It is not a workout or strength training class. It addresses all the reasons the patient may not be able to fully participate or engage in a workout and the physical therapist prescribes a few, very specific tasks or exercises to focus on to be able to move the way you want to. It isn’t only treating the hurting area in isolation, but is addressing the surrounding areas and body systems that are also affected and compensated due to pain. It is identifying the root problem behind the patient’s needs and working towards a whole body solution. It is not only utilized after you’ve had a surgery, but can be utilized to improve your body’s movement and overall health throughout a lifetime, to improve activity performance, to decrease pain, to prep for surgery, and to feel great in your one awesome body.

“ReEmbody”---It’s the outcome I desire for all my patients. I desire for everyone to feel connected, safe, balanced, strong and capable and healthy in their one awesome body. Re-embodiment allows us to return to our whole selves and when we are in pain we often feel disconnected to ourselves.

Identify the area most in need of rebalance through expert movement assessment.

Honor your body’s wisdom with compassionate, quality bodywork for body restoration.

Utilize the power of movement through personalized exercise to reconnect you to your potential.

Guide your whole wellness with focused lifestyle reset.

Treat with integrity, honesty, and ensure value to you as a patient in every visit.

I am out of network with all insurance companies, I currently do not accept insurance. By being out of network I am free to meet your needs in a completely individualized way and I am not constrained to insurance guidelines. It’s not cool to wait 3-4 weeks to see a physical therapist or any other provider when you are in pain. I can see you as soon as possible and as frequently as we need to address your pain or activity performance needs.

You can use your HSA account to pay for PT services. I also operate using a sliding scale through Open Arts Healing Collective.

Yes, I offer a sliding scale payment options for pay as you go services through Open Path Healing Arts Collective. Find me as a provider here:

https://healingarts.org/practitioner/sydney-mikulas/.

Join by registering with Open Path and pay a one-time, lifetime membership fee of just $49. Then schedule an appointment with me for $30-60 a session. The amount is determined at the initial evaluation based on your needs. I’ll just need your Open Path member ID number when you schedule.

I also intermittently offer specials and promotional discounts.

No, you do not need a doctor’s referral to receive physical therapy. Wisconsin is a direct access state for physical therapy. See a physical therapist first for musculoskeletal pain. I have my doctorate degree in physical therapy to be able to determine if your pain is fit for my services or if a referral to a primary care doctor, chiropractor, or other specialist is necessary.

Bodywork is manual therapy, using hands on, highly skilled, compassionate myofascial release, trigger point dry needling, therapeutic cupping, joint mobilization, and scar massage techniques to help restore function that has been interrupted by pain, fatigue, surgery, and conditions of overuse or underuse. Think of it as the most effective “massage” you could receive for treating a body area.

Dry needling is a very safe treatment for musculoskeletal conditions. Dry needling can be effective in decreasing pain, improving movement patterns, and speeding up recovery times. If you are in your first trimester of pregnancy, have an active infection, or just had surgery then dry needling is NOT for you, but can be utilized at a later date. The technique uses a "dry" needle, one without medication or injection, and is inserted through the skin into problem muscle areas. This stimulates the body’s healing cascade and resets the nerve-muscle balance.

Cupping is a form of muscle and fascia release that utilizes suction to decompress problem muscle areas. Cupping can be effective in decreasing pain and improving movement patterns. I utilize dynamic dry cupping techniques using silicone cups. Cupping is a safe, effective technique utilized for many musculoskeletal conditions. If you are in your first trimester of pregnancy, cupping is NOT performed and cupping of the lower and upper abdomen is avoided later in pregnancy.