Upper extremity
Fingers and pulleys, wrists, elbows, and shoulders — including crimp load, overhead stability, and forearm capacity.
Telehealth · California
Virtual physical therapy for climbers
Screen-to-screen assessment and return-to-sport planning built around how you actually move on rock and plastic — not generic rest advice.
- Be in CA at visit
- 45-min eval
- 30-min PT follow-ups
The approach
Rehab that still speaks climbing
Generic rest advice ignores how you actually load a crimp, heel hook, high step, or mantel. Sessions are built around the sport — and around getting you back on rock with a plan.
Telehealth PT with The Send Doctor starts with how you climb, not a generic clinic template. We’ll dig into recent training, injury history, and the movement patterns that keep re-irritating tissue — fingers to feet, plus the spine and trunk that tie it together — then build a progression you can actually follow between gym sessions and outdoor days.
PT visits are available when you're in California at the time of the appointment.
You’ll leave the first visit with clear dos and don’ts, exercise priorities, and metrics for when it’s smart to project again. PT follow-ups exist to adjust load as your climbing calendar moves — not to keep you on a treadmill of vague “mobility work.”
Focus areas
What we treat
Climbing is a full-body sport. We treat what the wall actually demands — from fingertips to feet, and the chain in between.
Lower extremity
Hips, knees, ankles, and feet — heel hooks, high steps, drop-knees, landings, and the walking/approach load that shows up around climbing.
Spine & full-body
Neck, mid-back, and low back irritations tied to posture, belaying, hiking approaches, and how the whole chain moves on the wall.
Return-to-project plans
Clear criteria for when to ease back onto projects — not a blanket “stop for six weeks.”
Sessions
How care is structured
Two appointment lengths — pick based on whether you’re starting care or already mid-plan.
45-min initial evaluation
You complete intake before we meet. The visit is movement on camera, a working plan, and climbing load decisions — not a full in-person exam over video.
30-min PT follow-up
A short check-in form before the call, then progress, plan tweaks, and load decisions once you’re already in PT care.
Not sure which to book? Start with a 15-min discovery call.
The route
How a telehealth eval runs
History is collected before we meet. The video visit is for movement, a working diagnosis, and a plan you can climb on.
01
Book the matching visit
New to PT here → 45-min initial eval. Already in care → 30-min follow-up. You need to be in California at appointment time.
02
Complete intake before the call
After you book an eval, you’ll get the clinical intake form and telehealth consent. Finish them at least 24 hours before we meet so the visit can be movement, not a history interview.
03
Show up ready to move
Quiet space, webcam with a full-body angle, room to squat or hang if needed, and the shoes or tools you climb in. We watch what the camera can show — not a clinic palpatory exam.
04
Leave with a plan
Dos and don’ts, a short home program, and criteria for when to project again. Follow-ups adjust load as your climbing calendar moves.
After you book
What happens next
No mystery box. Calendar first, then intake, then we meet on video.
After you book an initial eval
- 01You’ll get a calendar confirmation with the video link, plus an email with the clinical intake form and telehealth consent.
- 02Complete both at least 24 hours before the visit. The form is the subjective exam — we use it so the 45 minutes can be movement and a plan.
- 03Be in California at appointment time. Set up space, camera, and the shoes or tools you climb in.
- 04Expect a working plan and load decisions, not hands-on manual therapy over video.
After you book a PT follow-up
- 01You’ll get a calendar confirmation with the video link and a short check-in form.
- 02Fill in pain, what you actually did, what flared, and what you need from this visit — it takes about two minutes.
- 03We retest a few markers from your last screen and adjust the plan. No new full intake unless something major has changed.
Video exam
What we can and cannot assess on camera
Telehealth is honest about its limits. We do not pretend a Meet call is a clinic table.
On camera we can
- How the area looks at rest and when you move — swelling, willingness to load, obvious deformity
- Active range and the positions that reproduce your pain, with the camera set so we can see the joint
- Functional tests you can do on screen: squat, step-down, hang, crimp on a portable edge, wall slides
- Self-resisted tests and self-palpation you perform while we coach the position
- A working diagnosis, climbing load changes, and a short home program
We cannot
- Hands-on special tests, joint glides, or clinician-applied overpressure
- True muscle testing with our resistance, reflex hammer, or girth measurements
- Palpating a pulley grade, grinding a TFCC, or stressing a ligament from our end of the call
- Manual therapy, needling, taping applied by us, or wound care
- Emergency or red-flag care — chest pain, sudden neuro loss, or uncontrolled bleeding means urgent or emergency services, not this visit
Setup
How to set up your space
A usable camera angle matters more than a perfect home gym.
- A quiet room with space to stand, squat, and reach overhead
- Webcam or phone on a stable surface, slightly back, so we can see the involved side and how you move
- Lighting on you, not behind you; wear shorts or a tank if the area needs to be visible
- Shoes, tape, portable hangboard or edge, and any brace or splint you already use
- Someone nearby only if you need a second camera angle — not required
Fit check
Is telehealth PT right for you?
Good fit
- You’ll be in California at the time of the appointment
- You have a climbing-related issue — upper body, lower body, spine, or whole-system movement
- You want to keep some climbing in the plan instead of total shutdown
- You’re willing to use video, move on camera, and do homework between visits
Better elsewhere
- You need hands-on manual therapy in the clinic this week
- You’ll be outside California at appointment time and need PT care where you are
- You have red-flag / emergency symptoms — go to urgent or emergency care
Ready to get eyes on the injury?
Book an initial eval if you'll be in California at appointment time — or discovery if you want to talk it through first.
Out of state
Climbing from another state?
Physical therapy is available when you are in California at the time of the appointment. If you need a clinician elsewhere, use the network directory below to find a climbing-focused PT near you.