Straight answers, before you book.

Two reasons people come to us. The first is rehab — something hurts, or you had surgery, and you want to get back to what you were doing before. The second is performance — nothing is wrong, and you want to move better, get stronger, or stop getting hurt. Both are good reasons to be here. What we don't do is keep you on the schedule indefinitely for “maintenance.” When you don't need us anymore, we'll tell you.

Feet and ankles, knees and hips, spine and neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists and hands — post-surgical, sports injuries, arthritis, repetitive strain, and long-standing pain that hasn't responded to anything else. The honest answer for your specific case comes from a conversation. Tell us what's going on and we'll say whether we're the right place, and where to go if we aren't.

No. California is a direct-access state, so you can book physical therapy without seeing a physician first. Two things worth knowing. State law lets us treat you directly for up to 45 days or 12 visits, whichever comes first — past that, continued care needs a physician's signature on your plan of care, and we handle getting it. Separately, some insurance plans require a referral for coverage even though the state doesn't; when we check your benefits, we'll tell you if yours is one of them.

Yes. Personal training, small group classes and workout programming are all built for people with nothing wrong who want to train better.

We'll say so, and point you to who is. Physical therapy isn't the answer to everything, and we'd rather send you to the right provider than bill you for visits that don't help.

Your surgeon's protocol sets the timing — send it to us, or give us the surgeon's name, and we'll work from it. If surgery hasn't happened yet, ask us whether coming in beforehand is worth it in your case.

Yes — we work with youth and high school athletes. There's no minimum age; whether we're the right place for a specific kid comes out of the first conversation.

Book online, any service, from the bookings page. New patient forms live in the patient portal — filling them out before you arrive means your first visit is all treatment. If you'd rather talk to a person first, call 415-742-1253.

Clothes you can move in that let us reach the area we're treating — shorts for a knee, a tank for a shoulder. Your insurance card and a photo ID. Anything relevant from another provider: imaging, a surgical protocol, a referral. If your forms are already done in the portal, that's everything.

We talk first — what happened, what you've tried, what you want to get back to. Then we examine how you move, what's limited, and what reproduces your symptoms. Then we start treating, the same visit. You leave with a plan and something to do before you come back.

One licensed physical therapist, start to finish — no handoffs to aides or techs partway through. Every therapist has a page on this site, so read them and ask for whoever you want. Online booking doesn't let you pick, so call or leave a note and we'll match you.

Some of it is uncomfortable; none of it should be alarming. We work at an intensity you agree to and tell you what to expect before we do it. Being sore after a session is normal. Pain that changes your symptoms for days is information we want — tell us.

Both, every visit. Hands-on work to change how a joint or tissue moves, then loaded strength work so the change holds. We don't think either one alone gets you there.

Most plans of care run 6 to 12 visits — weekly at first, spaced out as you improve. You'll have an estimate at the end of your first visit, and we revise it as you go instead of selling you a block you may not need.

Yes. Everyone leaves with a home program, and we built our own system to deliver it — your exercises come to you, rather than going home as a photocopied sheet you have to interpret a week later.

Yes. We bill most major PPO plans — in-network and out-of-network — and we handle the paperwork: verification, claims, authorizations. You don't submit anything yourself and you don't chase your insurer. Send us your plan details before you book and we'll confirm what your coverage actually looks like.

You can still be seen, and you'll know the cost before you commit to anything. Tell us which service you're after and we'll put a written estimate in front of you — what each visit costs and what a course of care is likely to run — before you book. We don't publish rates because the number depends on the service and how often you come in, and a range wide enough to be accurate wouldn't help you plan.

Most of what we do qualifies as a medical expense, so HSA, FSA and HRA dollars generally work. Send us your plan details and we'll confirm before you book rather than after.

Yes. We check your benefits first and tell you what visits will cost — copay, deductible, out-of-network or self-pay. Nobody should learn what they owe from a bill three weeks later.

For performance services, yes — training packages, class packages and monthly programming tiers are all priced in the store. Physical therapy is billed per visit; if you're paying out of pocket, ask about multi-visit rates.

Three studios in San Francisco — South of Market at 1118 Howard St., North Beach at 1821 Powell St., and Inner Richmond at 4334 Geary Blvd. Each location page has parking and transit, and the therapists who work there.

Yes. Virtual physical therapy is active and we use it for follow-ups, home-program progressions, and patients who are traveling or have moved out of the area. Ask when you book and we'll tell you whether your case is a good fit for it — some problems need hands on them.

We need at least 24 hours' notice to cancel or reschedule, so the slot can go to someone else who needs it. Inside 24 hours, or a no-show, is a $100 fee. Your visit time is held for you and staffed with one therapist — that's the reason for the policy, and we'd rather tell you about it now than on an invoice.

Contact your therapist as soon as you know. We'll do what we can with the time that's left, but a late arrival may mean a shortened visit or, if there isn't enough time left to treat you, a cancelled one.