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under one roof

One team plans your care across chiropractic, physical therapy, acupuncture and occupational therapy.

Physical TherapyRebuild strength and move without pain ChiropracticHands-on relief for back and neck pain AcupunctureEase pain and inflammation naturally Occupational TherapyGet back to everyday tasks

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Find care for
what hurts

Not sure what is causing your pain? We find the source and build a plan around it.

All conditions treated

Neck PainRestore full range of motion Stiff NeckTurn your head freely again Neck ArthritisEase stiffness without surgery Headaches & MigrainesFind what is triggering the pain VertigoVestibular therapy to restore balance Lower Back PainTargeted therapy for lasting relief Herniated DiscRecover without unnecessary surgery Shoulder, Knee & Joint PainComprehensive joint care Sports InjuriesGet back in the game Motor Vehicle AccidentsComplete care after a car accident Post-Surgical RehabRebuild strength after surgery

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Thrive

Meet the team, read our latest articles or visit the clinic closest to you.

About UsMeet the team behind Thrive BlogArticles on pain, treatment and recovery CareersWork with our clinicians New Patient FormFill it out before your first visit Belmar616 Fifth Avenue, Belmar, NJ Freehold20 Thoreau Drive, Freehold, NJ

Physical therapist working on a patient's upper back at Thrive Freehold

Physical Therapy in Freehold, NJ

Post-surgical, Sports and Spine

Rebuild the movement, then the strength

Thrive Spine and Sports Rehab provides physical therapy in Freehold, NJ at 20 Thoreau Drive in Poets Square. Rachelle Ross, DPT, is our physical therapist there. She treats people recovering from knee and shoulder surgery, sports injuries, back and neck pain, and joints that are stiff or painful. Use the button below or call (732) 359-7440. You do not need a referral, and the front desk will verify your benefits before your first visit.

The Freehold clinic holds a 5.0 rating across 135 Google reviews. Most people who come in have one specific problem. A shoulder that still will not reach overhead months after surgery. Shins that start hurting two miles into a run. A back that is stiff every morning and has been for years. Whatever it is, the approach is the same: get the joint moving again, build up the muscles around it, and work back to what you were doing before it started.

Physical therapist guiding a patient through a shoulder exercise with a light dumbbell at Thrive Freehold

Conditions

What physical therapy helps with

Physical therapy is the right start when the problem is weakness, stiffness after an injury or an operation, or a movement you cannot do without pain. At the Freehold clinic that most often means:

Post-surgical rehab: knees, shoulders, hips and ankles after a repair or a replacement, working inside your surgeon's protocol
Sports injuries: shin splints, hamstring and calf strains, ankle sprains, and the overuse injuries that come back every season
Lower back pain, including the flare-ups that come with sitting or lifting
Neck pain from desk work or driving
Shoulder, knee and joint pain, from a rotator cuff strain to a knee that aches on stairs
Herniated discs, once the sharp pain has eased enough to start strengthening
Vertigo and dizziness

If the pain came on with one movement and the joint feels locked rather than weak, an adjustment is often the faster start. Book chiropractic in Freehold instead, and the two plans hand off to each other when strength work is the next step.

Physical therapist treating a patient's ankle with a handheld device at Thrive Freehold

A Common Question

When should physical therapy start after surgery?

Most surgical patients arrive with a start date from the surgeon and a list of questions the surgeon did not have time for. Here is how the decisions split.

What your surgeon decides

The start date. Some repairs need weeks of protected healing before any loading; others start within days. Follow the date you were given
The protocol: how far the joint may bend, how much weight it may take, and when each restriction lifts. It usually comes as a printed sheet from the surgeon's office. Bring it
Whether a brace, sling or crutches stay on, and for how long

If you were not given a protocol, ask the surgeon's office for it before the first visit. It saves a phone call on the day.

What your physical therapist decides

Which exercises to use inside those limits, and how hard to push on a given day
How often to come, and when to space visits out as you take over more of the work at home
When you have earned the next step, judged by range of motion and strength rather than the week on the calendar
What to stop doing. Swelling that is back the next morning is information, and the plan changes with it

Six weeks out and the knee still will not straighten? That is common, and it is a range problem before it is a strength problem. The first visits work on the bend and the straighten. Stairs come later.

Your Freehold Physical Therapist

Rachelle Ross, DPT

Rachelle is the physical therapist at Thrive Freehold. She played Division I soccer at Monmouth University while earning a Bachelor's degree in Health Sciences in 2018, then completed her Doctorate of Physical Therapy at Alvernia University in 2022. She is trained in mechanical diagnosis of the spine through the McKenzie Institute, a method for working out which back and neck problems respond to which movements.

She has been on the patient side of this. A run of ankle injuries and surgeries through her high school and college soccer years put her through physical therapy more than once, and that is why she does this work. Her treatment aims at movement without pain, and she explains what each exercise is for, so you can run the plan yourself when the visits stop.

Read Rachelle's full bio

No Guesswork

What the first visit looks like

Four steps, in order. Each one has a reason you will hear before it happens.

1. History and exam

What happened, what you have tried, and what you need to get back to. Then measurements: how far the joint bends, how strong the muscles around it test, how you walk, squat or reach. Those numbers are the baseline every later visit is checked against.

2. Treatment starts the same day

Hands-on work to get the joint and the tissue around it moving, then the first exercises, taught until you can do them without watching. If something in the exam needs a physician first, you hear it now.

3. Homework, kept short

Two or three exercises between visits, not twenty, each with a job you can name. The visit count and spacing are set before you leave and change as you progress.

4. Progress by the numbers

Range, strength and the task you came in for are remeasured as you go. Visits taper when the numbers hold, and you leave with a program to keep them there.

Ivy is a track and field athlete whose shin splints had cut into her training miles. Soft-tissue release for the calves and shins, ankle stability drills and a stretching program settled the pain, and she is back to running without it.

Ivy Slavinski

Track and Field Athlete

One Chart, One Front Desk

Four services, one building

Physical therapy handles the strength and the movement. Some problems need another pair of hands along the way. A back that keeps locking up between sessions may need an adjustment from our chiropractor. A calf that stays tight no matter how much it is stretched often lets go with acupuncture. A hand or wrist that limits your work belongs with occupational therapy. All four are in the Freehold clinic, so Rachelle can add one to your plan without sending you to a new office.

Closer to the shore? Our Belmar clinic has physical therapy too. For how we approach physical therapy at both clinics, see the physical therapy overview. Hours, directions and the rest of the Freehold team are on the Freehold location page.

Front entrance of the Thrive Freehold clinic at 20 Thoreau Drive

Before your first visit

Do I need a referral for physical therapy in New Jersey?

No. In New Jersey you can see a physical therapist for up to 30 days without a referral from a doctor. After that, treatment needs a doctor's sign-off to continue. Some insurance plans want a referral on file before they pay, so ask about that when you call. And if you have had surgery, bring the surgeon's prescription and protocol, because they set the limits for the first weeks of treatment.

Does insurance cover physical therapy?

Coverage varies by plan. Thrive accepts Medicare, United Healthcare, Anthem and Cigna, and works with many other plans as an out-of-network provider. Call (732) 359-7440 before your first visit and we will check your coverage. The full list is on our insurance page.

What happens at the first physical therapy visit?

An exam, then treatment. Rachelle takes your history, measures how far the joint moves and how much strength you have around it, and watches you do the movement that hurts. Treatment starts the same visit: hands-on work and the first exercises. You leave with a plan, a visit estimate and a short home program.

How many physical therapy visits will I need?

It depends on the problem, how long you have had it, and the goal you set at the first visit. A recent sprain often needs a handful of visits. A knee replacement or a shoulder repair runs longer, because the tissue heals on its own schedule and the strength comes after. You get an estimate at the first visit, and it changes as you improve.

Is physical therapy painful?

It should not be, and you set the limit. Some soreness after a session is normal, the kind you feel after a workout, and it fades within a day or so. Sharp pain during an exercise is a signal to change the exercise, not to push through it. After surgery the first work on range can be uncomfortable, and Rachelle stays inside what the surgeon's protocol and your joint allow.

Can I have physical therapy and chiropractic on the same day?

Yes. Ask the front desk to book the two appointments back to back. It is a common pairing for back and neck pain: the chiropractor restores motion at the joint, then the physical therapist loads the muscles around it while it moves well. Acupuncture can be added the same way for a muscle that will not let go.

How do I choose a physical therapist in Freehold?

Check four things. The physical therapist is licensed in New Jersey. They measure you at the first visit and again as you go, so progress is a number and not a feeling. Your home program is short enough that you will do it. And they tell you when something needs a surgeon or a different service. Rachelle Ross meets all four. If you want a second opinion, read the clinic's 135 Google reviews.

Where can I get physical therapy in Freehold?

Thrive Spine and Sports Rehab, 20 Thoreau Drive, Freehold, NJ 07728, in Poets Square. Rachelle Ross, DPT, is the physical therapist there. Patients come from Freehold Township, Howell, Manalapan, Marlboro and Colts Neck. Hours and a map are at the bottom of this page, and the front desk answers (732) 359-7440.

Freehold, New Jersey

It's Where Healing Meets Heart

Thrive's Freehold location is a multi-disciplinary clinic that provides a wide range of services, including chiropractic, acupuncture, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and a recovery lounge.