DIRECT PHYSIOTHERAPY PIONEERING DIRECT ACCESS TO NEW TECHNIQUES IN PHYSICAL THERAPY BY KRISTIN EMERY Left: Mason Tupta stands in the doorway of his office at Direct PhysioTherapy in Mt. Lebanon. Bottom left: Tupta opened his practice in 2019. Bottom right: Mason Tupta works on a patient in his office at Direct PhysioTherapy in Mt. Lebanon. Photos courtesy of Direct PhysioTherapy. Tupta's experiences guided him into physical therapy as a profession and formed his practice's mission. Direct PhysioTherapy in Mt. Lebanon provides physical therapy and sports medicine treatment. "I've been in sports my entire life, so I spent a lot of time in physical therapy through middle and high school," Tupta says. "I was exposed to it at a much earlier age. Sports were important to me, and it just geared me in that direction." Tupta is the owner of Direct Physio'Therapy and a graduate of Duquesne University with degrees of doctor of physical therapy, bachelor of health science and bachelor of life therapy. Tupta also learned the practice of manual therapy and dry needling in Naples, Fla., from Dr. John Pierce, who was the first therapist in the state licensed to perform it. Direct Physio Therapy is one of the few clinics in Pennsylvania licensed to perform this type of therapy. "It's very similar to acupuncture," explains Tupta. "The difference is dry needling has to be performed by a medical provider. It's called dry needle because there's no medication involved. It's just a plain sterile monofilament needle." He uses them to increase blood flow and release trigger points in muscles that can cause pain and discomfort. When he opened his practice in 2019, Tupta's goal was to change the way the public views and receives physical therapy by incorporating more hands-on manual physical therapy in addition to therapeutic exercise. "A lot of physical therapy is solely exercise-based, "he says. "When we train here, we do a full-body analysis. So if you have a knee problem, we look at the joints above and below to see how they may be affecting that issue." He then treats the patient manually to restore joint function and decrease pain and swelling. In that way, his practice treats the whole patient and promotes overall wellness. "It's a lot of skilled hands-on manual physical therapy, and that's where my practice differs from a lot of the competitors, "Tupta says. "We try to focus more on that full body analysis and then treat it more with a Mason biology. His mission is to changehow the public viewsand receives physical therapy. "The old kind of model of physical therapy is if you're injured, you go see your physician, and your physician prescribes physical therapy, "Tupta explains. "Now, most s tates have legalized something called direct access. That's where the direct of my company name comes from. "Direct access allows an individual to see a physical therapist without a prescription from a physician. "So they don't need an X-ray first; they don't need an MRI," Tupta adds. "They don't need to go see their primary care physician. They can come directly to a physical therapist and be evaluated, diagnosed and treated. It's terrific. It means a lot more autonomy for physical therapy." Not all insurance providers cover direct access to physical therapy, and not every physical therapy provider has a direct access license. Providers must train and be licensed by the state of Pennsylvania. Tupta credits his postgraduate work in Atlanta under Dr. Bob DuVall manual approach in addition to therapeutic exercise. It's not just one or the other. " Tupta has a doctorate in physical therapy, is a certified manual trigger point therapist and is certified in dry needling. His ongoing studies are in manual physical therapy and spinal mobilization. Direct Physio'Therapy is located at 300 Mt. Lebanon Blvd. in Castle Shannon. Visit their website at for influencing him to join the direct access physical therapy and directphyiotherapy.org or call 412-207-7612. movement also in practicing hands-on manual DIRECT PHYSIOTHERAPY PIONEERING DIRECT ACCESS TO NEW TECHNIQUES IN PHYSICAL THERAPY BY KRISTIN EMERY Left: Mason Tupta stands in the doorway of his office at Direct PhysioTherapy in Mt. Lebanon. Bottom left: Tupta opened his practice in 2019. Bottom right: Mason Tupta works on a patient in his office at Direct PhysioTherapy in Mt. Lebanon. Photos courtesy of Direct PhysioTherapy. Tupta's experiences guided him into physical therapy as a profession and formed his practice's mission. Direct PhysioTherapy in Mt. Lebanon provides physical therapy and sports medicine treatment. "I've been in sports my entire life, so I spent a lot of time in physical therapy through middle and high school," Tupta says. "I was exposed to it at a much earlier age. Sports were important to me, and it just geared me in that direction." Tupta is the owner of Direct Physio'Therapy and a graduate of Duquesne University with degrees of doctor of physical therapy, bachelor of health science and bachelor of life therapy. Tupta also learned the practice of manual therapy and dry needling in Naples, Fla., from Dr. John Pierce, who was the first therapist in the state licensed to perform it. Direct Physio Therapy is one of the few clinics in Pennsylvania licensed to perform this type of therapy. "It's very similar to acupuncture," explains Tupta. "The difference is dry needling has to be performed by a medical provider. It's called dry needle because there's no medication involved. It's just a plain sterile monofilament needle." He uses them to increase blood flow and release trigger points in muscles that can cause pain and discomfort. When he opened his practice in 2019, Tupta's goal was to change the way the public views and receives physical therapy by incorporating more hands-on manual physical therapy in addition to therapeutic exercise. "A lot of physical therapy is solely exercise-based, "he says. "When we train here, we do a full-body analysis. So if you have a knee problem, we look at the joints above and below to see how they may be affecting that issue." He then treats the patient manually to restore joint function and decrease pain and swelling. In that way, his practice treats the whole patient and promotes overall wellness. "It's a lot of skilled hands-on manual physical therapy, and that's where my practice differs from a lot of the competitors, "Tupta says. "We try to focus more on that full body analysis and then treat it more with a Mason biology. His mission is to changehow the public viewsand receives physical therapy. "The old kind of model of physical therapy is if you're injured, you go see your physician, and your physician prescribes physical therapy, "Tupta explains. "Now, most s tates have legalized something called direct access. That's where the direct of my company name comes from. "Direct access allows an individual to see a physical therapist without a prescription from a physician. "So they don't need an X-ray first; they don't need an MRI," Tupta adds. "They don't need to go see their primary care physician. They can come directly to a physical therapist and be evaluated, diagnosed and treated. It's terrific. It means a lot more autonomy for physical therapy." Not all insurance providers cover direct access to physical therapy, and not every physical therapy provider has a direct access license. Providers must train and be licensed by the state of Pennsylvania. Tupta credits his postgraduate work in Atlanta under Dr. Bob DuVall manual approach in addition to therapeutic exercise. It's not just one or the other. " Tupta has a doctorate in physical therapy, is a certified manual trigger point therapist and is certified in dry needling. His ongoing studies are in manual physical therapy and spinal mobilization. Direct Physio'Therapy is located at 300 Mt. Lebanon Blvd. in Castle Shannon. Visit their website at for influencing him to join the direct access physical therapy and directphyiotherapy.org or call 412-207-7612. movement also in practicing hands-on manual