---
title: What Happens at a Free Injury Screen? The Honest 15-Minute Breakdown
description: "Wondering if a free injury screen is worth it? Here's exactly what happens in 15 minutes: measure, find the cause, treat it, re-test."
image: https://performxpt.com/hubfs/Screenshot%202026-10-06%20at%203.49.36%20PM.png
---

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 October 2026

# What Happens at a Free Injury Screen? The Honest 15-Minute Breakdown

![Picture of Team Performx](https://performxpt.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Performx%20Logos%20(Large)%20(500%20%C3%97%20500%20px)%20(1)-1.png?width=50&name=Performx%20Logos%20(Large)%20(500%20%C3%97%20500%20px)%20(1)-1.png) [Team Performx](https://performxpt.com/blog/author/team-performx)

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"Free injury screen" makes people a little suspicious. Fair enough.

The worry usually isn't the free part. It's that you'll spend fifteen minutes getting nothing you couldn't have found on YouTube, and then you'll be standing in front of someone who wants to sell you something, and you'll have to say no. Sometimes more than once.

**We hate that as much as you do.** So before you decide that's what this is, here's exactly what happens in a free injury screen at Performx, a sports and performance physical therapy clinic in Independence, Oregon. Fifteen minutes, four steps, no mystery.

## What Happens at a Free Injury Screen: The 4 Steps

1. **You show us the thing that bugs you.** Squat, reach overhead, run in place, whatever it is. We measure it, so we're working off a number instead of a vibe.
2. **We find what's driving it.** Pain is usually the messenger, not the problem. Shoulder pain that's really a mid-back restriction. Achilles pain that's really a hip that won't extend.
3. **We work on it.** Hands on, right there. This is the part most free screens skip entirely.
4. **We measure it again.** Same movement, same number. You tell us what changed.

**If we work on something and the pain drops, that tells you we found the problem.** Often it was never where you thought it was. That's the whole reason to come.

## Why Pain Is Usually the Messenger, Not the Problem

Your body works as a chain. When one link stops moving well, the links around it pick up the slack, and eventually one of them starts complaining. The spot that hurts is often just the one doing extra work.

Researchers call this regional interdependence, and it shows up in the data. In [one study of people with shoulder pain](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2813499), a single session of treatment aimed at the mid-back and ribs (not the shoulder) cut pain roughly in half and improved shoulder range of motion right away.

That's why we measure before and after. **A number that changes in fifteen minutes is the best evidence we're working on the right thing.**

## What 15 Minutes Can (and Can't) Do

Fifteen minutes is still fifteen minutes. It won't fix something you've been carrying for months.

What it will tell you is whether it's fixable. **That's a far more useful answer than the one you've probably been given.**

## Eric's Story: From "Knee Replacement by 50" to Squatting Heavy Again

Eric found that out at one of these screens. He came in with a cyst on the back of his knee and a torn meniscus. He'd been told surgery was coming and he'd need a knee replacement by 50. He's in his 30s with two young daughters.

Turned out his hamstring tendon was dragging across the back of the knee every time he moved.

That fits what the research says about [cysts behind the knee](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4481672): they're almost always a reaction to something else going on, which is why going after the cyst by itself so often fails. Find the cause, and the cyst has no reason to stick around.

**Less than a month later, Eric's cyst was gone.** He's squatting heavier than he has in five years.

Want more stories like his? Read [Performx Patient Wins](https://performxpt.com/blog/performx-patient-wins).

## Who a Free Injury Screen Is For

![Screenshot 2026-10-06 at 3.49.36 PM](https://performxpt.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Screenshot%202026-10-06%20at%203.49.36%20PM.png?width=800&height=558&name=Screenshot%202026-10-06%20at%203.49.36%20PM.png)

- **You've been working around something.** The lift you skip, the run you cut short, the stretch you do every morning that never seems to stick.
- **You're not hurt, but you're stuck.** Same numbers for months. Sometimes a restriction you can't feel is the thing capping your progress.
- **You're pregnant or postpartum.** You're tired of piecing together advice from the internet. Dr. Emily lives in that world and has been through it herself. (If that's you, [The Pregnant Athlete's Playbook](https://performxpt.com/blog/pregnant-athlete-playbook) is a good place to start.)

## The Catch, Stated Plainly

If we find something we can fix, we'll tell you what a full evaluation looks like. **That's it.** No repeated asks, no pressure, no awkward standoff by the door.

## Where to Start: A Free 15-Minute Call

Book a [free 15-minute discovery call](https://performxpt.com/contact). No cost, no commitment. We'll ask what's going on, how long it's been happening, and what you've already tried, and answer any questions you have about how we work. Then one of three things happens:

- **It sounds like a fit:** we'll get you scheduled with the right clinician for what you're dealing with.
- **You're not sure yet:** you'll have the details you need to decide, with zero pressure.
- **It's not a fit:** we'll tell you that plainly.

You risk nothing. You get straight answers. And if we're the right fit, your first visit is where the plan to finally fix this thing starts.

**Every day you wait is another day you're not lifting, running, swimming, or playing with your kids pain-free.** Questions first? Text or call us at 541-327-4797.

> "A problem well stated is a problem half solved." *Charles Kettering*

[![Performx Physical Therapy](https://performxpt.com/hs-fs/hubfs/1-1.png?width=200&height=50&name=1-1.png "Performx Physical Therapy")](https://performxpt.com)

Call or Text: [(541) 327-4797](tel:541-327-4797)

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Independence, OR 97351

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