Sorry, just saw this, exactly a month late. And yes, I've got some information.

The first thing - and this if HUGE - is that U.S.C. is now turning out people with post-graduate degrees in physical therapy. The program takes roughly 3 and 1/2 years, at the end of which folks come out with a "Doctor of Physical Therapy" (DPT). And a remarkable knowledge of neuro-anatomy, based in part on cadaver studies! And this from the program's webpage:

Since the Division was founded in 1945, it has been at the forefront of the most significant advances of the physical therapy profession. The program today is ranked #1 in the country by U.S. News and World Report and continues to be a center of excellence for clinical practice, education, and research in physical therapy.

At this point, many the owners/principals of the top PT practices in Los Angeles County are members of the department's clinical faculty, and who, in turn, employ the program's DPT graduate almost exclusively in their practices. Here, for instance is the webpage of Layfield & Associates Physical Therapy in Encino, where after years of bumbling attempts at "strengthening" elsewhere - that only made me worse - I was offered a series of "nerve gliding" exercises that for the first time brought significant relief from what had been chronic and disabling spasms in both legs, which had previously responded only to Marinol, a synthetic "Delta-9 THC" that otherwise left me completely wasted. (And here's the profile page of Susan Layfield PT, DPT, MS, OCS, on the USC site.)

And check out the DPT program catalog, if for nothing else, the required coursework.

And that's just the beginning, the top students are then offered the opportunity to participate in 1-year residencies in area practices, but with all
of their patient treatment under the guidance of full-time university faculty. Accordingly, when I was seen two years ago at Layfield & Associates, I received absolutely outstanding treatment from a young DPT who was then in an orthopedics residency, on account of which my treatment was reviewed weekly by her professor, who sat in on one or more of my treatment sessions over a two or three month period. And as a 100% satisfied customer, I can only imagine what it might have been like to have been treated by someone in the USC/DPT Neurologic Residency Program!

And to that end, for those who would find it convenient to be seen at either USC's Health Science Campus in East LA or at a smaller office on the main "University Park Campus," the school itself offers a fairly comprehensive Pain Management Program, specifically referencing the treatment of CRPS, in which it's apparently possible to book treatment directly with its staff members, as opposed to students in training.

And finally, for anyone on the Westside, I would be remiss if I didn't offer a referral to my own treating therapist, Jennifer Reynolds Carr, DPT, OCS, now practicing at Wehner and Associates Physical Therapy in Santa Monica.

I hope this is (still) useful.

Mike