In my experience, PT is the knee-jerk first thing insurance companies want to see tried. I just had an epidural steroid (in prep for 6 nerve blocks later to L spine) to L5, but the guy (a new-to-me pain management anesthesiologist) was straight up that he'd have to say I was at least doing PT excercises at home, first. Well, since we were then right in the middle of moving from one apartment to another, I said yes. It's a ton of exercising to move, even with movers and my daughter helping me. I had to sit on floor and stretch stuff out a lot, for example.

So, his request cleared. But he also ordered an MRI that showed lots of things wrong with that spine, I'm sure that was part of the approval.

This has happened a lot in the past, when I was working my way up to the MRI's finally showing things wrong with my spine. I'd ask for some help with the pain (like surgery or treatments) and I'd get turned down because I was back then refusing to do PT. Only no one explained it to me, that it was because of that my ins. (no matter what company) would turn it down if I wasn't doing PT or hadn't recently. It's partly because I have fibromyalgia also, and I have exercise intolerance. Something the average Physical Therapist can't deal with. When they say to me "Well! If you don't want to!" And I, would say Okay. Thanks. I only got the fibro official diagnosis this year. I've had it since 1990, along with other stuff, and multiple injuries. In fact, the worst injuries came via a Chiropractic adjustment I'd paid for myself.

Ask your doctor, or even just call his nurse maybe, if you need to qualify with like active PT, to get your ins to approve. Or what it is they require in order to approve what you want? It's a legit question, they need to answer it.