Tips to Get the Most Out of Physical Therapy
Set Goals
What do you want to be able to do after rehab? Get out of a chair more easily? Play tennis again? Know what your target is and make sure your physical therapist does, too. He'll tailor your treatment with your goals in mind. Short-term gains are important, too. Celebrate each step along the way, no matter how small.
Pick the Right Pro
Just like your doctor, you want a physical therapist who has experience with your condition. Ask questions about his background, the plan for your therapy, any special equipment you'll need, and how long your treatment will last. You should be able to talk comfortably about what's going on during your sessions.
Come Prepared
Bring a list of your meds to your first appointment and any X-rays or MRIs. Make notes ahead of time about your symptoms, such as which movements cause pain and when the problem started. That will help your physical therapist identify your condition and design your treatment plan.
Dress the Part
Wear comfortable clothes and shoes with non-skid soles, even for your first visit. Your therapist may move the joint that's bothering you to test how well it works or check how you walk, get up out of a chair, or do other motions. If he assigns you exercises to do at home right away, he'll watch you do them to make sure your form is right.
When starting physical therapy, both Bradley and Fischer offer a few tips to get the most out of the treatment.
Identified
Be a good historian. At the first appointment, the PT will do an examination to see what’s going on with the body and they will ask questions to learn when the pain started, or in the case of surgery, what lead to the surgery. It is helpful when patients can say when their pain started since certain conditions are more easily identified if a timeline is given.
Set goals
Set goals. Think about goals for treatment – is it to return to a particular sport or activity, or the ability to walk the dog without pain? The goals will help determine the course of treatment.
Commit
Commit to your appointments. Both Bradley and Fisher explain that the number of appointments will vary depending on how complex or severe the injuries or surgeries. A minor injury may only require two or three visits, while severe injuries may include 20 or more visits over several weeks or months. How quickly patients progress will depend on whether they are attending their appointments and their recommended exercises.
Homework
Do the homework. When it comes to physical therapy, patients do have to do some work outside of the visit. The exercises the PT recommends are to help improve muscle strength and joint mobility and often require repetition and consistency over time to see results. If patients don’t follow the directions, it is difficult to know why their symptoms may not be improving – and as a result, it’s difficult to know how to adjust the treatment plan.
Exercises
Find a dedicated space to do the work. Fischer suggests having a dedicated space to do the exercises. Whether it’s a gym or a spare room in the house, having the space to move and focus on the exercises can help.
Treatment
Don’t skip. Patients may be tempted to skip their appointment when they’re experiencing pain. But Bradley comments that is precisely when patients should go. PTs are highly skilled in assessing and effectively treating pain and can adjust the treatment for the day to help.
Concerns
Speak up and ask questions. Some people may think an ache or pain is normal, and not mention it to their PT. But Bradley says sometimes even the smallest details can help solve the largest problem. And, he advises, ask questions because PTs want to make sure a patient’s concerns are addressed and that everyone is comfortable with the plan moving forward.
Problem Solve
Stick to the topic. Both Fischer and Bradley say it’s common for patients to come in for one problem and then mention another problem that is bothering them. While PTs can treat multiple areas during a single visit, a new issue is really going to need its own evaluation to determine the best course of treatment. It’s also possible it will need to be pre-approved through insurance so the PT will often recommend scheduling a separate time to evaluate what might be going on.
Therapy
Keep the lines of communication open. Depending on the practice, physical therapy may be a part of a patient’s electronic health record. At UW Health, for example, physical therapy appointments are recorded through MyChart. Fischer suggests using MyChart as a way of communicating with PTs between appointments if a problem comes up, something causes pain or the exercises are confusing. That way, it is possible to keep the exercises going rather than having to wait to clarify things at the next appointment.
Injury
Keep up the good work. The biggest risk of injury is a previous history of an injury. Once treatment has concluded, PTs can recommend how to prevent injuries in the future through things like exercises, adjusting equipment like a bicycle set up, looking at running gait, and more.
For more information about physical therapy services offered at UW Health complete our online form.
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