Your PT Can't Do Your Exercise For You
If you've been to physical therapy, you likely got a home exercise program. Research says that if you do your home exercise program, you'll have a significantly better chance of meeting your goals and feeling better. Not doing your program increases the risk of recurrent injury or flare-ups with less positive outcomes long term. Even though they're important, adherence to home exercise programs is terrible. It's estimated that only 40 to 50% of patients do their exercises the way they're supposed to. What can you do to make sure you do your exercises and get the best outcomes? Here are a few ideas.
Plan ahead
Think about what's going to get in your way - your schedule, that you'll forget, or that you don't have the space or equipment that you need. Once you figure out the problems, come up with solutions. Put your exercises in your schedule, talk to one of our PT/OT at Barkman And Smith Physical Therapy about equipment, or adjusting your program to fit the time you have. If you solve problems before they start, they're no longer problems.
Address pain and beliefs
You'll need to work with your PT on these. If your exercises cause pain, you're not going to do them. When your PT prescribes your exercises, try them out. If there's pain, ask your provider about modifications to make them more comfortable. The other thing might need addressed are your beliefs. If you believe that the exercises won't help, or that they're a waste of time, you won't do them. Again, work with your physical/occupational therapist to understand why they're prescribing those exercises, and what they're meant to do. Once you know why you're doing those exercises, you're more likely to do them.
Get support
People who have social support are more likely to do their exercises. This is why CrossFit and group exercise classes work. Find a family member or friend to help you stay consistent with your exercises. Your PT can help here too. Have someone ask if you're doing your exercises, and how they're going. This will keep you accountable and more likely to do them.
Use Technology
If you like technology and gadgets, they can help you be consistent with your exercises. There are plenty of apps that can track your exercise. Seeing that streak of days you've exercised will motivate you not to break it. Smartwatches and activity trackers can fill the same role.
Doing your home exercise program will help you get the most out of PT. With a little planning and a little help, you can make sure you're one of the 50% of the people who do their home exercises consistently to get the best outcomes.
Your PT Can't Do Your Exercise For You
We hope that you have found this reading resource valuable. Please let us know how we can serve you by clicking here. Physical & Occupational therapists are amongst the highest educated movement specialists in medicine — with many holding doctorate degrees. We want to put you in the best situation for success. Therapists work to improve quality of life through prescribed exercises, hands-on care, and one-on-one education.
At Barkman & Smith Physical Therapy, we begin with a physical exam to understand your issue and determine how we can best help. Our physical therapists then use a combination of exercises, stretching, equipment, and hands-on techniques to help movement and increase range of motion. Please click here for more information. Please stay visit us next month for a new blog post and topic.
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References:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32669487/
https://www.physio-pedia.com/Adherence_to_Home_Exercise_Program
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