If your doctor has prescribed physical therapy to help you recover from an injury, you may think that all you have to do is show up to your sessions to get better. However, your therapy extends beyond the short time you spend with a therapist. Use the following tips to help you get the most out of your physical therapy sessions, both while at home and at the clinic.
Set Aside Time to Do Your Exercises at Home
When you are taught what to do and how to exercise to help loosen and strengthen up your body, it is imperative that you practice the exercises at home. The short time you are with your therapist to receive instructions and demonstrations is not enough to heal your body.
Just as you show up to your appointments with the therapist, make a commitment to yourself to perform your exercises at a set time each day. Putting a reminder on your phone and treating it like an actual appointment can help you stick to a regular schedule.
Be Honest with Your Therapist
Another thing you can do to get more out of your therapy sessions is be honest with your therapist. If a certain movement causes you increased pain, make sure you tell them.
If not, you are not going to perform the exercise at home and you will not benefit from it. If you tell your therapist that the motion causes pain, they can show you an easier exercise that can still give you benefits without causing discomfort.
Another way to be honest with your therapist is to not tell them you are doing the exercises at home when you know that you are not. If you are not doing your exercises, you will not show much improvement from one session to the next. And the therapist will know that you are not doing them.
If you find it difficult to find time to do your exercises or you are having trouble doing them, speak with your therapist about your difficulties. They can speak with you about the areas in which you are having problems and make adjustments to your at-home therapy regimen.
Using the above tips can help you get the most out of your therapy sessions so you can get back on your feet faster. For more advice on optimizing your therapy, speak with a physical therapy clinic like Hands-On Physical Therapy that can give you personalized guidance.
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