Three Tips For Completing At-Home Physical Therapy

Whether you are recovering from an injury or a surgery, physical therapy is much more than what you do in the office with your therapist. You will often be assigned homework — exercises to do at home in order to speed your recovery. In fact, this homework is the bulk of your therapy and failing to do it can slow or even halt your recovery. Yet, just like any type of exercise, it can be difficult to fit it into your daily schedule. The following are a few tips to help you stay motivated to complete your therapy as needed.

Tip #1: Keep your eyes on the prize

Having a strong but achievable goal to work towards can make it easier to stay focused on your therapy. Everyone will have a different goal. For example, if you are a runner recovering from knee surgery, your goal may be simply to run a 5k again. Don't aim for a marathon or running your best time right out of the gate. A less athletic grandparent recovering from a similar injury, on the other hand, may just have the simple goal of being able to keep up with the grandkids at the playground. Neither goal is less important. The key is to pick a goal that motivates you and is important to you.

Tip #2: Get a partner

Doing the work with your physical therapist is the easy part — you have someone that knows the exercises there to help you and cheer you on. It can feel lonely and frustrating trying to do the work at home alone. If possible, find a partner to accompany you to the meetings, whether it's a spouse, family member or friend. The therapist can walk them through the exercises with you while giving them helpful spotting tips. This way, you have help at home as well as an accountability partner.

Tip #3: Create a schedule

Finally, make time to do your physical therapy. Schedule it into your daily calendar for the same time each day, and treat it just as you would an appointment or a job. Often, the exercises must be done two or more times daily. You can plan to do them before a meal or at any other time interval that works into your schedule. The key is to just make sure that you schedule them in and then follow that schedule.

Your physical therapist is there to help you. Be honest with them about any issues you are having, whether it is finding the time to do the exercises at home or with the prescribed exercises themselves. They can help you create a plan you can stick to so you can recover as quickly as possible.

Contact a clinic like Burgman Chiropractic Clinic PC for more information.

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