Consistency
This adage applies to many areas of life; most certainly when it comes physical therapy. My patients that make a commitment to the PT plan of care and see it through with consistency definitely get better results more quickly than those who don’t stick with it. Generally the plan will consist of between 2-3 visits over a period of 4-6 weeks, however this frequency can vary depending on the diagnosis and severity of your injury.
Take an active approach
It has actually been shown in formal research that when a physical therapist takes an active approach with a patient who is very proactive with his/her rehab, then that person gets significantly better results from the care.
Home Exercise Compliance
Every injury you ever treat with a physical therapist should be accompanied by a Home Exercise Program or HEP. That is just what we do as PTs. Our main objective is to give our patients the tools they need to feel better and avoid future injury down the road. This always requires something to be done outside of the formal PT visits.
Patience
Consistency and patience with physical therapy go hand-in-hand. There are very few issues with the human body that can be fixed up in just one or two treatments, especially when it comes to musculoskeletal pain. Patients that expect a miracle from PT overnight are generally disappointed.
