As few as 35 percent of physical therapy patients maintain their at-home regimens. But that’s not going to help you get better.
Most people fully intend to carry out their homework but time constraints, lack of motivation or simply forgetting cause people to fail to actually do it. For physical therapy to work though, you’ve got to follow through with your at-home exercises.
Homework is actually more important than the exercises you do with your physical therapist. The therapist’s work can only take you so far. Patients must commit themselves to the treatment plan.
Here are some tips to help you stick to your plan.
1. Identify the Purpose.
You may have a very clear goal in mind: to play basketball again. Or your goal may be more nebulous: to get back to normal. Understanding your purpose for taking part in physical therapy will
help you stay motivated to do your exercises.
2. Be Honest.
Your physical therapist will be able to tell if you’re skipping your at-home exercises. If you get flushed, appear uncomfortable or nervous during your session, it’s a pretty good sign you haven’t been doing your work. Just be honest with your therapist if you haven’t been working at home. You and your therapist can work together to identify what’s keeping you from doing your exercises at home. Together, you can formulate a plan to help you stay on track.
3. Create a Strategy.
Lack of time is usually a reason people fail to complete their at-home exercises. However, most exercises don’t take longer than 10 minutes. The key is finding time in your day to fit in a 10-minute regimen. Look through your calendar and identify spots where you can exercise. Maybe you can do your exercises while you’re eating lunch or at night while you’re watching television. Set alarms as reminders or find an app that helps you track your progress.
Identifying barriers to exercise and creating strategies around them will help you to complete your physical therapy program. You’ll notice improvement each day which will also serve as motivation to continue exercising at home.
If you need more tips for staying on track with your physical therapy exercises, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our team. We’re here to help you succeed!
