Your first time walking into a physical therapist’s office can feel overwhelming. Not only does your visit imply an injury of some sort which already causes a certain level of stress, but dealing with medical forms, personnel, and insurance can often feel like you are leaping through hurdles… which is hard with an injury. We strive to take care of every patient that walks through our doors holistically, and we want you to feel comfortable every step of the way. Whoever your physical therapist is, they will likely be asking you a wide range of questions so that they know how to serve you best. Here are a few questions you can ask them in order to know what to expect and to be sure you are getting the best care possible.
What Should I Expect From My Physical Therapy Sessions?
Getting a thorough answer to this question will really help put your mind at ease because it will reduce the amount of unknown factors to expect. You will want to get a picture of not only the session you are in now, but a general overview of how the exercises will progress throughout your time in physical therapy.
It’s good to ask this at the beginning of your first physical therapy session because so many moves and positions are going to be new to you, and your physical therapist will likely do a lot of hands-on help in order to get you in the proper form and for you to learn all of the new moves. It helps to know exactly what you should expect when someone is putting their hands on you, so asking this question ahead of time will help ease the tension a lot.
What Is Expected From Me During Physical Therapy?
Odds are, the time that you spend with your physical therapist during your appointment will not be the only therapy you need to be doing. You will likely have homework that entails doing certain stretches or exercises on your own at home between sessions. These at home workouts will be crucial to your recovery and will likely have a lot to do with how effective your physical therapy appointments are. In order to get the best recovery time possible, be sure that you know exactly what is expected from you for any home workouts, stretches, or restrictions, and you will want to be sure to honor those expectations as best you can!
How Long Do You Expect Me To Need Physical Therapy?
Your physical therapy timeline will be affected by a lot of various factors like how extreme your injury is, your age, how well you do your home stretches, and much more. Your physical therapist should be able to give you a general timeline on how long you will be needing physical therapy appointments, but you must be aware that this timeline can change due to a wide range of variables.
Will You Always Be Doing My Therapy?
You will want the same licensed physical therapist doing your hands-on therapy as much as possible. Obviously, situations can arise where you have to change your appointment or your therapist is out one week, but in general, you will want your standing scheduled appointment to be with the same therapist. Consistency is such an important part of your healing, and that includes consistency in your therapist.
Looking for more answer about what to expect from physical therapy, or trying to find a physical therapist near you? Contact Limitless Physical Therapy, a physical therapy clinic in San Marcos, to learn how we can help.
