Physical Therapy: What to Expect

Marathon training has picked up and your Achilles tendon has been bothering you on your long runs. Or maybe you played golf this weekend and your back has been sore ever since. Perhaps work has gotten busy and your neck has been sore for a week. Whether it’s a friend or your doctor, chances are, if you ask around, someone will suggest you see a physical therapist.

So what should you expect?

During your first visit your PT will work to understand your injury and develop a treatment plan. We will ask you questions about your pain or discomfort—when did it start, what makes it better, what makes it worse? We will ask you about your work and the things that you do for fun. Sure, we want to get to know you, but, more importantly, that info also helps us understand how to best help you and keep you as active as possible while you’re recovering.

We will watch you do certain movements and collect some information by taking measurements and conducting particular tests. Often we will even look at different areas of your body that may not seem to be related to your injury.

Once we feel like we have enough information to create your treatment plan, we will likely get started that first day by teaching you an exercise or two to work on until your next appointment.

You should expect to work with the same PT at each session. Occasionally, two PT’s will work together as a team during your course of treatment, but our goal is to maintain consistency from visit to visit, and we find this harder to accomplish when more than two PT’s are involved.

When you return for your first follow up visit, expect to get to work! Your PT will have developed a plan that may include a variety of manual therapy techniques (‘hands-on’ work) and will definitely include exercise. We might ask you to do some things that seem silly—feel free to ask us why. It is not uncommon to see our patients blowing up balloons during their appointments, or crawling across the gym mat. It’s actually fun and we laugh a lot! At each session we will check and recheck some of the same tests we performed on day one, to understand the effect of the treatments we have been providing.

When you leave our studio, you will be expected to do your homework. We will provide resources to help you remember your exercises and yes, we will know if you’re doing them. Patients who are active participants outside of the PT clinic almost always heal faster than those who aren’t. A physical therapist can’t make you better alone. Physical therapy is a team approach and we need your help!

How often you come to PT is part of the treatment plan that you and your therapist develop together. Among our patients, there is a wide range of plans that change over time (i.e. once per week, once every other week, twice per week, etc). There are several factors we consider when planning your PT schedule. From the rate of healing and the body’s adaptation to new activities, to being swamped at work or due to financial constraints, treatment schedules will be specifically recommended to fit your needs. However, you should expect to attend at least 3-5 sessions in order to get the full benefit of working with your PT.

Once you are back to your marathon training, out on the golf course, or are able to sit at your computer without neck pain, it’s probably time to graduate from physical therapy! Some of our patients choose to continue to work with their PT for exercise as part of one of our wellness programs while others reach out the next time they need us.

Let us know how we can help you stay as active as possible!