Rehabilitation and physical therapy are relatively painful processes.
Everyone starts with joy, anticipating the end result, but the path towards it requires discipline and regularity.
Especially at the point where the patient ceases to be a patient, but must continue the rehabilitation program at home for reasons of empowerment, prevention, or reintegration into everyday life, things seem to deviate from the original plan.
Below you will find 8 tips that will help you stay within the plan your therapist has set, whether in the treatment center or (even more importantly) at home where you don’t have the supervision and motivation.
1. Believe in the physical therapy plan
Your physical therapist, as expected, gave you a series of exercises and ergonomic corrections that you should incorporate into your daily routine for a short or longer period of time.
You just have to show faith and trust in this plan.
The physical therapist is an expert in movement analysis and has given you exercises, not to make you suffer, but to ensure that your efforts translate into a permanent state of full functionality.
Think about it and believe in your therapist’s efforts.
2. Ensure that you fully understand your physiotherapist’s instructions
Your full understanding of the recovery plan is crucial.
When you know why you are doing a specific exercise, how it will help you, and what results you expect in the long term, everything is easier and more conscious.
Also make sure you fully understand the technique or way in which you were asked to perform a movement or exercise.
Of course, this part is mainly the job of your therapist. He or she should clearly show you what exactly he or she wants, and it’s good to have a plan printed out for you to follow.
It would be even better if he could send you the exercises electronically so that you can see the exact exercises and their technique on video.
Your responsibility here is to express all your questions and request as much information as you can.
3. Put the …plan in a shot
The physiotherapist will ask you to perform a series of exercises or techniques 2-3 times a day. The best way to respond to this without stress is to plan.
Time the plan you have been given and create 2-3 fixed time frames throughout the day to carry it out.
Don’t leave it “to chance” or “whenever it’s convenient” or “a little later” because you will likely break the plan and soon frustration will lead you to giving up.
The 3 strategies are:
a) wake up 30 minutes earlier and do your exercises
b) do them immediately after returning from work and definitely before sitting down “for just 5 minutes”
c) 30 minutes before bed, a routine that will give you a more restful and enjoyable sleep.
4. Get your family or loved ones involved in the game
If you absolutely need motivation or supervision, ask for it from your near and dear ones.
Explain to them the purpose, frequency, and importance of the treatment plan and ask for support and reminders when things are not going as you have imagined in the area of ’commitment to the plan’.
Do you want your people to benefit too? Suggest doing the exercises together.
This will give you even more motivation. If you think it will help, ask your therapist to train a loved one to supervise your technique, duration, and adherence to your home rehabilitation program.
5. Set goals
Goal setting is an extremely beneficial process.
Set small goals and set some bigger long-term goals as well.
Reward yourself every time you achieve a small goal and make the recovery plan feel like a game.
Ask your therapist to set realistic and measurable goals for you.
6. Be patient.
Patience is a virtue and this is also true for recovery.
Patients are most often in a hurry and the most common mistake (and main cause of reinjury) is returning to activities without completing the physical therapy plan.
Rehabilitation is a process that usually takes a considerable amount of time and requires a gradual return to activities.
Follow the treatment plan faithfully and you will be rewarded in the future with full and safe functionality.
7. Stay active
The body is made for movement.
It is important to stay active and vibrant, and the recovery plan will give you the right incentives to do so.
Patients who, after the end of passive treatments and the removal of pain, chose the absence of movement from their lives, visit therapists again and again.
The rehabilitation plan given to you by your physical therapist is the guarantee that you will remain active and mobile when you return home.
Ask your therapist which sports activities are safe and start immediately.
Walking, swimming, cycling, rowing, running and so many other activities are waiting for you to discover.
8. Long-term prevention
The rehabilitation plan that you are asked to follow is also your legacy for prevention and treatment of future discomfort.
On the one hand, perhaps all this activation under the guidance of a therapist will become a good habit for you and you will integrate it into your daily life.
On the other hand, whenever you have similar discomfort, you may be able to prevent the worst by referring to the exercise and ergonomics plan that was given to you, preventing the total return of pain and dysfunction.
It is to your benefit to implement the plan and educate yourself on it, ensuring that your investment, both in effort and money, will have long-term value and return.
What do we do in Biofeedback?
Biofeedback provides an exercise plan or ergonomic correction plan for the home and everyday life in all cases where it is required.
Ensuring therapeutic results after the end of the sessions is of utmost importance to us and for this reason we have invested in the online program Physiotec by Kinetic Control.
The therapist sends patients the entire exercise program with detailed descriptions and video demonstrations of the techniques after the sessions are over.
Our therapists are always available for questions, suggestions or exercise retraining.
Additionally, our treatment center operates therapeutic exercise classes based on Pilates, which are supervised by a specialized physiotherapist and are separated so that all participants have similar problems and needs.
Do you have any questions? Ask us at 210-4829303 or send an email with your questions to info@bioanadrasis.com
Morochliadis Stefanos
Physiotherapist Bcs, MT, RT, Formthotics specialist
