Benefits of a physical therapy home exercise program
Home exercises are key to your successful recovery
Plumas Physical Therapy is in business for one reason: your rehabilitation. Whether you’ve had surgery or suffered an injury, we’re here to help you with your recovery.
Your doctor has told our therapists about your condition and about how long your physical therapy should last. Your doctor also may have outlined a timeline for any limitations on your PT.
After your first PT session, your therapist will give you some home-based exercises. A home exercise program will help you heal and get your life back.
What is HEP?
Your therapist will assign you a set of exercises, called a home exercise program (HEP). The exercises are chosen with your particular situation in mind. Your therapist will show you how to do the exercises, tell you how many repetitions of each exercise and how often to do them.
For best results, you should be doing your exercises three to five days a week, but follow your therapist’s instructions.
Do your exercises
Consistently following your home-based exercise program will speed up your post-op recovery or post-injury rehabilitation. Typically, we’ll see you in our clinic for an hour twice a week. Part of your follow-up appointments includes the home exercises you’ve been given so that your therapist can check your progress.
HEP has been proven to improve outcomes. Home exercises help build your strength and flexibility. In turn, you’ll notice increased mobility. Home-based exercises build your muscle memory and your confidence.
Your road to recovery will be smoother and shorter if you do your exercises.
Perfect practice makes perfect
Pay close attention to how you do your exercises. During your first visit and throughout your follow-up appointments, your therapist will coach you on the correct technique. To avoid further injury, it’s important to stick to the method you’ve been taught. You’ll avoid reinjury if you do.
More is not necessarily better
Most people in PT think more exercise is a good thing. Pain-free, you may have decided that 10 or 20 repetitions three times a day are too easy. Don’t simply decide to double your repetitions. You run a real risk of re-injury. Wait for your next appointment and talk to your therapist about increasing your repetitions.
There’s really no excuse
Our therapists know if you’ve been naughty. Sometimes our patients say they are too busy or tired or in too much pain to do their exercises. It’s very likely that your recovery will stall out if you skip your home exercises. If you take the time now, you’ll be better faster. If you’re experiencing pain when you’re exercising, give us a call.
Conclusion
Studies show that patients who stick to their home exercise programs see long-term and sustainable improvement in their PT outcomes. Whether it’s your mobility, gait, balance, lumbar or joint pain, you can expect Plumas Physical Therapy will live up to our motto, “We get results.”
If you’re ready to get your life back, call us for an appointment at (530) 283-2202. We’ll get you on the road to recovery.
