A home exercise program is often given to a patient after one of their first few sessions. It consists of exercises that the physical therapist believes with help increase recovery and decrease pain, and is often updated every few sessions. Although it may seem unnecessary at first, performing your exercise program can be incredible beneficial to shortening your recovery time and getting you out of pain quicker. Below are a few reasons why the home program is more important than you might think:
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OWNERSHIP. Performing a program while at home will help you take ownership of your injury. Taking ownership of your injury can also help you take control of your overall health, and lead to more positive health choices. The goal of a physical therapist should be to make you as independent as possible, and show you the tools necessary to take care of your body.
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ACCOUNTABILITY. Similar to taking ownership, having accountability will show how dedicated you are to improving your condition and getting back to what you love. This will also give insight into overall prognosis and recovery time. It also holds your PT accountable and helps them continue to update your program as your plan of care evolves.
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PROGRESSION. Even in a 1:1 setting, there is only so much you can accomplish in one visit, which makes the remaining 23 hours each day even more important. This is time where you can capitalize on improvements made during your session. Less time spent performing your home program at your session, means more time continuing to make improvements with an updated and progressed plan of care.
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TIME. Most home programs are simple exercises that don’t require much time or equipment, but can have a huge impact on your pain, motion, and strength. Spending the time to perform your exercises at home can lead to LESS time experiencing pain and discomfort, and MORE time doing what you love.
At Iron Health, we give individualized home programs to each patient. Giving you some exercises to perform at home allows us to spend more time working with you hands on, and gives us time to perform harder exercises here where supervision/coaching might be required for proper technique and performance.
Disclaimer: If you continue to experience unbearable, reoccurring pain, be sure to schedule an appointment with your physician or join our physical therapy family and allow us to help you regain function.
Iron Health is located in Briarcliff Manor and the greater Westchester NY area; our neighboring towns include Chappaqua, Mount Kisco, Tarrytown, Irvington and Pleasantville.
If you have any questions, fill out a Discovery Session form and we will contact you as soon as possible.
