3 Mistakes to Avoid When You're Doing Physical Therapy

Posted on: 1 May 2019

If you have undergone surgery for a knee repair, hip replacement, sports injury, or shoulder injury, you will most likely have to complete physical therapy. Following surgery, physical therapy plays a very important role in your recovery and will help restore your mobility, range of motion, and strength. While you may do a little bit of work with a physical therapist in the hospital after surgery, you most likely will not begin physical therapy in earnest until your surgeon clears you and refers you to a physical therapist. If you need physical therapy following a surgery, avoid making these common mistakes:

Missing Physical Therapy Sessions

Depending on the type of surgery you had and your current physical condition, you may require a lot of physical therapy. Your surgeon and physical therapist will determine how many sessions you need each week, and how long each session should be. If you have been scheduled for a certain number of physical therapy sessions each week, it is absolutely essential to attend every session. Skipping a session or missing multiple physical therapy sessions can drastically set back your healing and make your recovery much longer. Your best bet is to ensure that your physical therapy sessions are scheduled for a time that is convenient for you so you can attend every session.

Not Making an Effort

Physical therapy sessions may not always be fun, especially the early sessions. Some exercises and stretches may be uncomfortable or require you to really push yourself. While you may not enjoy every aspect of physical therapy, you need to trust that your physical therapist is doing what is best for you and your recovery. It is never a good idea to show up for a physical therapy session and not put forth your best effort—doing so is wasting your time, as well as your physical therapist's time. Always make it a point to show up for each therapy session motivated and ready to work hard.

Failure to Do Exercises at Home

During your physical therapy sessions, your physical therapist will work with you on a number of different exercises that are designed to help the area of your body that was operated on. While you will need to put in a lot of work during each session, your physical therapist will also ask you to perform certain exercises at home on a daily basis. The purpose of performing these exercises at home is to help promote healing. If you fail to do your at-home exercises, it will take much longer to make a full recovery. 

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