What to Expect During Physical Therapy

While each patient's journey to recovery is different, a few things remain the same. During your visits, you'll work directly with your PT to stretch, lightly exercise, and learn about your pain. Between visits, you'll receive some stretches and exercises aimed to help you build strength and mobility before your next session. Ultimately, we're here to help you along your treatment, and to serve as a teacher, a guide, and a friend on your road to recovery.

Upon arrival at our office, you will meet your personal physical therapist who will work closely with you throughout your entire recovery process. You will be asked to fill out some basic paperwork (don't forget to bring in your prescription for physical therapy and any written information -- operative reports, X-ray and/or MRI results -- you have about your injury). The physical therapist consultant will then ask you a series of questions about your past and present medical conditions, before performing a comprehensive evaluation of your muscles, joints, nerves, tendons, and ligaments including range of motion, strength and functional testing. Based on your physician's diagnosis, our prognosis, and your personal goals, an individual treatment plan will be devised. You will receive treatment and home exercises on your first visit. Future appointments will also be scheduled.

We will customize a self-management program — comprised of advice on how to reduce your pain, exercises, and stretches — for you so that you can continue your rehabilitation process in between physical therapy sessions. It is essential that you follow the instructions and perform the home exercises regularly to control your symptoms and speed up your recovery.

Most patients are treated two to three times per week. The total duration of physical therapy will depend on the severity of your problem. The more committed you are to your recovery (meaning, you regularly attend your PT sessions), the more likely you are to recover faster. We try to set up permanent appointment times for you to help make scheduling consistent. We offer early morning and evening appointments in order to enable you to fit PT into your busy schedule.