Many patients enjoy the benefits that come from physiotherapy but aren’t sure how often they should be visiting their physiotherapist. Is once a month enough? Or is once a week warranted?
Your best bet is to talk with your physiotherapist about your treatment plan and the frequency of treatments that they recommend. Depending on the severity of your condition, the duration of your treatment, and whether or not you’re receiving any rehabilitation therapy, the answer to this question can change. For instance, people who have suffered from a major hip injury will usually need to see a physiotherapist more often than someone who’s had a minor injury.
Once you’ve met with your physiotherapist and established a treatment plan together, it’s important to stick with your scheduled treatments. Missing treatments can mean more pain and a longer recovery period for your injury. In fact, sticking to your scheduled treatment plan is one of the most important factors in your recovery.
Your Condition and Diagnosis
Your initial consultation with your physiotherapist is all about evaluating your condition and getting to know you better. Your physiotherapist may ask questions that help them understand how your symptoms affect you, like questions about your pain level, the intensity and frequency of your life activities, and any areas of concern you may have. Your physiotherapist will also test your strength and motor function skills to better understand what’s working well for you and what needs improvement. Finally, your physiotherapist will diagnose your condition and assess what limitations you’re experiencing.
Frequency of Your Physiotherapy Sessions
An initial evaluation and diagnosis is the first step in receiving physical therapy. Your therapist will most often start you off with two sessions per week, but after your initial assessment, they’ll have a better idea of what you need and what treatment areas to focus on. From there, they can provide an accurate recommendation for a treatment plan, goals that are achievable and realistic expectations for your recovery.
For more complex cases like post-surgery patients, or those with a high risk of complications, your physiotherapist may require three visits per week in order to better assess and monitor your progress. This also gives the physiotherapist an opportunity to alter the course of your treatment when necessary to ensure the best results possible.
Your physiotherapist will generally expect to see recovery progress after six to eight weeks of consistent treatments. They’ll often lessen the frequency of your treatments at that point so as not to discourage independent management of your condition and promote the habit of at-home exercises.
How Often Should You Be Doing Your Exercises?
Your physiotherapist will advise you about how often you should be exercising. Their instructions will depend on the purpose, frequency and intensity of the exercise(s) they recommend. Exercises with a low load or intensity (i.e., exercises that aren’t about working to your full capacity) can be carried out every day, and some may even be done twice a day.
When performing mobility exercises such as stretches, which don’t take the body to its full capacity, most people will find they can perform these exercises more than once per week without much risk of injury, as long as rest days between workouts are maintained. However, it’s when we work our muscles hard at their maximum capacity where the magic really happens: this is actually when muscles grow and strength develops!
However, pushing yourself too hard or striving for progress without providing rest periods won’t hasten your recovery, and may actually hinder it after an extended period. For instance, weight training exercises for building muscular strength should only happen once or twice per week at most. Explosive, dynamic exercises may be performed once or twice weekly as well, in order to give your muscles time to recover between workouts.
Maintaining Your Treatment Plan
While physiotherapy has a proven, scientific track record of success, up to seventy percent of patients never complete their full course of care. Some of the barriers they experience include pain during treatment or exercise, a lack of positive feedback, or a lack of confidence that the treatment process will produce good results. That’s why it’s so important to set realistic expectations with your physiotherapist and create a plan together that you feel comfortable and confident with. The rewards of sticking with your treatment plan to the end will be relieved pain and a higher quality of life. Body Works physios’ are committed not only to helping you get back on your feet, but also giving you all the tools you need for doing so!
Wrap up
Body Works Physiotherapy is a physiotherapy clinic specializing in on-demand services. Not only will you receive the help of a certified therapist who’s dedicated to bringing you meaningful relief, but you’ll also enjoy more flexibility throughout your sessions and during the planning process. That means your therapist will see you for your scheduled sessions whenever it’s most convenient for you. Contact Body Works Physiotherapy today so we can arrange an appointment with one of our physiotherapists and get you started on the road to better living today!
