Physical therapy is often required to allow patients that have suffered extensive injuries to properly heal. The results from these therapy sessions can vary depending on the effort that is made by the patient.
Keep Notes About Your Condition
Prior to the start of the therapy sessions and during them, keeping extensive notes about your condition can be useful. These notes will make it easier to describe your condition to the physical therapist during the initial consultation.
Furthermore, they will allow you to easily remember any changes that you notice in your condition during the course of your treatment. If you are facing a situation where it is simply impossible to avoid exceeding these limits, you should proceed very carefully and be sure to stretch.
Avoid Exceeding Limitations On Your Activity
As part of your recovery, the physical therapist will issue activity limitations for you. Strictly adhering to these limitations is critical for avoiding potentially devastating setbacks in your treatment.
For example, it could be fairly easy to re-injure yourself or to damage new joints or muscles. During the course of your treatment, there will be days that you feel almost fully healed, and it may be tempting to try to exceed these limitations. Being aware of the sizable risk of re-injury may help you to resist these urges.
Wear Any Braces That Are Recommended
Supplementing the support for the area that is injured will be necessary for allowing the damage to heal as it will reduce the stress and strain on the muscles and joints. These braces and supports may not be very comfortable or stylish at first, but the benefits they provide make these issues worth enduring.
You will find that you are likely to adjust to the sensation of wearing these supports. If your supports become stretched or otherwise warped, you should have them replaced as soon as possible so that you can enjoy the appropriate amount of support.
Attend Every Physical Therapy Session
Skipping physical therapy sessions or stopping this treatment before it is finished are both common mistakes. Missing these sessions can allow the muscles to weaken since the last session. Stopping these sessions altogether can prevent a complete recovery. The results of this will include a compromised range of movement, strength and continuing pain.
Sadly, some of these side effects may not arise until weeks or months after prematurely stopping treatment. The risk for these problems is higher for those that exercise regularly or that have jobs that are physically demanding.
