Importance of a Home Exercise Program
Importance of a Home Exercise Program
Finding the time to complete a home exercise program can be a daunting task and often get put on the back burner, but completing exercises at home is just as important as coming to therapy. It is not feasible for children to come to therapy 4-5 times a week. That is why a program completed at home every day is so important. Whether it is PT, OT, or ST the exercises prescribed are the ones the therapist believes are most beneficial to the child’s progress. While therapy appointments are very critical, being seen only 1-2 times a week is not enough for a patient to make progress and recover quickly.
Currently, it is estimated that only 35% of patients are performing their home exercise program regularly. What does this mean for the other 65% of patients? It means that they will unfortunately experience longer plans of care, longer periods of time in pain, limitations in activities of daily living, difficulty in school, slower time returning to function, and greater monetary expenses.
U.S. News released an article in August of 2015 outlining 4 ways to stick to a physical therapy home exercise program. These 4 strategies can be used between all disciplines (PT, OT, ST), and are a great tool to help keep you and your child on track. First it is important to find a purpose by creating a goal to work towards. You also need to be honest, and let your therapist know if you did not work on the home program. This way you and the therapist can sit down and figure out why it is not getting done and create a better strategy together. Having the appropriate strategy for what works best for you and your family will help make completing your home exercise program easier. For more tips and tricks visit this website http://health.usnews.com/health-news/patient-advice/articles/2015/08/31/4-ways-to-stick-to-your-physical-therapy-homework
-Matthew D’Antonio, PT, DPT
Pediatric Physical Therapist
