How Often Should I Attend Physical Therapy?

More often than not, many patients who begin physical therapy sessions or even other therapy sessions begin to wonder how long such a process is meant to last and when they can officially back out and get back to their lives. Because let's face it, "sometimes therapy seemingly gets in the way of our day," as quoted by Dr. Alex Klurfeld, a physical therapy specialist.

There is no one fixed or outright definition of the number of times you need to see a physical therapist or even its necessity. The subject of frequency and necessity is dependent on a variety of factors. However, one of the major determining factors that can help you decide whether you need to or how often you need to see a physical therapist is centered on understanding what a physical therapist does and how it concerns or is beneficial to you.

 Physical therapists are licensed healthcare providers who are movement experts trained to improve quality of life through prescribed exercises, patient education, and hands-on care. While many of the patients who seek treatment from physical therapists have health conditions such as disabilities, injuries, and others, people who want to invest in their physical and active heath also engage their services. Physical therapists treat patients of all ages. This spans from babies to the elderly.

So does this mean you will have to make an appointment with a physical therapist in your lifetime?  Not necessarily. As mentioned earlier, the physical therapy profession attends to a particular group of people with an inclination towards achieving fitness goals, maintaining the needed energy to live their active lives. They also treat clinical aspects such as reducing or managing pain, preventing disability, or restoring function to disabled or disorderly parts of the body.

Due to the variant nature of their work, and the various areas in which they specialize, physical therapists are found in several places such as hospitals, sports and fitness centers, private homes, nursing homes, and even workplaces. Now the nature and the conditions of the work of physical therapists often necessitates they stay with their patients or clients for some time. 

To ensure ultimate productivity in such relationships, treatment plans are created to measure key performance indicators (KPIs) and the achievement of milestones set in the treatment. The timespan for these treatment plans is not set in stone because the conditions and clients or patients vary. Some people require weeks of treatments, while others may last through months and even years.

Like every profession, physical therapists have some bad apples amongst them. Some may swindle their clients into unnecessarily more extended treatment plans so that they can milk them of their money and other resources. However, there are always professional and patient-centered ones like Dr. Alex Klurfeld. They are faithful to their professional responsibility of remaining accountable and keeping the code of integrity in their line of work. 

It is essential to engage the right physical therapist who will have the time and patience to educate you on the nature of your condition or required service and the length of its treatment plan. They should also explain to you the importance of why such a step is recommended. When trust and understanding are established, it goes a long way to ensure patient compliance and makes the journey bearable, even fun. Dr. Alex Klurfeld comes highly recommended in that regard.

Usually, the continued visits and need for physical therapy will depend on factors such as:

1. The diagnosis of your condition

2. Your physician's recommendation of frequency of therapy visits

3. Your therapist's individualized plan of care for your treatment

4. Seeking professional help in maintaining an active life

5. Your progress during therapy

These factors come together to influence how long and how successful your visit to the physical therapist will be. It is important to emphasize that finding the right physical therapist to work with is vital to prevent wasted time and even worsen your condition.

The right physical therapist conducts follow-ups on therapy sessions to ensure your holistic recovery or improvement. During these follow-ups, all activities and strategies should be recorded. And all assessments should be made every four weeks to ascertain how well you are responding to the treatment. It is wise not to be quick to quit your physical therapy before your treatment plan is completed. It is important to schedule these follow-up appointments to ensure the prevention of re-injuries and continued corrective treatment.

While every patient's goal for going through physical therapy is different, some of the key indicators you might want to look out for in measuring how well you are responding to the treatment includes improved joint motion range, balance, flexibility, and strength. 

According to research, the duration needed to ensure successful recovery of malfunction and disorder in your musculoskeletal system's strength and range of motion in accidents or surgeries is 2-3 visits to your physical therapists per week.

The irony of being inconsistent or skipping your physical therapy sessions is that you end up prolonging your recovery time. What you were running from will start running after you. To make things worse, you slow down your recovery significantly and increase the risk of deteriorating your condition. 

It is dangerous to self-diagnose or adopt a treatment plan from the internet. What may work for one person may not work for another person. It is important to follow medical or professional advice even in therapy, no matter how tempting it is to quit. 

Most of these issues arise from the poor relationship between the patient/client and the physical therapist. The physical therapist bears the professional responsibility of making the recovery process as easy and convenient to comply with as possible. Dr. Alex Klurfeld is one of such few physical therapists able to do that. 

• "Becoming a Physical Therapist." APTA. Accessed October 6, 2021. https://www.apta.org/your-career/careers-in-physical-therapy/becoming-a-pt. 
• "How Many Days a Week Should You Do Physical Therapy?" Pace Physical Therapy. Accessed October 6, 2021. https://paceptclinic.com/patient-information/how-many-days-a-week-should-you-do-physical-therapy/. 
• "How Often Do I Need to See a Physical Therapist?" Spine and Sports Medicine, December 12, 2015. https://www.spineandsports.com/often-see-physical-therapist/. 
• Tavel, Rachel. "How to Know When You Should See a Physical Therapist." SELF, June 1, 2019. https://www.self.com/story/how-to-know-when-you-should-see-a-physical-therapist.