Debunking Nine Excuses People Use to Avoid Physical Therapy

Trained therapists in physical therapy (PT) carry out evaluations and diagnoses for abnormal motor function regarding injuries, disabilities, or chronic conditions.  A client-tailored physical therapy program aids patients in returning to their pre-injury quality of life, preventing further damage, and improving their overall sense of health and wellbeing. 

Studies, however, show that 14% percent of clients fail to return for follow-up therapy (Jack,2010). These failures to follow up are usually fueled by myths and misconceptions clients have about physical therapy. The length of time for recovery, associated pain, and mental stress act as barriers to follow-up. This usually results in the clients coming up with excuses to avoid it in general. This article poses to debunk some of the excuses associated with avoidance of Physical Therapy.

One of the excuses has to do with the clients opting to manage the pain while waiting for it to go away. This essentially leads to stress on the body and the return of pain later if it indeed subsides. Secondary issues may also arise as further injury may occur. And most importantly, it usually never works and the pain lingers on.  In the long run, this may affect the quality of life and general outcomes in terms of the wellbeing of the client.  Instead of wishing the pain away, find a qualified physical therapist near you and start treatment

Our qualified therapist, Alex Klurfeld, utilizes quite an array of techniques to help people with their motor functions. These may include postural training, walking techniques, manual techniques, water therapy and so much more. These techniques, as mentioned earlier, are new and patient-tailored.  These modalities have been developed through years of experience and research as the field of physical therapy is constantly evolving.

Physiotherapy is an affordable though long-term alternative method as compared to injections, medications, or surgery. Comparative studies comparing usual care (surgery or medications) with physical therapy states that physical therapy is usually more cost-effective when started early. Alex Klurfeld offers a range of therapy that is sure not to break our clients’ banks while providing excellent results.

Though it might seem common, physical therapy is not only recommended after surgery or injury. It can be a stand-alone therapy as it has a role in physical and motor dysfunction. Some of the dysfunctions it is used in also include bad posture and balance, unexplained pains and aches, injuries resulting from overuse, and walking difficulties. As stated above, physical therapy helps to prevent further damage while offering rehabilitation from the current dysfunction. 

A common myth in physical therapy entails meeting multiple times in a week, usually and for long hours for each session, usually over a long period. It is also assumed that the exercise therapy takes long hours to complete. That, however, is not the case, as Alex employs a personalized approach tailored to the clients’ needs. A program for home therapy is also drafted to reduce contact time with a therapist and ensure a convenient and applicable program.

Most people doubt the clinical efficacy of physical therapy; they will instead opt for surgery or take medicines. Physical therapy, however, reduces the need for surgeries, medications, or injections, especially in injuries that involve the knee, hip, back, and shoulder. Physical therapy also boasts of a better safety profile than other methods, devoid of operative complications in the case of surgery and adverse drug events in the case of medications. At Alex Klurfeld’s, there is an excellent success percentage in handling quite a variety of movement dysfunction.

Some physical therapy (PT) patients refer to PT as “Pain and Torture.” This is a misnomer, however. The goal of physical therapy is not to cause pain, but to return people to their proper movement patterns. This goal can only be reached by reducing or eliminating pain. We utilize manual techniques and pain-free exercise strategies to achieve lasting changes and results in terms of improved movement and activity tolerance.  If you find that your pain is intolerable and increasing after physical therapy, tell your physical therapist.  Successful physical therapy depends on open and honest communication between you and your PT.

At Alex Klurfeld’s, we have seasoned therapists with years of post-graduation experience who are experts in handling musculoskeletal challenges that result in pain and reduced mobility. We combine a wide variety of methods that show excellent results in client outcomes.   Alex Klurfeld has developed physical therapy techniques that are based upon both time-honored and proven modalities along with his own experience as a leading physical therapist for more than twenty years.   That kind of expertise is not something that you can replicate on your own.    Often patients that try to rehabilitate their own injuries end up further injuring themselves.  The body is complicated.   To properly and safely treat it through physical therapy, a person must have a thorough and complete understanding of its systems and how they interact together.  For example, if you strengthen and build the major muscles in your arms and chest but fail to strengthen the smaller muscle groups that support those muscles, you can injure your back or lower abdomen.  Only a well-trained professional can know these details.

Alex Klurfeld is your go-to therapist who is well-versed in managing a variety of pain and thus can address chronic pain. We offer a variety of techniques in our facilities, both in the form of hand movements and exercises which tackle the pain.   Physical therapists are trained on techniques to help patients manage the pain better without increasing medications.  Patients with chronic pain can trust their physical therapist to listen to their needs and address them in a safe and effective manner.

• Calner, T, Isaksson, G et al. (2021)Physiotherapy treatment experiences of persons with persistent musculoskeletal pain: A qualitative study, Physiotherapy Theory, and Practice, 37:1, 28-37, DOI: 10.1080/09593985.2019.1622162
• Jack, K., McLean, S et al. (2010). Barriers to treatment adherence in physiotherapy outpatient clinics: a systematic review. Manual therapy, 15(3), 220–228. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.math.2009.12.004
• Pinnacle (2019) The Top Excuses PT Patients Make [online] Available at: https://pinnaclephysicaltherapy.org/blog/2019/6/3/the-top-10-excuses-pt-patients-make
• Rhon, D., Fritz, J. COMParative Early Treatment Effectiveness between physical therapy and usual care for low back pain (COMPETE): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Trials16, 423 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-015-0959-8
• van de Graaf VA, van Dongen JM, Willigenburg NW, et al. (2018) How do the costs of physical therapy, and arthroscopic partial meniscectomy compare? A trial-based economic evaluation of two treatments in patients with meniscal tears alongside the
• ESCAPE studyBr J Sports Med . doi:10.1136/ bjsports-2018-100065