There is a lot of talk - not lately, but always - about patient's not having long lasting effects from rehab.
- "I felt great while I was going, but once I stopped my pain came back. I don't want to go to PT for the rest of my life, so I guess this is just something I have to live with."
- "PT doesn't work, I got injured again."
- "None of the exercises I did at PT pertained to my life, so I stopped doing them.'
- "I just sat on ice/heat and stim for 20 minutes, did some exercises and went home."
......and the list goes on!
All of these statements yield the same results
The patient did not see the BENEFIT of PT, which led them to stop going to their appointments.
All of these statements have the same underlying problem
The patient was not EDUCATED properly during their evaluation and follow up sessions.
Education?! What do you mean??
Your Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) should be explaining almost everything that is happening during a treatment session and WHY! There is a reason behind everything we do, and the order in which we do it! You should have a full understanding of the "why" behind the manual treatment you are receiving and the "why" behind every single exercise you perform.
If you're unsure of anything - ASK WHY!!
There are never too many questions or any wrong questions. Your DPT is there to help you and educate you.
So why is education so important in Physical Therapy?
Education is the key to long term results.
If you know why you are
- correcting your posture at work
- doing a certain stretch/exercise at a specific time of day
- in need of a greater focus on posture vs. mobility vs. strengthening
- focusing on recovery (sleep, nutrition, active rest)
- whatever else your PT educates you on
Then you will be more likely to be compliant with your self care - how you take care of yourself when no one is watching, or telling you what to do. Long after you are discharged from PT.
If you can understand the why/the root to your pain, injury, discomfort, etc. Then wouldn't you make sure you do whatever you can to prevent that why?