Ways to Make Your Physical Therapist's Job Easier

Physical therapy is a very beneficial process that helps to manage a myriad of issues in many unique ways. But you've never been to a therapist before, and you're worried that you won't know what to do. Thankfully, working with a physical therapist in Marion, Cedar Rapids, and Hiawatha, Iowa like us at Rec Center Physical Therapy, isn't hard if you know what to do. If you follow the tips outlined below, you should be able to make your therapist's job much easier to handle. And you'll also cause this type of therapy to go much more straightforward for yourself as well.

The first way to make your therapist's job more comfortable is to know what to bring to your appointment. You don't have to bring a lot of items, mind you, but if you forget some, you may end up struggling to get through your therapy. There's even a good chance that you could end up not being able to pay and getting stuck with a bill that you have to pay on or which you'll have to work with your insurance to cover later.

First of all, you'll need a prescription from your doctor for physical therapy. This element should be a small piece of paper that describes our need for a physical therapist. Although some states don't require this type of prescription, a majority of them do. As a result, it is essential to make sure that you pay attention to this facet and bring a prescription, anyway, just in case you end up getting stuck with a doctor who won't take you on because they cannot.

You should also make sure to bring all of your insurance information to ensure that your therapist understands how you are paying for therapy. If you don't have insurance, bring your tax returns or a check stub from work to showcase your financial situation. Some therapists may work out a sliding-scale fee for your payment. And make sure to wear comfortable clothing and tennis shoes to ensure that you are relaxed as you work.

Once you bring in all of your paperwork and present them to your physical therapist, they take the time to check into the problem plaguing you thoroughly. They will receive information from you, from your doctor, and from their own examination to get an idea of what approach may work. At this point, it is very important to listen to what the therapist says to ensure that you don't make any care mistakes.

You may, understandably, find it hard to understand many of the medical terms that the therapist will use for your condition. They will take a lot about various ligaments, muscles, tendons, and other parts of the body that may be injured. Many people start to lose focus during this point of their therapy, which is a problem because it can affect how well their treatment works.

So make sure that you pay as much attention as possible and ask questions when you have them. Don't assume that your issue is silly – your therapist knows that you aren't a specialist and wants you to understand things as much as possible. By asking questions, you also give them an idea of your understanding and make it easier for them to come up with an approach that works for your needs.

When your physical therapist creates your treatment plan, they are going to go over a myriad of different elements. These include assessing your pain points, the capabilities you possess around that point, challenges that may affect your care, and ultimate goals that they hope to achieve with your care. They will create a detailed plan that you can read to get a better idea of what to expect here.

For example, they'll showcase your short- and long-term goals in a way that makes sense and which helps you understand what they want to achieve. Often, short-term goals are centered around concepts such as increasing the capability of your injured area and minimizing your pain. Long-term goals are usually focused on eliminating pain entirely and restoring the full range of motion to your body.

And as you work on these steps together, you're going to experience some challenges and difficulties that may make it hard for you to proceed. Don't try to fight through this pain because it can sometimes indicate more severe problems. Instead, let your therapist know about these issues and talk about them in a way that makes sense. Doing so can help redirect your therapy, if needed, and protect your body.

Lastly, you need to make sure that you pay attention to the limitations that your therapist puts on your activities. Too many people try to work outside of these limitations and find themselves suffering from relapses. For example, you may have injured your knee playing hockey and want to get back on the ice. After a few weeks of therapy, you try to play hockey, even though your therapist said you shouldn't.

Unfortunately, you slip and fall and injure your knee, this time much worse than the first problem you suffered. Such incidents happen all the time and drive even the calmest physical therapist into anger. They work hard to try to enhance the lives of their clients and watching them ignore good advice and injure themselves again upsets them and sometimes makes them want to stop working with a person.

So please pay attention to what your therapist says and follow their advice to the letter. They aren't telling you to take it easy because they want to limit you but because they want to protect you. This step has a two-fold benefit. You not only make your therapist's job easier by ensuring that you don't come back with an injury but also protect yourself at the same time. That's a win-win as far as we are concerned.

As you can see, making things easier for the best physical therapist Marion, Cedar Rapids, and Hiawatha, Iowa have to offer isn't a significant challenge. And doing so not only helps you enhance the success of your treatments but also makes things easier for you as well. So please don't hesitate to reach out to us at Rec Center Physical Therapy to learn more. Our therapists have years of experience in the field and will work hard to ensure that you are satisfied with the results that they achieve for you.