Congrats—you’re on the road to recovery! You have a physical therapist to help you heal and a home exercise program to strengthen you and improve your mobility. After a couple of days, though, things aren’t going too well. You’re busy, and the commitment to your home exercises begins to wane. Your road to recovery has taken a serious detour.
If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Up to 65% of patients fail to adhere to their home exercise program. In a study on this topic, researchers discovered three main reasons why patients failed to comply:
Even if these (or other) factors are holding you back, you can overcome them and finish your treatment. It’s all about consistency—having a time of day, location, or event that allows you to get your exercises done. Schedule it in your calendar, and set an alert on your phone.
James Clear, the bestselling author of Atomic Habits, lists three ways to make exercise a habit:
The exercises your physical therapist recommends may make you feel a little sore. That’s to be expected since you’re asking your body to do new movements. You may think the exercise is not what your body needs, but the opposite is true. It’s just that your PT has likely found your weakness and/or your imbalances, and has designed a home exercise program to correct these.
Completing your home exercise program is essential to healing. On-demand physical therapy can help improve your adherence because your PT can design a program that is based on your actual environment, rather than one that is simulated in a clinic. If your doctor has recommended PT or you would like to seek one yourself, consider on-demand physical therapy from Luna. We’re here to serve!