The prospect of heading to a physical therapy clinic for rehabilitation can be a bit intimidating, especially because you may not know what to expect at this first session. At OrthoRehab Specialists, we want to put your mind at ease and get you excited to begin your journey to a stronger and healthier you. At your first session, we set out to accomplish three specific things that will help guide you on your way to wellness. We explore those three objectives we’ll accomplish at your first physical therapy session in today’s blog.
Guiding You Through Your First Physical Therapy Session
We want you to leave physical therapy feeling accomplished, and that begins the moment you walk through our doors for your first session. In order to help you feel like you’re making progress with your rehab, there are three things we’ll work to accomplish at this very first meeting. Here’s what we’ll accomplish at your first PT session:
- Baseline Conversation– We’ll take a look at your physical issue during the session, but first we want to hear from you. We’ll start by reviewing any medical documentation that has been provided and have a conversation with each client about their condition and why they are seeking out physical therapy. If you’re an athlete working to overcome an injury or you’re getting used to a new artificial knee, we want to learn more about your strengths, weaknesses and your overall experience with whatever is facing you. No two injuries or surgeries are ever exactly the same, so sitting down with the client and really getting to learn more about them and their condition is the best way to get the ball rolling on their rehab program. Once we’ve talked with you and learned more about you and your injury, it’s onto the next stage – the physical assessment.
- Physical Assessment– Next, we’ll put your body through some simple baseline tests and movement screens. This gives us a basic understanding of your physical function and the challenges you’re currently facing. We’ll assess for strength, flexibility, range of motion, balance, posture, proprioception and more. If you’re struggling with any of these movements, have no fear, as that is to be expected. After all, if you could easily perform all the movements we’re asking you to do, you wouldn’t need physical therapy! We’ll be with you every step of the way, learning more about your capabilities and areas of focus, so know that we’re gleaning information to help with your rehab even if you can’t perform the exercise as you would like.
- Goals and Individualized Plan –The final thing that we’ll work to accomplish during your first session is to cultivate the first stage of your individualized rehabilitation plan. Now that we know about your physical strengths and limitations, we can develop a personalized rehabilitation program that will target your areas of need. Of course, we can only truly do this by having another conversation with you about your goals. Are you trying to restore as much function as possible in an artificial joint? Are you hoping to return to the court before the end of your senior season? Do you simply want to be able to get back to specific physical activities you love without discomfort? We want to learn more about your life and what you hope to get out of physical therapy so that we can chart a course for you to accomplish these goals. We’ll do this by developing an in-clinic session plan and likely give you an abbreviated PT program that you’ll perform from the comfort of your home between in-person sessions. We expect that you’ll walk out of your first session with a clear understanding of what’s expected and an idea of how you’ll accomplish all the goals you’ve set for yourself.
Let us make your first physical therapy session a positive and worthwhile experience. To set up your first session, or for answers to any questions you have about the process, reach out to the team at OrthoRehab Specialists today at (612) 339-2041.