Depending on the grade of the strain, physical therapy can help you fully recover within a few weeks. However, patients with severe strains may need long physical therapy to return to typical activity.
Muscle can take up to two to four weeks. Tendon can take up to four to six weeks. Bone can take up to six to eight weeks. Ligaments can take up to ten to twelve weeks.
Take Notes
While it is normal to experience pain after the treatment, the pain should subside after 24 to 48 hours. Write down how you feel after the physical therapy session, clearly describing the discomfort, soreness, or pain.
Performing Exercises On Your Own
You also increase the risk of suffering from certain medical complications. For the treatment to be effective, we highly recommend performing these exercises around 3 to 5 times a week for 2 to 3 weeks.
A typical order for physical therapy will ask for 2-3 visits per week for 4-6 weeks. Sometimes the order will specify something different. What generally happens is for the first 2-3 weeks, we recommend 3x per week. This is because it will be the most intensive portion of your treatment.
While your recovery is heavily influenced by your strength and mobility, it is still possible to overdo it if you aren't careful. Your physical therapist will talk to you about ways to balance physical therapy exercises and activities with proper amounts of rest.
Rest days are an important part of any exercise program. They give the body a chance to repair and recover, and help to prevent injury. A person should plan to have at least one rest day every 7–10 days.
The number one reason physical therapy treatment doesn't work is when there's pain that is sharp, electrical, or burning that never goes away, according to ProHealth Physical Therapy and Pilates Studio Founder, Dr. Karyn Staples, PT Ph.
In many cases, when doing exercises prescribed by your physical therapist, the more sessions you can fit in, the better your treatment results will be. There may be circumstances where that's not the case, but in general, daily sessions will give you additional benefits over less frequent sessions.
After finishing physical therapy, you should be significantly stronger than when you began and be left with plenty of exercises to continue your journey. Make sure you stay on the right track by continuing to strengthen your body. Take that gym membership off hold, sign up to work with a trainer or take some classes.
– Your muscles are contracting and relaxing more often which can lead to tiredness; – Or, you could be feeling tired because of an increase in movement around a joint. Regardless of why fatigue is happening after physiotherapy, it's still a good sign!
Your PT will walk you through specific stretches and exercises that are meant to help you move and feel better. You might use state-of-the-art equipment, or simple workout equipment like bikes and treadmills. Your PT will oversee all the exercises that you do during your session.
For patients who delay physical therapy, their injuries and symptoms often become worse and may be more difficult and/or more expensive to treat. In fact, patients can experience permanent nerve damage, reduced range of motion, and other complications when physical therapy is delayed or declined.
Discomfort and soreness are to be expected, because physical therapy, in order to work, must train your body. This is the same principle that applies when building strength through exercising or working out. The muscles must experience a certain amount of stress, which can lead to irritation and soreness.
The short answer is no. Physical therapy should not be painful. It's not unusual to feel hesitant—or even nervous—about physical therapy. After all, a complete stranger is about to start poking around the part of your body that's already causing you pain and discomfort.
Here are some common and healthy side effects that you may experience during your physical therapy treatments: Muscle soreness. Mild joint soreness. Muscle stiffness.
It's always best to listen to the advice of your physio but generally, exercises should initially be performed 2-3 times per day for 5 minutes each time. This amount of repetition allows the muscles to develop the “memory” they need to perform their role.
Depending on your goals, starting point, and physical ability, one personal training session can be enough, although 1-3 personal training sessions per week is recommended. For those new to exercise, 2-3 personal training sessions per week is recommended to ensure that you develop proper form and a sustainable routine.
After about six to eight weeks of consistent treatments and seeing progress, your PT will likely recommend that the frequency be lessened to one visit a week. This encourages the independent management of your condition and promotes the habit of at-home exercises.
It's quite common for a physical therapist to prescribe various stretching exercises to individuals suffering from chronic pain conditions. Stretching takes on special importance when you've become less mobile due to issues such as osteoarthritis.
The short answer is — yes. But that response comes with a caveat. If you plan to look up a bunch of exercises online and try doing them whenever you can find the time, your at-home physical therapy regimen is probably not going to work very well. Physical therapy is beneficial for a multitude of injuries and illnesses.
Post-physical therapy exercise can seem overwhelming or even impossible if you are still experiencing pain or fatigue, but continuing to strengthen your body will ensure that you continue to make progress on your road to complete recovery.
Reasons you might experience pain after a physio session
This can last for a few hours or even up to one day depending on the severity of your condition. This soreness is usually related to the muscles reacting to the work that has been done on them and should not be confused with an increase in your actual symptoms.