Yes, you should rest the day after physio by avoiding strenuous activity and focusing on recovery, but this usually means active rest—light movement like walking or stretching—not complete inactivity, to help muscles heal, reduce stiffness, and prevent injury, while still promoting blood flow and healing. It's about balancing effort with recovery, so listen to your body and follow your physio's specific advice on rest versus gentle activity.
Should you Rest After Physiotherapy. Yes, some rest after physiotherapy is usually recommended — but not complete inactivity. It's normal to feel sore or tired. Rest for the remainder of the day or avoid strenuous activity to let your body recover.
The 80/20 rule (Pareto Principle) in physiotherapy means 80% of results come from 20% of actions, focusing rehab on key contributors to recovery, like identifying the true underlying cause (e.g., movement patterns, stressors) rather than just treating symptoms, and prioritizing exercises done at home, while in sports, it often means 80% low-intensity training and 20% high-intensity for sustainable performance. It helps therapists and patients prioritize high-impact interventions for better, more efficient outcomes, reducing wasted effort on less effective tasks.
Physical therapy rest days play a significant role in promoting muscle recovery, minimizing the risk of overuse injuries, and maintaining mental well-being, ultimately contributing to a more effective and sustainable rehabilitation process.
Among our new patients, the feeling of physical and mental fatigue after physical therapy can come as a bit of a surprise! The great news is that this is extremely common. Within reason, we view it as a good sign: It is normal to feel tired after physical therapy.
It's important to understand that some soreness after physiotherapy is normal and often indicates that your treatment is working. This post-treatment soreness typically: Peaks within 24 hours of your session.
In physiotherapy, red flags are signs and symptoms indicating a potentially serious underlying condition (like cancer, infection, fracture, or neurological issues) that requires urgent medical investigation beyond typical musculoskeletal treatment, such as severe night pain, unexplained weight loss, fever, bowel/bladder changes, numbness/weakness in both limbs, or a history of cancer/trauma. They are clinical clues that prompt physiotherapists to refer patients for further tests (imaging, bloods) rather than just starting treatment.
If eight or more minutes are left over, you can bill for one more unit; if seven or fewer minutes remain, you cannot bill an additional unit.
Pain after physical therapy sometimes occurs because the exercises and manipulations stretch or strengthen muscles, joints, and tissues, causing temporary soreness as the body adapts. This discomfort can also stem from inflammation, nerve irritation, or scar tissue breakdown—all normal parts of the healing process.
8 Signs You Need A Rest Day
Therapy red flags include boundary violations (inappropriate touching, socializing, or discussing their personal life), unethical practices (breaching confidentiality, asking for favors, selling products), and ineffective or harmful approaches (making false promises, being defensive, not listening, judging, or making you feel worse). A good therapist respects professional boundaries, focuses on your needs, maintains confidentiality, and works collaboratively, while red flags signal a misuse of power or lack of competence that can harm the therapeutic process.
Jennifer Aniston's 80/20 rule is a balanced approach to wellness, focusing on healthy, nutrient-dense foods 80% of the time while allowing for indulgences like pizza, pasta, or martinis (the 20%) without guilt, promoting consistency and sustainability over perfection. It's about moderation, enjoying life's treats, and getting back on track with healthy choices at the next meal or workout, emphasizing that no food is inherently "bad".
In your quest for recovery, you may think more physio is better. However, if you're receiving treatment for runner's knee or swimmer's elbow, you'll know that even healthy bodies can get overuse injuries that require rest and physio. Unfortunately, you can overdo physiotherapy, setting back your recovery.
It is often common to also feel soreness for a day or two following treatment, and at times the pain may still exist even if it is hopefully less intense. This is part of the healing process and restoring normal movement patterns as well as joint and muscle function.
Whether you're recovering from surgery, a sports injury, or managing chronic pain, your body is under a significant amount of stress during physical therapy sessions. In order for the healing process to take place, your body needs to rest, repair, and regenerate. This is where sleep comes in.
Pain Should Return to Normal Within 24 Hours
It's okay if you feel sore after your session, but that discomfort should settle by the next day. If pain lingers, gets worse overnight, or affects your sleep, that's a sign we may need to adjust the program.
“My rule is that working out with a little bit of stiffness or soreness is okay. If it's a 1, 2 or 3 out of 10, that's okay. If it's getting above that, or the pain is getting worse during activity, or if you're limping or changing your gait, back off the intensity of the workout.”
The #1 mistake making bad knees worse is excessive rest or inactivity, which weakens supporting muscles, leading to stiffness and instability, creating a vicious cycle of pain and dysfunction, even though it feels counterintuitive; the solution involves controlled movement and strengthening exercises (like walking, swimming) to support the joint. Other major mistakes include wearing unsupportive shoes, carrying excess weight, and performing movements that involve twisting.
In physiotherapy, red flags are signs and symptoms indicating a potentially serious underlying condition (like cancer, infection, fracture, or neurological issues) that requires urgent medical investigation beyond typical musculoskeletal treatment, such as severe night pain, unexplained weight loss, fever, bowel/bladder changes, numbness/weakness in both limbs, or a history of cancer/trauma. They are clinical clues that prompt physiotherapists to refer patients for further tests (imaging, bloods) rather than just starting treatment.
An average PT appointment takes 40 to 60 minutes and is scheduled 2 to 3 times weekly. During it, the physical therapy team helps ease the pain in the infected area to promote healthy movement. Depending on the severity of your injury and the degree of pain, you will be asked to join the sessions weekly or daily.
What happens if you don't meet the 8-minute rule? Failing to meet the 8-minute rule means the service time is too short to bill a time-based CPT unit. Claims may be denied, causing revenue loss and compliance issues for mental health billing.
Yellow flags are psychosocial factors, thoughts, feelings and behaviours.[5] A yellow flag is not a diagnosis.
The vast majority of patients stop physical therapy once they reach maximum medical improvement, even if that doesn't mean that they are back to a pre-injury level of fitness. If you've made the strongest recovery possible, it may be time to put an end to your PT services.
The "Big 3" for lower back pain, developed by spine expert Dr. Stuart McGill, are the Modified Curl-Up, Side Plank, and Bird-Dog, designed to build core stability without stressing the spine by strengthening essential muscles for everyday movement and protecting the lower back from injury. These exercises focus on endurance, not just strength, teaching your core to resist unwanted movement, unlike traditional crunches that can aggravate back pain.