3 Quick Tips for Your Best Physical Therapy Session

By Hanna Kearney PT, DPT

Updated June 19, 2022

Whether you are just starting PT or in the middle of treatment, there’s always time to still have your best PT session yet!

1. Come Prepared

The best way to set yourself up for a successful PT visit is to plan. I used to rush from swim practice to PT - wet, hungry, and exhausted. I always knew that I came to PT slightly unprepared…okay, very unprepared. A few ways to plan for a successful session include:

• Proper clothing: The best thing to wear to a PT session is an outfit with options. I often tell my patients (especially in colder climates!) that layering is perfect. I may need to expose the area of someone’s shoulder, thigh, or calf. Having shorts underneath sweatpants or a tank top/sports bra under a sweatshirt is perfectly acceptable. I highly recommend wearing comfortable sneakers and having a hair tie (for those with longer hair) available. You can also bring a change of clothes to PT, just make sure to come to your visit a few minutes early! What I tell patients to avoid wearing includes:

  • Tight leggings

  • Jeans

  • Long sleeve shirts

  • Turtleneck tops

  • Sandals or Heels

Recommended Attire for PT Attire NOT Recommended for PT

• Food and Drink: Many PT places do not allow you to eat while performing PT due to sanitation regulations and focus of the session. Feel free to bring a water bottle to keep near you and a snack for before or after your session. There’s nothing worse than arriving to PT with a rumbling stomach!

• Medications: While physical therapists can not prescribe or administer medications, we do often recommend taking pain medications prior to your session as prescribed or allowed by your doctor, including over the counter medications. Some of the interventions we do can cause irritation or inflammation to the body tissues, and frankly can make you sore for a few days afterwards! Planning the timing of your pain or other medications with therapy is best for keeping your treatment comfortable. Please discuss with your healthcare provider prior to changing a medication routine.

• Sickness: If you feel you are sick, please cancel prior to your scheduled appointment session (in regulation with the clinic you are being treated by to avoid late fees!). There’s nothing worse than a patient coming in sick, and then getting the whole clinic sick. As healthcare providers, we have to stay healthy to be able to take care of you! Please do us the courtesy of staying home if you are feeling ill.

2. Be Honest

Believe me when I say, we really care about how your rehab journey is going, no matter how busy we are. We need patients to be honest about if they did their exercises, so we know whether to continue or change them. We want to know:

• How your symptoms feel currently

• WHERE they are

• If they are CHANGING

• How you felt during your last treatment

• How you felt since your last treatment

• Any change in functional status (ability to perform daily activities, exercises, mobility)

• If you have sustained any falls or new injuries

If you feel your symptoms are worsening or that PT is not helping, we need to know so we can help you in the best way possible! Sadly, we don’t always know unless you tell us!

3. Let Us Know About Medical Changes

Your physical therapist is able to treat you best with the most updated knowledge; not only about PT, but about you! If you are seeing multiple healthcare professionals at once, which is quite common with patients in PT, there may be updates from your other providers that we don’t know about. Patients often think that all doctors communicate with each other all of the time, but this is simply unattainable in the healthcare system. Let us know if you have received:

• A new diagnosis

• A referral to another provider

• Imaging or testing

• A new medication

• A scheduled surgery (or potential for one)

There are certain modalities and treatments we will select to perform (or not) based on other interventions you are receiving. For example, if you are being treated for ankle pain and received a new type of imaging that showed a fracture that was not present on your original x-ray, your PT may want to change which exercises you are performing and when. It is okay to ask your healthcare providers for copies of their notes, or even to have them faxed to your PT for the most clear communication possible!

As a PT myself, these are the 3 tips I want all of my patients to know! “It takes two to tango” is not just for dancing, but also applies to a great PT session!

What Hanna Thinks:

I always recommend talking with your PT prior to your sessions. It’s okay to ask your PT if they want you to bring anything particular to therapy, or what your plan may consist of for next visit so you are prepared. I have had patients bring their backpack, work tools, certain mobility equipment, and even crafts from home to work towards their specific goals in PT! Open communication with your therapist is key to the “perfect” PT session!

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