Attending physical therapy is one of the best decisions you make if you are experiencing chronic pain, having mobility issues or have sustained an injury. Physical therapists are movement specialists trained to address to address pain and injury and return you to your normal pain free mobility. To have the best results, you should follow your therapist’s recommendations for therapy attendance. There are several reasons you should stop physical therapy:
- You have reached your goals. At the outset of physical therapy, you will work with your therapist to establish goals for recovery from your injury and/or improvement in your mobility. Soft tissue healing normally takes 6-8 weeks, therefore that is a common duration for physical therapy. Your PT will determine and recommend a good time to finish with PT sessions and transition to a home exercise program.
- You are not seeing additional improvements. When you have reached a plateau and are not making progress and are independent with a home exercise program, you may stop physical therapy. But first ask yourself several questions: Have I been doing my home exercise program consistently? Have I set realistic goals? Is my PT adjusting my program so that I can achieve
- my goals? If your answer is yes to all three of these questions, it may be time to stop PT. It is very important in this case to continue with your home exercise program and keep in contact with your PT if you decline. After stopping PT, if a decline in your condition occurs, it may be time to restart PT.
- Pain is getting worse. This is a very tricky case. PT is not easy. The exercises prescribed may be uncomfortable and hard. When the symptoms change from uncomfortable/soreness to pain, you should talk with your PT and or physician. The pain may be able to be managed better. The pain could also be your body adjusting to the new movements in the exercises.
Before stopping physical therapy early before your PT has recommended, consider two things:
- Re-Injury. Stopping PT too early could lead to re-injury or reversal of any progress made during PT. Returning to regular physical activity or exercise too soon after injury can cause re-injury. Soft tissue injuries take 6-8 weeks to heal. Your PT is trained to progress your program based on your symptoms and healing to return to your prior activity/activity level without re-injury.
- Consistency. Consistency is the key to achieving your goals. Physical therapy is not a quick fix. Most soft tissue injuries take 6-8 weeks to heal. Seeing benefits from strength and or flexibility training will take 6-8 weeks. Stay the course, work with the PT to modify the program as needed and stay consistent with your home exercise program.