As I wind down into my final couple of weeks of Physical Therapy I’ve started to reflect on how much time and energy I’ve spent rehabbing my body in the past 15(!) months. MY PT timeline:
- Round 1: July – August 2012. Was diagnosed with “Runner’s Knee” after experiencing awful knee pain during an intense few months of training and racing.
- Round 2: March – May 2013. Developed a stress fracture in my right foot after changing my running gait and shoes to “improve” my form.
- Round 3: September – November 2013. Developed plantar fasciitis after slowly starting back running in new shoes and freaked out after feeling foot pain after a 5K.
So here are the Top Five Physical Therapy Tips I’ve learned after all of my experiences…
5 Physical Therapy Tips
- Work with a QUALITY Physical Therapist! Your PT should be engaged, easy to talk to, and always treat you with respect. For the last 2 rounds I have had great care, but my first stint was awful. I felt neglected by my PT because I didn’t have a “real” injury and was in relatively good shape. And whenever I asked legitimate questions, I got B.S. non-answers in return. I made sure not to go back there when I was injured again.
- Go to therapy as frequently as possible to increase success. I didn’t learn this until recently. My first 2 rounds of PT were only twice a week, which was really tough when I had the stress fracture since I was also juggling graduate school and full time work. But since I’ve been going to PT 3 days a week, I can really feel the improvement in my strength and balance and can easily note my progress at each visit. If you lack the motivation to do your exercises at home on your own, scheduling frequent therapy visits can keep you honest and ensure that you’re on track for recovery, especially if you only have a limited amount of visits with your health insurance coverage.
- Dynamic stretching really works! Dynamic stretching is a great way to safely warm up before running. I started doing these towards the end of stress fracture therapy and once I started running again, they became part of my workout routine. Some of my favorites are walking lunges, straight leg kicks (aka Frankensteins aka toy soldiers), and butt kicks. While they do take extra time, I feel much better after a run than if I did not dynamically stretch. They’re worth a shot!
- You’ll learn to start listening to your body. It sounds cliche, but once you’ve gone through physical therapy, you become more attuned to when something doesn’t “feel right”. Maybe there’s a little paranoia too, but at the onset of “bad pain”, I call my primary care doctor and set an appointment. I email my sports medicine doc when I’m freaking out about stuff. I ice my foot or change my shoes after a long day of work in steel toed boots. It’s one of the greatest benefits of going through physical therapy! But once it is over, it’s imperative to remain aware and take things slowly as you make your way back…and that’s the hardest thing I’ve had to learn:
- Patience, patience, patience!! In early 2012 I was on the fast track to running my first marathon. I was all signed up for the Philly Marathon, but by the time it came in November, I could barely make it through the Half. Now I have to come to terms that I will probably not be ready to run my first marathon until 2015. I have knees that like to pop, I have no idea how to run since I keep messing with my form, and my pace isn’t where I want it to be. My friends in the Running Club (that I started) are spending their Saturdays bonding without me as they train for upcoming races. It makes me sad sometimes. But I am getting stronger, I’m cross training (look out for a post on biking!), and I know I’ll be back. Running gives me so much satisfaction and it’s become one of my passions. This is only temporary. If I want to be successful, I have to be patient, and I can’t have any regrets!
[bctt tweet=”Physical Therapy Tips for Speedy Recovery via @Janelle_RWNR”]
Hopefully I’ve given you some helpful tips to consider if you have the misfortune of going to Physical Therapy. If you’re in the same boat as me, I wish you a full, speedy recovery! Are there any more tips that I missed? Add a comment!
I love this! I just started running again (running for 3 weeks) after knee surgery.
I would add: planks, side planks, squats, bridges, single leg bridges, jumping, high knees.
Then with a resistance band: side stepping (3 sets of 13 steps), glute exercises with a medicine ball, pool running for cross training, foam rolling… ugh! There is a lot of work on the road to recovery. I hope you are healing! this is what my PT has me doing and I am going 2x per week right now.
Great post!
Thanks Natalie, you’ve added some really great exercises to do as well! And they are great to do even when you are healthy. Hope your recovery is going well!
I like to run a lot, but I have been experiencing some knee pains. I have rested it, but the pain is still there when I run. I am thinking about going to physical therapy, and I like what you said about having patience. These things don’t just heal over night and I will need to make sure I remember that moving forward. Thank you for sharing.
This is some really great information for anyone who is planning to undergo physical therapy, and some awesome tips as well! I had never thought about how important it is to be patient with yourself and your body, and give it time to recover from a traumatic accident. But I agree that over time you start to get the feel for it and better understand when something is out of whack. Thanks so much for writing!
Thank you, Paul! I appreciate your comment!
We always did dynamic warmups when I ran track in high school. I have heard that long involved stretches aren’t that great before working out, but afterwards, they are definitely appropriate. I’ll have to remember to implement this into my own workout routine!
Great Information and tips! I am an occupational therapist and my team members include physical therapists. I would recommend, it’s always better to ask your PT and listen to him/her for better recovery. Physical therapist can train you according to your need with safety and prevention.
I’ve been having some knee problems, and it’s been frustrating to work out with it. I’ve never thought to have physical therapy, but I like the sound of it. I’ll be sure to find a good therapist, and to attend frequently. I feel a lot more prepared for what this process will be like, thank you!
I have always had trouble with my knees as well whenever I incorporate running into my exercise routine. I have been considering finding a physical therapist as this is a consistent problem whenever I run more than a couple times a week. I especially appreciated your advice on listening to your body and how physical therapy could help me be more in tune. You mention how important a quality physical therapist is and I was wondering if you have any tips on how to find a good practice or specific physical therapist?
These are some great tips while going through physical therapy. It is especially good to go to the therapist as often as possible because, like you said, you can really feel yourself improve. I love to run, so I will remember these tips, thanks for sharing!
#1 is so hard… Sometimes you know right away that the PT doesn’t really have an empathetic ear, and then others you find out weeks or months later that the advice was flawed.
Consistency in treatment is the biggie… Always found that I would slack off on treatment the moment things started to feel better only to reaggrivate the injury shortly thereafter!
My poor daughter got in a car accident that did some damage to her back and neck. She is receiving physical therapy to address these issues but she gets impatient with her progress. Thank you so much for sharing your personal experiences about physical therapy. I will make sure she goes to every therapy session, as well as do some dynamic stretching at home.
I wish your daughter a speedy recovery! It takes time and patience, but doing the exercises prescribed in sessions and at home really makes a difference.
These are some great tips, and I appreciate your advice to go to physical therapy as frequently as possible to increase your success. I recently injured my shoulder while playing softball, and I really want to recovery as quickly as possible so I can get back to playing. I’ll definitely try to visit the physical therapist as often as I can to increase my success and speed up recovery. Thanks for the great post!
These are great tips for a speedy recovery with physical therapy! I liked your first advice about working with a quality physical therapist! Working with a great physical therapist makes all the difference with your recovery process. Thanks for sharing!