Why your physio gives you homework
Thirty minutes a week with us, a hundred and sixty-eight without. Why the exercises at home do most of the work.
Physiotherapist
3 min read
A follow-up takes thirty minutes. There are a hundred and sixty-eight hours in a week. The sessions matter, but most of the change happens in between.
What the exercises do
Tissue adapts to what you ask of it, a little at a time, repeated. One session a week is not enough repetition for a tendon, a muscle or a joint to change. Three short sessions at home are.
How to make them stick
- Tie them to something you already do: after brushing your teeth, before the kettle boils.
- Keep them short. Ten minutes done four times a week beats forty minutes done once.
- Write down how it went. Your plan has a line for each day. It tells us, at the next session, what to change.
When they don’t fit
If an exercise hurts more than a four out of ten, or you simply can’t find the time, say so. A plan you can do is better than a perfect one you can’t. We will change it.
