How to Ensure Your Physiotherapy Sessions Are Successful

by Adam Brown  BScPT, MClScPT
updated July 30, 2024

Welcome to Cornerstone!
We are looking forward to working with you to help you achieve your recovery goals. Our clinicians take your recovery seriously. We are very focused on getting you the best possible outcome. It is our aim that you leave your physiotherapy experience healthier than you were before you became injured. We will be focused on getting your initial symptoms under control, but also on ensuring that we help you correct any factors that led to your problem in the first place. With that in mind we have put together a few tips on how you can help ensure your physiotherapy process is successful.

Be an active participant

Your therapist is there to design the treatment plan, guide you through the process and to apply treatments that you both participate in. We can’t do it without you! So come ready to be engaged in the process of healing. Depending on the nature of your injury some of your time may be spent having treatment applied to you (such as manual therapy) but some of the most powerful interventions require some work from you (like targeted exercise therapy). If you come to each session ready to work WITH your therapist rather than simply to have them work on you, your chances of success increase exponentially!

Provide lots of feedback

Every patient’s injury and experience of symptoms is different. Your therapist is consistently monitoring objective changes in your condition AND subjective changes in your symptoms. Be as specific and descriptive as possible. Feel free to offer up information about how treatment feels even if you are not sure if it is relevant. The more information we have, the more we can customize your care. This applies to things that make you feel better AND things that make you feel more symptoms. Both are useful information to zero in on the absolute best way to treat your problem.

Ask all the questions

We are here to serve YOU. Please ask all of the questions you want. The deeper understanding you have of your condition and the rationale, physiology and clinical reasoning behind your treatment plan the better you will do. Your condition is impacted by all of the things that happen outside of the clinic as well as your treatment sessions. So a great understanding of what will make the problem better and worse is fundamental to your recovery.

Do your homework between sessions

Most patients will be given some homework to do. Be upfront about how much you can take on so that your therapist can help you prioritize the most important aspects of your plan. A consistent 5-10 minutes per day can have a large impact if we are using the time wisely.

Promote repair with good recovery hygiene

Good recovery hygiene means removing other barriers to recovery. For recovery to take place you will need adequate quality nutrition, hydration, sleep and stress management. If you have questions about any of these areas, ask your therapist to discuss it with you. Great recovery hygiene ensures you get the benefit of your efforts.

Share your struggles and barriers to recovery with your therapist

Recovery is hard. It can be stressful and disruptive to your life. Talk to your therapist about the things you are struggling with. We have seen many patients who have been through complex recoveries. As a result we have strategies that we can share to make things easier for you.

These tips form a foundation upon which rapid repair can take place. We look forward to seeing you soon and getting started!

About the author

Adam Brown

Co-founder, Physiotherapist Learn More about Adam Brown