Is your rehab preparing YOU for YOUR life?

"Going to physical therapy" is more than just giving your body enough time to heal and definitely more than finding ways to reduce pain. It’s more than just returning to your previous level of function - it’s about better preparing you for life and all of the activities that you want to do. It's about putting you in the best position possible so that when you return to those activities you don’t end up right back where you started.

Early in the rehab process, it's incredibly important to make sure that your body is healing and symptoms are reduced. It shows you are making progress on what brought you in initially. As that improves, preparing your body for high-level goals that you want to achieve is equally, if not more important.

Just as your body is going through a progression in symptom reduction, your rehab and the exercises involved should go through a progression as well. This looks like a scalable training progression that physically challenges you more and more over time. A progression that improves the physical attributes that were previously limiting you from where you wanted to be.

Let’s say you're coming in with persistent knee pain. It's great if you can walk, squat down and go up and down stairs without issues, but what if you want to run, lift weights, or return to other sports? The latter activities can involve moving at faster speeds, training with heavier loads, and moving quickly in multiple directions. They require your body to express qualities such as strength, power, endurance, and elasticity.

Training these qualities is crucial to ensure you are better prepared to return to these activities without a relapse in symptoms. They must be interwoven into the rehab process and with proper progression so you reach an appropriate level of function - including things like strength training, plyometric training, and planned return to run progressions. This all allows you to leave rehab feeling stronger, more confident, and better equipped to return to life. Back to baseline isn’t good enough - you need MORE and your rehab should show you that you are capable more than you ever imagined.

Curious to learn more about how we can help or what this looks like in more detail?

Book a discovery call with one of our therapists through the link below