If you’ve just booked your first physical therapy appointment, chances are you are recovering from some kind of injury or illness.

So, you are looking for some kind of help or relief of physical pain, mobility or a functional issue.

If this is your first physical therapy appointment, you might have questions. We’re here to help guide you and make sure you understand what your physical therapist is there for and what you can expect.

It starts with an evaluation at your first physical therapy appointment

At your first one-hour, one-on-one physical therapy appointment, one of the first things that will happen is a comprehensive and thorough assessment including a verbal history of your current condition, and a physical/functional assessment in order to identify movement dysfunctions and painful movement patterns. Your physical therapist will address soft tissue and joint restrictions through hands-on manual work and perform neuromuscular re-education to stabilize the affected area. Your PT will then discuss strategies and ergonomics to alleviate specific aggravating symptoms, and then provide you with strengthening exercises specific to your condition to help correct any movement dysfunctions and painful movement patterns as well as strengthen any muscles that may have become weak or unused.

Questions

Don’t forget, your physical therapist is there to help YOU, so if you have questions, ask away! It can help you feel better faster, and make it easier for you to follow your treatment plan too, if you understand the reasoning and motivation of the exercises and recommendations.

Clothing

It is likely you will have to move, bend and stretch during your first physical therapy appointment, so wear clothes that are comfortable and not restrictive. We have a changing room so there’s no need to come in your treatment clothes, and if you forgot to bring a change of clothes, no worries, we’ve got you covered! We have shorts and tank tops you can borrow during your treatment session.

Treatment plan

When your appointment is finished, you should have a treatment plan that will likely include “homework” for you to do between visits to help maintain the changes achieved in treatment and to further your progress toward pain-free and efficient movement. Your PT will give you clear and easily understood instructions and a set of defined goals. Your PT will also explain to you any side effects (pain or soreness) that you might experience after your session.

You’ll also be able to make your follow up appointments before you leave.

Beacon Physical Therapy

At Beacon Physical Therapy, we want to help you live a happy, healthy, pain-free life. If you are having an issue, make an appointment today. We’d love to meet you and get you back to doing what you love.