How long does it take for physical therapy to work? Debunking myths with Reload

Answering That Key Question: ‘How Many Physical Therapy Sessions Do I Need?’

When it comes to physical therapy, people often have many questions. One of the most common being, how many sessions of physical therapy do you need.

Many advertisers and clinicians offer promises of quick and easy solutions to various physical problems. The truth is that there is no one-size-fits-all solution, and the timeline of physical therapy an individual will need to attain their goals is unique to them. 

Sometimes, a person may become pain-free and feel that their job with physical therapy sessions is done. They return to their normal daily lives and physical activity too soon. The pain returns with the underlying issues worse than before.

Don’t be fooled by promises of ‘we can get rid of your low back pain with XYZ’ made by so many clinicians today. They’ll often skip steps and make claims that just aren’t true.

“Social media provides many exercise and health tips, but it can be hard to figure out how to fit that into your life,” says Dr. Gary Wang, Physical Therapist. “We try to stay away from giving people promises of not having pain anymore because you can’t make that promise. But we know we can get you back to function and performance and doing what you need to do. It’s just that the road is different for everyone.”

The road is different for everyone. What does this mean?

With the help of Dr. Gary, this article explores the answer.

So, how many physical therapy sessions do I need?

In the traditional model of physical therapy, people are usually discharged once they have reached a certain goal without pain. Either this or patients think, ‘my job with physical therapy is done, I’m going to go back to my activities.’ This might be, for example, being able to sit or squat without lower back pain. 

However, attaining such low-level goals is rarely good enough to help you return to the higher-level activities you wish to engage in. It’s crucial to go further.

“Our job at Reload is to find ways to improve your quality of living, or your strength, or your endurance, or your speed. It’s figuring out what you want to be able to do more of,” says Gary. “So, once you hit a certain goal like walking and squatting without pain, we will ask what do you want to do next?”

We don’t follow traditional, transactional physical therapy methods, fixing a single issue without regard to the bigger picture. We understand that your needs are evolutionary. You’ll have evolving goals, and we are here to support you in attaining those goals through evolutionary physical therapy.

Our belief is that physical therapy should never be about achieving only a short-term goal of pain relief. Our goal is to help patients regain functional abilities and improve their quality of life in the long term. The number of physical therapy sessions needed for an individual varies based on their unique needs and goals.

The importance of a personalized approach

“It’s not realistic to give people a set time for reaching a certain goal, as it varies from person to person. You can’t force someone to do certain things, and you can’t predict that they’re going to have the same outcomes as someone else doing the same thing,” Gary explains. “That’s why at Reload, we take a personalized approach to physical therapy.”

Personalizing the approach means really understanding a person’s goals, and understanding what is required for them to achieve them – including any restraints they might have. For example, if you tell us that you wish to get back to running a mile, we can’t give you a hard set date without assessing your current functional abilities, but we can talk about milestones you should reach. 

“It’s more about performance measurements than a timeline,” says Gary. “We cannot say, ‘In six weeks you’ll be able to run a mile’. What we can say is, if, in six weeks, you can do X, Y, and Z, then you might be there.”

We understand that physical therapy is not a one-size-fits-all solution, and our approach is based on the unique characteristics, attributes, abilities, and lifestyles of individual patients. This creates a performance-based strategy in a patient-centric approach targeting specific and evolving needs and goals.

How long for physical therapy to work: setting realistic expectations

It’s crucial that your physical therapy program helps you to achieve your health and fitness goals, but it’s also important to understand that it takes time and effort to get there.

“When we’re able to explain realistically what the prerequisites or the demands of an activity are, we’re not making any false promises,” says Gary. “If you’re not preparing your body to handle those demands, then you won’t be able to do what you want.”

If our clients don’t have the prerequisites, we need to help them build them. To illustrate this point, Gary uses an analogy of baking an apple pie.

“Let’s say you’re baking an apple pie, and there are four main ingredients: apples, sugar, flour, and butter. If I had you make the apple pie, but I took out the butter and the apples, you would have a pretty bad apple pie, right?”

There is no arguing with this, is there?

“So, now let’s say your goal is running. And let’s say that, too, has four main ingredients: single-leg calf strength, single-leg quad strength, being able to jump up and down on two legs, and being able to hop on a single leg.

“Now let’s say I take out your single-leg calf strength and your ability to hop on one leg. Now your running doesn’t come well, either. Just like that real bad apple pie, without apples!”

Instead of focusing on running, we first focus on those prerequisites – the ingredients that will help you to run smoother, faster, and without runner injuries. We focus on building you up, one ingredient at a time.

When we set realistic expectations and focus on the prerequisites, we deliver safe and sustainable improvements on the way to achieving fitness goals. But this can only be done by taking a highly personalized approach to each patient.

As you now understand, it’s challenging to give a definitive response when asked, ‘how long does physical therapy take to work?’ It all depends on the program and your progression. That program starts with an initial assessment.

To book your initial physical therapy evaluation, click here.