How many physical therapy sessions will I need?
Recently I’ve had several gym members approach me with questions about a sore shoulder, a painful knee, and the dreaded plantar fasciitis. After hearing the same question from all of them, I decided it was time to tell the truth about physical therapy, and answer the question "how many PT sessions does it take to help?"
The honest answer: Not that many. If I’m doing my job as a physical therapist and using my 20 years of experience to get to the source of the biomechanical fault or irritation, then it truly shouldn’t take more than 2-3 visits to give you the tools you need to begin managing the issue on your own as I remain a resource to guide you along the way.
My goal as a physical therapist is to teach you what the issue is, and what you might be doing to contribute to it during life, workouts, and recreational activities…. and then to give you the guidance and the strategies to fix it. From my perspective, physical therapy is about understanding the tipping point between health and injury, and understanding the biomechanics of movement patterns that allow the body to participate in a balanced life. It’s about individualized care to help patients achieve their goals — whether returning from an injury or whether trying to avoid one all together.
And if you’re curious what I can do to help get rid of that nagging pain or to prevent any faulty mechanics that lead to injuries later… now is your chance to see what physical therapy can do. Give it a try for 3 visits and see how much you can learn.
