Know Your Limitations During Rehab

Like you, the team at our Auckland physiotherapy clinic in Epsom wants you to be fully mobile and pain-free as soon as possible. While we’re all in agreement on that, there might be a slight difference of opinion on how quickly you can reach those goals.

Obviously, you’re super keen to get back to full fitness and you’ll be in a hurry to get there. We’re just as keen for that to happen but we want it to happen in a more controlled way that will allow you to fully recover. That is why we advise all our patients to stick to the treatment plan. You’ll soon feel the positive effects and might be tempted to go beyond the plan to feel even better, even sooner e.g. carrying out our prescribed exercises with greater intensity than we recommend. By overdoing it, even if you have the best intentions, you can actually go backwards in your treatment.

A lot of your rehab program will be carried out under your own steam, so without us providing 24/7 supervision, you might try and do more than we advise. This sneaky over-exertion is something we encounter from time to time in other patients and their frustration is obvious when they realise they’d gone too far. We don’t want the same thing to happen to you as the initial injury can flare up again, and take you back to a few steps. This is why it is important that you stick to the plan we work out for you. It is designed to allow for measured progress towards your goals, but without risking all you have worked so hard for.

The program we put in place will challenge you, but it should never overwhelm you. By following the game plan, your strength, flexibility and mobility will improve, and the pain will lessen. All these good things might not happen as fast as you would like, but you have to know your limitations. And by being diligent in following your rehab program, you might be pleasantly surprised at how quickly you do recover. There’s no need to push it too far if we get the plan right from day one – and we will!

Think of us as taking a patient approach to our patients! We want the best outcome for you and we’re prepared to play a slightly longer game to make that happen. To discuss your treatment requirements, contact us at our Epsom physio clinic.