How Long Should Physical Therapy Take?

How long will physical therapy take is a common question asked by many patients. The problem is, there is no easy answer to this question. Each person is different, and thus an individual’s rate of healing is also different. In some cases, it may take one person a week to complete a particular exercise, but with another person with the same injury,  physical therapy maybe two to three weeks for that same exercise. This is due to peoples’ differences in pain perception, previous physical strength before the injury, motivation, and healing rate. In physical therapy, therapists set goals that, in their professional opinion, that particular individual has the ability to reach in 3-4 weeks that are called Short Term Goals. Then goals are also made for each month after that if needed called Long Term Goals. Every month the therapist will re-evaluate the patients’ progress made toward these goals. Therefore, rather than setting a date to complete therapy, set various goals that you would like to achieve during your rehabilitation program. Make this your focus, not time! Reward yourself for achieving these goals, regardless of the time taken to reach them.