5 BENEFITS OF PHYSIOTHERAPY TREATMENT AT HOME
Requesting for at-home physiotherapy is becoming quite the norm today. It is recommended for patients with serious conditions that put them at risk when they have to travel to a physiotherapy clinic. In these kinds of situations, it is preferable that the therapist travel to the patient instead of the other way around.
Below are some compelling reasons why at-home physiotherapy is more beneficial.
- Better progress because of the comfortable environment
- No added stress of travel
- Personalized care
- A safer option for high-risk patients
- One-to-one treatment
An obvious benefit to doing physiotherapy at home is better to progress because patients are in the comforts of their home. The home offers a sense of familiarity that is a source of comfort for many people. Patients are more relaxed and more receptive to instructions and new information when they are in a comfortable environment such as their own home. And because the home is familiar, distraction during therapy is not much of an issue compared to when patients have to go to a therapy center or clinic which has elements that are new and unfamiliar to the patient which can be a source of distraction.
The downside to going to a therapy center or clinic for physiotherapy is in the travel time. Some people might not spend all that much time on the road but there are other patients who might need to wake up early to make it to their physiotherapy session or child speech therapy appointment. Not only that, being on the road exposes patients to stressors such as being stuck in traffic or long car rides which can alter their mood and become a hurdle during therapy. And once the session is done, the patient would then have to travel back home. And there is the issue of transportation. A good number of people don't have the luxury of having a personal vehicle to take them to their appointments which means they have to spend more time commuting through public transportation.
Physiotherapy also entails educating patients and giving them the right tools to help in their recovery. When a therapist visits a patient's home, they can include additional modifications and recommendations based on what they observe in the home environment of the patient. This gives patients more options that help with their recovery. For instance, a therapist visiting a patient's home can tailor exercise activities towards navigating around their own home thereby providing patients with the practical skills to make them more independent. A lot of people with issues of mobility may have trouble moving around their home and in-home physiotherapy can help improve skills to do certain tasks.
A priority for high-risk patients is safety. Patients in these categories are not recommended to go to unsafe environments. They might have a disability or an illness that limits their movement or leave them with compromised mobility. The therapists for these patients usually go to them instead of the other way around. At-home therapy limits the risk of injury or contracting infection for these patients. In some cases, in-house physiotherapy is the only option for these patients.
At a clinic or therapy center, therapists usually see numerous patients throughout their day. In some cases, a therapist might handle two or three patients at a time. Opting for in-home physiotherapy means the therapist is solely focused on that one patient. All their attention is directed at the patient who helps with their progress. Being at home also helps because, as mentioned previously, the home environment has lesser distractions than the noisy and busy environment of therapy centers and clinics. Not all physiotherapy patients will benefit from at-home therapy sessions. But a good chunk of those who need physiotherapy will benefit more if the therapist comes to them. The home is a perfectly good environment that promotes progress. In fact, most patients that require at-home physiotherapy service don't go out as much and spend a good deal of their time at home. It only makes sense to tailor their exercise activities based on how they go about their days.
