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How to Keep up With Your Physical Therapy Program in the Summer

May 29, 2024 | Tips & Trends
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Keeping up with physical therapy during the summer months can be tough. There are so many other things we have going on, vacations, parties, travel, outdoor activities, sports and more. But if you are currently in PT, there is an important reason why you are here.

That’s why we’re going to give you our best tips to help you keep your schedule on track.

PLAN

Some of what makes the summer months challenging is planning around your schedule and other important obligations. To work through this, we advise planning ahead.

We’re not just talking about appointments on your calendar, either (although those are important). Here are some things to think about planning ahead:

Your PT appointments

Your schedule is busy during the summer, and so is your PT’s. Plan and schedule your appointments in advance. You’ll get the times and days that work best for you, and you’ll already have your PT appointments in your calendar to plan other things around.

Your exercise

Hopefully, you have a regular time to exercise. With schedule changes that come in the summer and with children being out of school, your schedule may change. Think about when you’re going to exercise ahead of time and you’ll stay consistent.

Your diet

Healthy eating often gets out last when you are busy with other obligations. Putting low quality fuel into your body won’t help you feel better. Think about planning what you’re going to eat ahead of time. We’re not saying to skip every summer treat offered to you, but maybe think about which ones you really need to have, and which ones you can skip in advance. It makes saying “no thanks” to tempting foods easier.

We’re realistic. We understand that life isn’t the same during the holidays as it is during the rest of the year. That’s part of what makes this time of year special! With that in mind, our next set of tips focuses on making modifications to help you get through the holidays successfully.

Your PT Plan

Even when you planned your PT appointments out well in advance, you might have run into some challenges that arise. Talk to your therapist about how you might be able to modify your plan of care through the summer to make it all work. Maybe you’re going to PT three times a week and now you can only come twice a week for a week or two. If you can share this in advance with your PT, you can work together to come up with the best plan possible.

Your exercise

Exercise is so important that it made our list twice. Now that you know when you’ll exercise, you might have to modify your routine to make it fit. Again, we recommend talking with your PT to see what you can do. Maybe your home exercise program can be modified so you can do everything in the kitchen during downtime when cooking. Maybe you can reduce the number of exercises to focus on maintaining the gains you’ve made until things settle down.

Your schedule

In your planning in advance (see how important it is?) you might have found that your normal routine wasn’t going to work. If your PT appointments or exercise time is usually right after work and you’ve now got commitments, maybe you can move them to the morning before work. Be flexible and consider temporarily modifying your schedule and your routine to make it work better during the summer. You can always go back to your previous routine after.

The summer is a fun and exciting time of year, but keeping up with your health and your physical therapy is so important to your overall wellbeing. With some planning and flexibility, you can stay healthy, survive the summer months and move into the fall feeling your best!

 

The entire Phoenix Physical Therapy Team is committed to providing our patients with quality physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy in a safe and healthy clinic environment. We continue to follow the guidance provided by the CDC, WHO and public health officials to update you as new information becomes available. Let’s work together to keep each other safe and healthy.

The safety of our patients, communities and team members remains our top priority. We know you have a choice in your care providers and appreciate your commitment to Phoenix and our qualified clinicians.

Here are the actions we have taken to keep our patients, communities and team healthy & safe:

  • Flexible scheduling allows for social distancing
  • Regular cleaning and sanitation of all clinic surfaces
  • Facemasks must be worn by all Phoenix staff and are recommended for all patients
  • Screening questionnaire and temperature checks prior to entering clinics
  • 6 feet of social distancing throughout the clinics

Keeping Our Clinics Safe

Here are some tips on how we can keep each other safe:

  • Handwashing is your best self-defense against the spread of germs. When soap and water are not available and hands are not visibly dirty, use at least a 60% alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
  • Please stay home if you are not feeling well, especially if you have a fever, are coughing or sneezing, or are experiencing shortness of breath. If a patient shows up with symptoms, the clinic team will work with them to reschedule.
  • Be vigilant. If you have traveled to any of the countries where there are outbreaks of the virus, please follow guidance from the CDC website and our Travel Guidelines.

Here are actions we are taking to keep our clinics clean and safe:

  • Equipment will be wiped down after EVERY use with antibacterial wipes/sprays
  • All surfaces that patients or staff may touch including door handles, countertops, seating, pens at sign-in, bathroom and all other common areas will be disinfected regularly
  • Treatment tables will be 6 feet apart
  • Team members will wash their hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, particularly after going to the bathroom, before eating, and after blowing their nose, coughing or sneezin
  • Clinics will have hand sanitizer available at the front desk and in the treatment areas
  • Any Phoenix team members who are ill will be asked to stay home
  • We will maintain social distancing between patients in the clinic
  • Caregivers that are bringing a patient to the clinic should wait in their car or come back when the appointment has ended unless necessary (i.e. minor requiring a guardian or for assistance needs)
  • When possible, we will treat patients in private rooms to increase social distancing
  • Any patients that have underlying health issues (i.e. diabetes, respiratory problems, etc.) will be given the option to be seen during special clinic hours or can opt to be treated in a private room away from other clinicians and patients
  • All patients should be self-screening before entering the clinic. Our PCCs will perform a secondary screening during the check-in process and before patients enter the clinic including a screening questionnaire and temperature check.
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