“How long do I need physical therapy?”
I had back surgery three weeks ago and have been going to physical therapy. How long do I need to continue going?
8 Answers
The duration of physical therapy post-back surgery depends on the procedure performed, your healing progress, and functional goals. Typically, therapy lasts 6–12 weeks, but your care plan will be adjusted based on milestones like pain reduction, mobility restoration, and strength improvement, as assessed by your physical therapist and surgeon.
you will need homehealth PT for 4 weeks and outpatient for 2 or 3 months
Your PT should have discussed this with you after your initial evaluation.
It is best to discuss your plan of care with your treating therapist. That depends on the severity of your condition, your progress, and the treating therapist’s plan.
This is a question for your therapist. Each surgical case is different depending upon the presentation of the patient. It also is heavily dependent upon your consistency with your home exercise program. Be consistent and be truthful with your therapist.
The simple answer: until your goals have been met. Complex answer: it depends on how well your tissues have healed and how you feel you are doing functionally.
It’s usually as per the surgeon's protocol. It might last up to 3 months.
Many patients are different, many surgeries are different, the approach by your PT may be different and therefore most recoveries are different. However you should assess yourself and how effective you think therapy is on a monthly basis.
