As the world battles the COVID-19 pandemic, finding ways to keep up with your physical therapy clients during quarantine may be getting harder and harder. The stress and anxiety of being cooped up in your home for weeks on end isn’t making things any easier for anyone. However, there are ways that you can reach out to your PT clients and make sure that they are maintaining their physical therapy during quarantine.
All in all, whether you yourself are having a difficult time with quarantine, or your clients are starting to show signs of slowing down, keeping up with physical therapy if you can’t go into a facility is HARD. However, letting your recovery, or that of your patients, fall by the wayside is not an option. There are many ways you can stop your clients from falling into a lul by helping them use PT in ever day life during quarantine!
In order to help you navigate the hardships of trying to maintain your clients’ physical therapy and handle the pandemic, here are five tips on how to maintain PT in quarantine! Not only will these tips cover how to update and inform your clients, but also different ways to interact and instruct without being together.
Finding the time to create content has never been easier. As we are all under restrictions, as well as regional guidelines for handling the COVID-19 crisis, your time in quarantine can be put to good use. All in all, staying home to flatten the curve doesn’t mean you have to flatten you content creation!
When it comes down to it, you want to avoid making new content for the sake of making content. However, creating new and helpful posts for your physical therapy website is a great way to keep your creative juices flowing while you’re home. Schedule time to sit down and take a hard look at the content you are creating.
Not only can you take advantage of your quarantine to create new and regular content, but you can also manage how your content is delivered in the first place! Schedule out new email blasts, as well as update your social media and marketing approaches. You can keep your clients busy with outstanding content, as well as give them access to more.
Always be certain to inform your clients about whether or not they should (or should not) be accessing certain content. If you post a video that includes certain exercises, you should always point out who should and shouldn’t try that exercise. Not to mention you can also make individual content for your clients!
One of the most important things your clients will need from you for them to maintain PT in quarantine is communication. As well as personal attention. Some people will simply need the encouragement, while others will truly need your one on one instructions while they do their physical therapy.
Technology has provided a wide variety of ways that we can communicate with each other. In order to keep your clients on the right track, there are a lot of different approaches you can take for one on one time with your clients.
Here are a few examples of how you can reach out without breaking out of quarantine:
There are many ways that you can show your clients you care about how they will maintain their physical therapy while we’re all staying home to flatten the curve!
Quarantine has been tough on a lot of people. Not only do most find that their time is no longer their own, but that there is either too much, or too little to do! One way to help your clients maintain PT during quarantine is to give them a solid routine.
There have been many studies that have outlined how important it is for your mental health to create habits and routines. However, it is also essential to the success of a person’s physical therapy to maintain a regimen of both exercise and rest!
Find the time to check in with your clients at the same time each week. Whether you are video conferencing twice a week, or you call once a week to check in with their progress at home, it’s important to implement a routine.
Because sometimes your clients may not feel like doing their physical therapy, it’s important for you to also emphasize how that may affect their progress! Keep them to their routine, and keep yourself to that routine as well. That will ensure you can help them to keep up the good work. Even during a global pandemic!
The world will be forever changed because of this pandemic. It is important for you to emphasize what will and won’t change as you will be transitioning from at-home physical therapy to a facility. Not only should you set long term goals for your clients, but you should also be certain they can achieve them both at home and in your facility once stay-home orders are lifted.
If you set a routine, openly communicate with your clients, as well as create regular content and set reasonable goals, your clients will be able to maintain PT in quarantine! All in all, you need to be honest with them about what they can and can not achieve at home. Then once quarantine is finished, you can start to talk about how you will be able to help them transition from home to in office work. Allowing your clients to easily keep up with their physical therapy.
If their at home progress isn’t keeping up with how you initially thought they should be progressing, adapt their program, or even try a different approach. This may be a challenge for them to do alone at home. Especially if some clients may have never tried to work out, or do PT at home before! Be clear that if it can’t be done at home, it should probably be something that needs to wait until quarantine is finished.
Being in isolation isn’t an easy task. Whether you’re self-isolating alone, or with a large family, this is not an easy time for anyone. One thing that will definitely help your clients to maintain PT in quarantine will definitely be your full attention.
All in all, it’s easy to upload a video to expand your social media presence using your PT blog. However, it’s difficult to give someone your undivided attention when you’re stressed or anxious. After all, you know when someone is not paying attention to you in person! The same goes for you and your clients during quarantine. They will definitely know if you are not present during your video, or phone call sessions.
Before you communicate with your clients in anyway, take a few deep breaths. Collect yourself physically, as well as mentally. Make sure, especially with video conferences, your clients know you are 100% present and with them. That way their overall experience will be better, and you will be certain their physical therapy is on track!
All things considered, being away from the people, places, and activities people love has been difficult. Because keeping your clients on track is extremely important, following these tips to help them maintain their physical therapy in these trying times will be incredibly beneficial. Not to mention it will help keep you organized and on top of your PT website as well!
Uploading regular, informational content, as well as creating the time for routines and one on one attention is important. Not to mention being able to be fully present with your clients and setting reasonable goals for them! This global pandemic has had a lasting impact on the entire world. That doesn’t mean it should derail your clients from achieving their physical therapy goals. Help your clients maintain PT in quarantine by implementing these five helpful tips!
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