Many of our patients have asked us how it’s possible to do a Telehealth visit for physical therapy. Our visits typically include soft tissue work, teaching exercises and learning stretches. So how can do all this during a Telehealth visit?
In an ideal world, YES, it would be great to come in and get treated in person. However, we can still work on soft tissue, stretches and strengthening exercises during your Telehealth visit. If you’re dealing with an issue, whether it’s orthopedic, pelvic floor or postpartum, and are unable to come into the office, a Telehealth visit can help you identify and potentially fix the issue. Even if your issue is not totally solved over Telehealth, it can help prevent things from getting worse.
Here are some of the things we do during our Telehealth
First, we do an evaluation to figure out what’s going on. We look at your body patterns, how you’re moving and how you feel while you move. From your evaluation, we see which muscles are tight and the areas of the body that aren’t moving well and develop a treatment plan from that information.
Once we know what’s going on and which areas need soft tissue work, we can develop a treatment plan. Unlike a traditional visit where the therapists manually do the soft tissue work, we talk you through how to self-release the tissue using tools such as foam rollers, trigger point massage balls, Theracanes, etc.
We’ll give you a treatment plan that helps you understand which muscles you need to release, which muscles need to be worked on and how often.
The next part we add in is stretching. Using a yoga mat, yoga strap and a wall, we can show you how to do various stretches, whether it’s for your legs, head and neck or rib cage. For this, we can use objects you have at home to help you with you stretches.
During the Telehealth, we’ll talk you through each stretch, make sure you’re doing it properly and give you instructions on how frequently to work on it.
Strengthening exercises might range from using a ball, exercises on your yoga mat or using a Theraband for resistance training. During your Telehealth, we’ll prescribe strengthening exercises and advise you on how frequently to do them.
If you’re in Pennsylvania and interested in a Telehealth, contact us to schedule.
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