Questions to Ask a Physical Therapist
Questions to bring to a physical therapy appointment, covering what the evaluation found, the home program, limits on activity and pain, how many visits to expect, cost and coverage, and when to call before your next session.
The questions
Open any question for the note
What do you think is causing this?
Why ask it
A physical therapist works from a movement diagnosis, which is often more specific than the referral says. Hearing it in plain words also lets you correct them if part of your history is missing.
What did you find in the exam that points to that?
Why ask it
The answer connects your symptoms to something measurable: a range of motion number, a strength difference between sides, a test that reproduced the pain. Those measurements are what later visits get compared against.
What are we working toward, and how will we know we've got there?
Why ask it
Goals should be stated as things you do, such as climbing a flight of stairs or sleeping on that shoulder, not as pain scores alone. If the goal does not sound like your life, say so now.
How many visits do you expect this to take?
Why ask it
You get a planning figure and a sense of how confident they are. An estimate that comes with conditions attached is usually more honest than a round number.
What should I be doing at home, and how often?
Why ask it
Ask for it written down or demonstrated on video with your phone. Home programs fail more often from misremembered form than from lack of effort.
If I only have ten minutes, which of these matters most?
Why ask it
Most programs have one or two exercises doing the real work. Asking which they are makes the program survivable on a bad week, and therapists would rather you do two things consistently than eight things once.
How much discomfort during an exercise is acceptable, and when should I stop?
Why ask it
Rehab often involves some discomfort, so a bare instruction to stop if it hurts is not usable. Ask for a threshold and for the difference between soreness that is fine and pain that is not.
What can I keep doing, and what should I leave alone for now?
Why ask it
Be specific about your actual activities: your commute, your job, lifting a child, a sport you play. General restrictions get interpreted too loosely or too strictly.
Is it normal to feel worse the day after a session?
Why ask it
Some soreness is expected and some is a sign the dose was too high. Knowing which is which prevents both needless worry and pushing through something that should be reported.
How should I manage pain between visits?
Why ask it
Advice on ice, heat, movement, rest, and timing of medication varies by condition and stage of healing. Ask them to tell you what applies to yours rather than following general advice.
How long before I notice a change?
Why ask it
A rough timeline keeps a slow start from reading as failure. It also gives you a point at which it is fair to ask whether the plan should change.
What would tell you this isn't working?
Why ask it
A therapist with clear criteria for changing course, or for sending you back to a physician, is thinking ahead. A vague answer is worth following up at the next visit.
What symptoms should make me call you or a doctor rather than wait?
Why ask it
Ask for the short list that applies to your case, which may include new numbness, calf swelling, fever, a joint that gives way, or pain that wakes you at night. Write it down before you leave.
Do my other conditions or medications change anything we do here?
Why ask it
Blood thinners, diabetes, osteoporosis, heart conditions, and steroid use all affect which techniques are appropriate. Bring your medication list rather than relying on memory.
How does this fit with what my surgeon or doctor told me?
Why ask it
Post-surgical protocols come with restrictions and dates, and the therapist may not have received the full note. Naming any conflict lets them call and check rather than guess.
How many visits does my insurance cover, and what happens after that?
Why ask it
Coverage is often capped or authorized in blocks, and a plan can be interrupted mid-course. Front desk staff usually know the answer better than the therapist does.
What will each visit cost me?
Why ask it
Ask for the per-visit amount after insurance and whether any equipment is billed separately. Cost is a common reason people stop early, and a therapist who knows can often adjust the visit schedule instead.
How do I reach you between appointments?
Why ask it
Practices differ on whether questions go through a patient portal, the front desk, or a direct line, and on how quickly you can expect an answer. Knowing this prevents a small problem waiting a week.
Once I'm discharged, what keeps this from coming back?
Why ask it
Ask before the final visit, not during it. A maintenance plan is usually shorter than the rehab program, and knowing which two or three things to keep doing matters more than the full list.
If I'm not better by the end of this, what are my options?
Why ask it
The answer might be imaging, a specialist referral, an injection, or a different course of therapy. Hearing the map now makes an incomplete recovery easier to act on rather than accept.
Getting the most from physical therapy
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Before the first visit
- Bring the referral, any imaging reports, a list of medications and doses, and the dates of any surgery or injury.
- Write down when the problem started and what makes it better or worse. It is harder to recall in the room than you expect.
- Wear or bring clothing that lets the therapist see and move the affected area.
- Check whether your plan requires a physician referral. Many places allow you to see a physical therapist directly, but insurance may still want the referral on file.
Describing your symptoms usefully
- Say where the pain is, where it travels, and what you cannot currently do. Function tells a therapist more than a number out of ten.
- Report the pattern: worse in the morning, worse after sitting, worse three hours later. Timing narrows the cause.
- Mention anything you have stopped doing to avoid the pain, including things that seem unrelated.
- Say plainly if an exercise made things worse. Therapists change the plan on that information and cannot see it otherwise.
During the course of treatment
- Ask for the measurements taken at your evaluation to be repeated periodically, so progress is something you can see rather than guess at.
- Keep a short log of your home exercises and pain levels. A week of notes answers questions that memory cannot.
- If you have not done the home program, say so rather than letting the therapist assume the exercise failed.
- Ask what the point of a new exercise is. Understanding the purpose makes it far more likely you will keep doing it.
If it isn't going well
- Raise a lack of progress at a visit rather than by stopping treatment. Plans get revised regularly and this is expected.
- You may request a different therapist within the same practice, and asking the front desk is enough.
- If your therapist recommends going back to your physician, take the recommendation seriously; physical therapy is not the right treatment for every cause of pain.
- If cost is the problem, ask about a reduced visit schedule with a longer home program. Most practices would rather adjust than lose you.