Physical therapy is a beneficial treatment administered to patients who undergo acute injuries, pain, or lose mobility function. In most cases, physical therapy will help patients regain mobility and get back to things usually. Physical therapy can be administered in various settings. For instance, you may have physical therapy at home, at the hospital, and sometimes outside, especially for people requiring sports therapy. Physical therapy is usually administered at home due to various reasons such as;
- You have severe injuries, and leaving home will pose more danger to your health
- You are limited due to mobility function hence cannot travel for therapy
- Lack of means of transportation to go for therapy sessions
- Personal preference.
Insurances cover physical therapy services in most countries. However, specific measures may apply if you opt for home care physical therapy. This means that the insurance will only cover home care physical therapy if you have genuine reasons for not getting to the sessions in the hospital. For instance, if you are limited to travel due to injuries or due to other transportation issues. However, the insurance will not cover patients who choose home care physical therapy just for their convenience.
People may mostly wonder about the effectiveness of homecare physical therapy as it is presumed to involve heavy equipment and exercise tools or is expensive. However, with home care and physical therapy, nurses are well trained to maximize the available resources to help in the rehab process. They may also come with some portable tools that will help in the therapy sessions.
Below listed are some of the benefits of having in-home physical therapy
- It offers a one on one care
When a patient receives in-home physical therapy, the caregiver gives them their whole attention. In an outpatient context, a physical therapist may be supervising many patients while completing their treatment plan or may be distracted by administrative or other responsibilities. Patients often believe they are receiving better treatment when they are treated at home.
- Increases functionality
An in-home care physical therapy will familiarize the patient more with the motions and the exercises. Rather than telling the patient to stretch in a specific doorway, they may show the patient exactly which doorway to utilize. While it may seem little, establishing a routine that corresponds to the patient’s familiar surroundings aids adherence and comprehension.
- It is effective
According to 2016 research, it proved that home-based physical therapy is as beneficial as outpatient therapy. Significantly more persuasive, the study found that in-home care was even more beneficial over time. As predicted, the most important element in evaluating the efficacy of an in-home therapy plan is adherence to the specified treatment plan. Patients also said that in-home therapies were more rigorous and concentrated due to the tailored care when the therapist worked with them at home.
- It is convenient
When in-home treatment patients talk about the reason they opt for home physical therapy, they consistently mention convenience and accessibility. Therefore it means they are more focussed on healing when the therapist comes to their home as they will not be worrying about the weather, travel issues, and other variables that affect individuals who travel to obtain outpatient therapy services.