How is my progress measured?
Physical therapists primarily measure your impairments and your functional limitations.
Impairments include:
- Pain
- Weakness
- Loss of motion
- Paresthesias (numbness, tingling, pins, needles, etc.)
Functional limitations include:
- Lying
- Sleep
- Rolling over
- Getting up out of bed
- Sitting
- Moving from standing to sitting
- Moving from sitting to standing
- Standing
- Walking
- Level ground
- Stairs
- Uneven ground
- Running
- etc
Tracking your impairments and functional abilities gives physical therapists objective information to compare with initial measurements. In addition, your reports and personal experiences help to validate your improvements and clue your therapist to regressions and/or lack of progress.
The bottom line is that you should notice improvements in how you feel and function throughout therapy. If you are not following an anticipated path of progress, your therapist will reassess you. We’ll use the information to change your program or recommend further testing.