What do you want to achieve from coming to physiotherapy?
This is a very individual thing – for some it may be being able to get back to playing sport, for others simply being able to climb the stairs. By setting goals with your physiotherapist, and letting them know what is important to you, you are far more likely to achieve a successful rehabilitation outcome because:
- It helps with treatment planning
- It is meaningful and you can see how it will make a difference to your life, improving involvement in rehabilitation, empowerment and confidence.
Goal setting is also a great way of improving and measuring the effectiveness your rehab.
Here are some tips on setting your physio goals:
1) What do YOU want to get out of therapy? You choose your goals, NOT your physiotherapist. You need to actively participate when you goal-set.
Ask yourself:
· Does this condition stop you from doing activities you want to do? Which activities?
· If you were to focus all your energy on one thing for yourself, what would it be?
· What activities do you need help with that you’d rather do yourself?
· What are your concerns about returning to work, home, school or leisure activities?
· Imagine it’s 6 months down the road. What would you like to be different?
2) If you have several goals, prioritise them. What is the most important thing for you to focus on?
3) Make long term and short term goals. For example, what do you want to achieve by the end of your rehab? Then break this down into smaller steps, like stepping stones that will eventually lead you to your long term goal.
4) Make them SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Timed.
Eg. I want to be able to run 10km in the fun run in 3 months time.
Discuss with your physiotherapist who will be able to tell you if this is actually realistic and achievable.
5) Don’t forget about them! Review your goals with your physio throughout your rehab to determine your progress. This enables you to see if there is any need for other clinical involvement, whether they should be upgraded/downgraded, and when rehab input is no longer required
Happy goal setting!
Cott C, Finch E. ‘Goal-setting in physical therapy practice.’ Physiotherapy Canada (1991) Jan-Feb;43(1):19-22.
K. E. Randall and I. R. McEwen ‘Writing patient-centered functional goals.’ Physical Therapy (2000)80(12): 1197.
Image 01:
Image02:
Image03:
Image04:
Image05:
Image06:
Image07:
