Ever wondered how your physical therapy appointment would look like with Virtual Therapy? If so, check out our video below as Amy Crouse, a Results Physical Therapist, walks through a Virtual Therapy appointment; so you can make the most of your next session!
Results Physiotherapy is doing its part to assist patients with remedying some of their most common musculoskeletal ailments and chronic pains. One of the most recent ways we’re doing this is by helping individuals connect with our Physical Therapists through remote virtual therapy appointments.
If you’re unfamiliar with virtual physical therapy or some of the other emerging telehealth services that are rapidly growing quickly, telehealth physical therapy allows our Physical Therapists to connect with patients remotely through technology platforms. This means that our Physical Therapists can connect with patients wherever they may be, instead of asking that they visit one of our in-person clinics. With a virtual therapy physical therapy session, you can connect with our Physical Therapists and connect with them in a one-on-one virtual session that will provide you with an assessment and real-time feedback.
In an increasingly remote and virtual world, the benefits of virtual therapy speak for themselves. One of the biggest benefits of virtual physical therapy is that it’s a great way for you to get a physical therapy appointment as an alternative option to those patients who want to take additional safety precautions or schedule appointments on their own time.
Book Your Virtual Physical Therapy Appointment Today!
As more patients gain access to receive personalized care on their own schedule and from the comfort of their home, Amy Crouse has highlighted some of the key things you can do before your session to ensure that you make the most of your virtual therapy session with the following tips:
One of the very first things that you can do to ensure that you make the most of your virtual therapy appointment is to find an open space that is large enough for you to perform the exercises and stretches during your virtual therapy session. Try to find an area in your home that is well lit and will give you enough room to be seen clearly on your webcam during the session.
It’s always a good idea to make sure that this area is also free of some potential hazards that might affect you during the physical therapy session. Some of the most common things to look out for when ensuring that your space is going to be viable include but is not limited to loose rugs, toys, and small animals. Avoiding these hazards is important to ensure that you’re doing all you can to prevent any potential falls or mishaps during your appointment.
In addition, you want to have enough space where you can safely conduct all of the exercises and stretches throughout the course of your physical therapy appointment to ensure that you can get the most benefit out of the allotted time. Another important reason that we’ve outlined above is to ensure that your Physical Therapist will actually be able to see you perform all of the exercises throughout the course of the virtual appointment.
It’s important to ensure that there is enough room for you to back up and be completely seen on your webcam so that the Physical Therapist can quickly make recommendations on form correction and help you as you perform the exercises and stretches.
The next thing to look out for when you’re getting ready for your upcoming virtual therapy appointment is to make sure that you can find or be next to sturdy support if you happen to feel unsteady. Having quick access to sturdy support during your virtual physical therapy appointment will help to ensure that you’re staying safe throughout the appointment in the event that you feel like you’re going to have a fall.
Some of the most common sturdy supports you can use during your virtual PT session include kitchen counters or a heavy chair. These supports will help you stabilize yourself quickly in the event that you feel like a fall is coming on or you’re a little bit unsteady when performing physical activity.
To ensure that you can make the most of your virtual therapy appointment, a member of the Results Physiotherapy staff might reach out to you to collect your co-payment before your session if applicable. This is to ensure that all of the payment details and concerns have been alleviated beforehand, and you can instead focus on preparing for your upcoming appointment.
Book Your Virtual Physical Therapy Appointment Today!
It’s important to make sure that you take care of some of the more technical aspects before your virtual therapy appointment begins so that you can be ready when the appointment notice comes in to begin your PT session.
Some of the more technical aspects include making sure that the device you will be using for the virtual session is in good working order. For instance, if you plan on using a laptop or a computer for your virtual therapy session, ensure that you can reliably connect to the internet. The next thing you should check is to make sure that your speakers and microphone are in good working order so that you can properly communicate and listen to your Physical Therapist during your appointment.
Once you’ve checked to ensure that your microphone and speakers are in good working order, check to make sure that you have a reliable webcam you can use for your virtual session. If you’re using a laptop, you might already have a built-in camera that you can use. If you’re using a desktop computer, make sure that you have a webcam you can hook up to your computer to use. If your device of choice is going to be a mobile phone, make sure that your phone’s camera is in working order.
Make sure to spend the few seconds it takes to clean off the surface of your webcam or camera to ensure that the picture is coming through appropriately, there are no lighting issues that need to be addressed, and that you’ll be visible for your physical therapy session.
Once you’ve got your camera or webcam all set and you’re confident that everything is going to work, the next thing you need to check is that you have a good solid charge on your mobile device or laptop. You don’t want to have to scramble at the last minute during your physical therapy session when that annoying notice pops up on the screen that you’re running low on battery. Make sure your devices are charged before your session or you can easily plug them in so there aren’t any disruptions during your session.
Once you’ve gotten all of the technical aspects out of the way and you’re ready for your virtual therapy appointment, the next thing you need to do is to be on the lookout for your appointment notice.
Book Your Virtual Physical Therapy Appointment Today!
Make sure that you’re on the lookout for an email or a text message that will be sent to you which will contain a link for you to begin your appointment. Please make sure that when you open the link that your webcam is working, the screen of the device you’re using is clear, and the volume is turned up.
Once you’ve clicked on the link and you’ve made sure that everything is in good working order, you’ll be placed in the virtual waiting room with your Physical Therapist until your appointment begins. Once your appointment begins, your Physical Therapist will join the session and your virtual therapy appointment will commence.
If you’ve never had a virtual physical therapy appointment before, you might not know what it’s like. During your virtual physical therapy appointment, your Physical Therapist will be able to evaluate your symptoms, prescribe or modify your exercises, and provide you with additional instructions on how to decrease your pain and improve your overall function.
During your virtual therapy appointment, you can also have a family member present during the remote call to assist you with your exercises and to ask any questions. Once your physical therapy appointment has been completed, your Physical Therapist will inform you about your next appointment, and guide you to help you understand how you can best prepare for your upcoming appointment.
If you have any questions regarding your upcoming virtual physical therapy appointment that our Virtual Therapy Frequently Asked Questions don’t already cover, we’re more than happy to answer them. If you’d like to catch even more great content and insights from Amy Crouse, feel free to check out the Results Physiotherapy Uncensored Podcast!
In the meantime, consider Booking Your Virtual Physical Therapy Appointment Today!
