Questions to Ask About Your Physiotherapy Home Exercise Plan

It is easy to leave a physiotherapy session remembering the shape of an exercise but forgetting a detail that matters at home: which side to work, how often to practise, or what to do if a symptom changes. The NHS explains that a physiotherapist may give you exercises to do at home between sessions. Before you begin, make sure the plan you take away is clear enough to follow as prescribed.

Which movements are in my plan?

Ask your physiotherapist to identify every movement you should do at home, including any that appeared in a handout but were demonstrated only as alternatives. A sheet may show several versions of an exercise; that does not necessarily mean all of them belong in your plan. Mark the chosen version while you are together.

For each movement, check the details you might otherwise have to guess: which side to use, the starting position, the intended direction of movement and whether you need support or equipment. If one exercise looks similar to another, ask what distinguishes them. “Show me the version you want me to do” is a useful request when a name alone is hard to remember.

Also ask whether there are movements or activities your clinician wants you to avoid or modify for now. The American Physical Therapy Association’s patient guide advises people to follow the specific exercises and precautions their physical therapist gives them. A general exercise found elsewhere cannot resolve an uncertainty about your own instructions.

How often should I do each one?

“Do these regularly” may be hard to put into practice. Ask what regular means for each exercise in your plan: how many sessions, what to do within a session, and whether any days should be different. If the instruction uses terms such as repetitions, sets, holds or resistance, ask the clinician to write down the amount that applies to you.

Check whether the movements should be done together or spread through the day. If you cannot complete the plan on a particular day, ask what your clinician wants you to do next. That question is especially useful when illness, work or caring responsibilities may interrupt the routine. You need an agreed way to handle a missed session, rather than an assumption that you must make it up.

What should the movement look and feel like?

Ask for a demonstration, then try the movement while your physiotherapist watches. A written description can remind you of the sequence, but it may not answer a question about position or control that becomes obvious when you practise. Ask for one or two cues you can remember at home: where to place your feet, what should stay still, or when to pause.

Next, ask what you should expect to feel during and after the exercise, and what would be different enough to change the plan. Avoid relying on a general rule about whether exercise “should hurt.” The useful answer is the one your clinician gives for your condition and the movement they have chosen. If their description is unclear, describe your own sensation in ordinary words and ask whether it falls within the range they expect.

If you need a chair, step, resistance band or other item, confirm exactly which one and how to use it. If the item available at home differs from the one used in the clinic, mention that before substituting it. Ask whether someone needs to be nearby or whether the exercise requires a particular space. These details belong in the instructions if they affect how you can carry out the plan.

Can I have a written reference for the version we agreed?

Request a copy you can consult later, whether that is a printed sheet, a secure digital handout or notes added to your existing instructions. It should make the chosen movements and their prescribed amounts identifiable. If your clinician points you to a collection of exercises, ask them to mark the ones intended for you; a library is not, by itself, a personal plan.

Check the reference against what you practised in the session. Do the pictures or descriptions match the version you demonstrated? Are the frequency and any equipment recorded? If the spoken instruction and the handout differ, ask which one to follow and have the correction noted. Small discrepancies are easier to settle while both of you can see them.

When should the plan change?

A home plan may have a next step, but you should not have to invent it. Ask how your physiotherapist will decide whether an exercise is ready to progress, and whether you should wait for a review before changing it. If progression has already been prescribed, have the trigger and the change written down: what you will increase or alter, and what would tell you to stay with the current version.

Ask the same question about making a movement easier. If the prescribed version proves too demanding, is there an alternative your clinician wants you to use, or should you contact them first? Clarify whether an improvement in how you feel means you should continue the plan as written until review. Feeling able to do more does not, on its own, tell you which part of a personalised programme to change.

When should I stop, and whom should I contact?

Before leaving, agree what symptoms mean you should stop a particular exercise and seek advice. Ask about symptoms during the movement, symptoms that appear later, and a change from what you normally experience. Name the issue as precisely as you can: “If this becomes more painful than it was in the clinic, what should I do?” A specific question is more likely to produce an instruction you can follow.

A Cambridge University Hospitals home exercise guide tells patients to stop the exercises and seek advice from a doctor or physiotherapist if they experience increased pain or discomfort or sustain an injury. That guidance is a reason to settle your own stopping rules with your clinician, including what symptoms they expect and which changes warrant contact.

Write down who to contact with a question about the plan and how to reach the appropriate service using the details your care team provides. Ask what to do if symptoms change when that service is unavailable. If another clinician is involved in your care, clarify which person should hear about a new problem. Do not wait until something changes to find out where the question belongs.

A question sheet to take home

Use this list to check what you have agreed. Leave room beside each question for your clinician’s answer; do not fill a gap with a generic recommendation.

• Which exact movements and versions should I do, and which should I leave out?
• What position, side, support and equipment does each movement require?
• How often should I do each one, and what amount was prescribed?
• Can you watch me do each movement and correct anything I have misunderstood?
• Where can I find a written reference that matches what we practised?
• What sensations do you expect, and what changes mean I should stop and ask for advice?
• Should I change the plan myself at any point? If so, what is the agreed trigger and next step?
• Whom should I contact if I cannot follow the plan or my symptoms change?
• When will we review the plan and the goal it is meant to support?