Exercise Diaries Work!!
Reference:Moseley GL. Do training diaries affect and reflect adherence to home programs?Arthritis Rheum.2006Aug 15;55(4):662-4.
One of the predictors of success with PT intervention is patients? compliance to home exercises. This study demonstrated a fact that we already knew “…patients overestimate their adherence to home programs”.
What this paper also showed is that if a patient is given a training diary to monitor their exercises, their compliance to the home program increases.
However, as you may guess, the accuracy of a training diary seems to decrease, the more chronic their symptoms become. Basically if a patient has lost hope of recovery, they are less likely to be compliant with the prescribed exercises … even if they have to keep a journal!
Personal Comment: To improve compliance and my outcomes, I have made up a one-page exercise log that I give to a few of my patients. If you wish to view or clinically use it, feel free to email me and just ask for the “Exercise Log”.
Posted on: October 10, 2010
Categories: Relevant Physical Therapy Articles
