The Importance of Individualized Physical Therapy: A PSA

Whoever is reading this, you are different from me. And I am different from you. And that's a beautiful thing.

In my opinion, where most physical therapy visits go wrong is there is still a belief that one exercise is the best exercise for everyone. Not everyone will respond to the same exercise in the same manner. This is arguably the most important lesson I've learned as a treating therapist. And while there are studies that tell us, "These are the 3 best exercises for rotator cuff strengthening", they may not be the best 3 exercises for you.

Trust me, I have lost many battles trying to fit each patient into the same exercise category, and that simply just doesn't work. So while side-lying external rotation may be the best exercise to strengthen your rotator as mentioned by numerous research studies, it's not the best exercise for every patient. If you want to maximize results, physical therapy needs to be individualized.