Physical therapy aims to improve mobility, manage pain, and help you recover from injuries through specialized treatments and exercises. While you receive hands-on care and guidance during your clinic visits, these sessions are just one part of the healing process. Recovery doesn’t stop there. In fact, much of your progress depends on the exercises and activities you do at home. Consistently practicing these movements helps reinforce what you learn in therapy, speeds up healing, and builds the strength and mobility needed for long-term recovery. Without this ongoing effort, it’s easy for progress to slow or even plateau, making your home exercise program a vital part of your success.

A Home Exercise Program (HEP) is a set of exercises prescribed by your physical therapist for you to do outside the clinic, usually at home. These personalized exercises are designed to support your recovery and help you keep making progress between therapy sessions. At Valor Physical Therapy, we understand the importance of HEP compliance and want to give you the tools for success. Every patient receives access to videos of each exercise done in the clinic so that they can practice at home. In addition, there is a tracker that allows you and us to see which exercises are completed for each day. Many patients have told us how this tracker adds some motivation to perform the exercises, making it easier to incorporate into their daily routine. 

Why HEP Matters

Reinforces In-Clinic Work

The exercises you do at home help reinforce what you’re working on during your therapy sessions. Repetition is key. It helps your body build strength, increase flexibility, and improve balance and coordination. While techniques in the clinic can provide quick relief, the exercises are the tools that help you to maintain these gains long term.

Speeds Up Healing

By staying active between sessions, you keep blood flowing, reduce inflammation, and encourage tissues to heal more quickly. Many exercises can even target specific regions to improve tissue healing. Isometric exercises, for example, can help to reduce pain and sensitivity for tendons.

Prevents Regression or Setbacks

Missing your home exercises can lead to stiffness, muscle weakness, or even re-injury. Without addressing your muscle strength or mobility deficits, it would hard to gain function or movement without compromising your injuries. Staying consistent helps you maintain the progress you’ve made and keeps your recovery moving forward.

Builds Long-Term Independence

A consistent home exercise program can give you the tools to make your body resilient, especially in areas where you've had injuries in the past. By sticking with your plan, you learn how to manage your symptoms, prevent future issues, and stay active on your own terms.

Common Challenges and How to Stay on Track

Many people struggle with sticking to their HEP, and that’s okay. Typically, this is because:

• You forget or don't have time: Life gets busy, and it’s easy to skip a day. Setting reminders or linking exercises to daily routines (like after brushing your teeth) can help. The app that we use at Valor Physical Therapy helps by sending you a reminder each day, and the tracker helps to keep you accountable.
• You're confused about technique: Not sure if you're doing it right? Don’t hesitate to ask your therapist to review the exercises or provide a demo. At Valor Physical Therapy, we encourage you to refer to your personalized video recordings to ensure you’re performing each movement safely and effectively.
• Lack of motivation: Progress can feel slow, but every rep counts. Tracking your improvement, no matter how small, can keep you motivated. In physical therapy, getting you back to your sport is a TEAM EFFORT. We can help to give you the tools to feel better, but if you put in the work, you'll reap the rewards!

The key is consistency, not perfection.

Sticking to your Home Exercise Program means faster, more effective recovery. Even a small amount of daily effort can lead to big, lasting improvements in strength, mobility, and overall function. What you do at home truly makes the difference. 

Dealing with a current or past injury?

Don’t wait until it sidelines you. Schedule a 1-on-1 evaluation or movement assessment with our physical therapy team to address pain, instability/balance, or mobility issues.

Book your appointment here