I love this quote “One of the biggest lies I tell myself is “I don’t need to write that down. I’ll remember it!.” This quote is so true. Everyone has experienced this. I just did this myself a couple days ago grocery shopping. Forgot the taco seasoning! And I have stacks of Post-It notes on my desk!
I give each of my patients a HEP (home exercise program) log sheet.
My goal when I give this log sheet is twofold: The patient has an easy way of documenting how many reps/sets they perform each day for consistency. Also, they are giving themselves credit. They are providing ownership of the HEP. This leads, I have found, to improved compliance, which is the No. 1 problem I run into as a home health clinician.
The patient can also self-progress their HEP when they know how many reps/sets they performed the previous session. Consistency in an exercise program is the most important aspect and writing down what you did will improve compliance.
I’d say 90% of my patients use the HEP log. Some are very detail-oriented when documenting as they’ll write in the exact number of reps and some just put a checkmark in the box.
-Michael, PTA
