Home physiotherapy exercise programme: template and outline to download
Home physiotherapy exercise programme: what it should contain, how to stay within the scope of practice, and how to encourage adherence. Outline to download.
Countries covered : France
The home exercise programme extends the work of the session between two appointments. Well-designed, it improves patient outcomes and autonomy; poorly structured, it may go unused.
This page details what it should contain, how to stay within the physiotherapist's scope of practice, and how to encourage adherence, with a ready-to-use outline.
An extension of care, within the physiotherapist's scope
Establishing a personalised self-rehabilitation exercise programme is part of the practice of the physiotherapist: it is the logical extension of rehabilitation, not a separate act. It fits into the care objectives defined in the physiotherapy diagnostic assessment (BDK).
What a home programme should contain
- Objective of each exercise. Linked to the diagnosis and objectives of the BDK.
- Clear and illustrated description. Starting position, movement, instructions, ideally with a diagram or photo.
- Dosage. Number of repetitions, sets, frequency (per day / per week), duration.
- Progression. How to increase the difficulty when the exercise becomes easy.
- Safety guidelines. What is normal (mild discomfort) and what should cause them to stop (sharp pain, unusual sign) and get back in touch.
- Follow-up. Space to note what has been done, to be reviewed at the next session.
A short, precise, and illustrated programme is followed; a vague list of exercises is not.
Home exercise programme outline to download
Objective, dosage, progression, and safety guidelines, ready to customise and hand over to the patient. Access the PDF by entering your email:
Encouraging adherence
Effectiveness depends as much on the prescription as on adherence. A few simple levers: limit the number of exercises (three to five well done are better than ten neglected), explain the "why" behind each movement, set a time of day, and review the programme at each session to adjust it and highlight progress. Remember to track the delivery of the programme in the patient record.
Save time on writing
Recreating a programme from scratch for each patient is time-consuming. Start with a fixed template by region or pathology, standardise your instructions and dosage, and adapt in a few words to the specific case.
This is what Delta does: you capture your instructions via live note-taking or post-session dictation, and the tool generates a structured programme according to your template, ready to hand over to the patient, with a longitudinal patient memory that tracks exercises and progression from one session to the next. HDS hosting, GDPR compliant.
Frequently asked questions
Can a physiotherapist provide a home exercise programme?
Yes. Establishing a personalised self-rehabilitation programme is part of the practice of the physiotherapist; it is the extension of rehabilitation between sessions.
Is it the same as "sport on prescription"?
No. The prescription of adapted physical activity (APA) is the responsibility of the doctor. The home exercise programme is a care tool provided by the physiotherapist, within their scope of practice.
What should a good exercise programme contain?
The objective of each exercise, a clear and illustrated description, the dosage (repetitions, sets, frequency), progression, safety guidelines, and a follow-up space.
How many exercises should be prescribed?
A short programme of three to five well-performed exercises is better than a long list that is rarely followed. Conciseness encourages adherence.
Should the programme be tracked in the patient record?
Yes, this is good practice: providing the programme and its content are part of the follow-up and traceability of the record.
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