How Long Is a Physical Therapy Program?

Dr. Matt Paluchniak
May 12
3 min read

One of the most common questions we get at Evolv Physical Therapy & Performance is, “How long will my physical therapy program take?” The answer? It depends! Your journey through physical therapy is unique, just like your body, your injury or issues and your goals.

While there’s no one-size-fits-all timeline, let’s break down what factors determine the length of a therapy program and what you can expect when working toward recovery and peak performance.

Typical Length of a Physical Therapy Program

On average, most of our clients' physical therapy onboarding programs last between 8-16 weeks, with sessions typically scheduled 1 time per week at the start and spacing further apart as your body adapts. However, this varies based on several factors:

Type & Severity of the Injury

Mild to moderate acute injuries (think sprains and muscle strains): May take 4-8 weeks to restore strength and mobility deficits. While these deficits may move slowly at first, once healing is happening at full force we're able to accelerate progress because the injury was the result of one (bummer) moment in time, compared to more chronic/long standing issues that have built up over months or even years. These types of injuries often heal quicker than more severe acute injuries and therefore require less time for return to full activity and then building up resilience to guard against future issues.
Chronic conditions (long-term pain, movement dysfunctions) and more significant acute injuries: Treatment may last several months to calm down symptoms and make the specific adaptations needed to address the deficits we're finding in our Initial Evaluation. With these types of issues, we are very aware of not just "putting a band-aid on it" and we make sure to address compensations that have developed and again emphasize building resilience to guard against future issues.
Post-surgical rehabilitation (ACL reconstruction, rotator cuff repair and other significant surgical repairs): With these injuries and surgical interventions, we often follow structured frameworks. Many post-operative clients work with us for several months and work through different milestones through the different phases of full recovery. Similar to chronic issues, we are always watching for compensatory movements and want to address these early in the rehab process so that we can lay the foundation for good, solid movement and then build upon that foundation for return to full activity with a resilient body.

Individual Healing & Recovery Rate

Every person heals at their own pace. Factors like age, overall health, fitness level, adherence to a home exercise program and nutrition all play a role in how quickly your body heals and you progress.

Therapy Goals

Many of our clients have quick improvements in reducing pain and returning to daily activities.
With our active and motivated population looking to return to a high-performance lifestyle, we then shift our emphasis toward their specific goals. We could just focus on "getting functional again", but these are not the clients that we work with. As an active individual, you want more out of your body and therefore therapy will likely take longer to rebuild strength, mobility, power and uncompensated movement to build resilience and guard against future re-injury.

Commitment to Treatment

Consistency is key! Scheduling sessions as close to recommendations as possible, following your home exercise plan and building a workout plan that emphasizes what you CAN DO will speed up recovery and improve results.

How Do You Know When You’re Done with your Onboarding program?

You’re ready to complete your Onboarding program when: You’ve met your mobility, strength and movement goals Pain and discomfort have significantly decreased or resolved You can safely return to your activities and/or sport without limitations

At Evolv Physical Therapy & Performance, we guide you through each stage of recovery, ensuring you leave therapy feeling stronger, more confident and ready to move without pain.

Don't Stop There!

Upon completing your Onboarding package, you have the perfect opportunity to progress into one of our Evolv Performance Plus memberships to build resilience, set even bigger goals and continue to focus on a high-performance lifestyle. We love working with clients on a continued basis to make sure you stay at the top of your game all the time, not just when you get injured or banged up.

Ready to Get Started?

If you're dealing with pain, recovering from an injury, or want to improve your movement and performance, let’s create a personalized therapy plan for you!