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Prescribing home exercises: how to design a program patients actually do

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A good exercise program stands or falls on execution, not on content. You can build the biomechanically perfect program, but if the patient doesn't do it the effect is zero. Below are six steps that demonstrably increase the chance the program actually gets done.

1. Prescribe fewer exercises than you think

Complexity is one of the barriers that keeps coming up in the literature: too many exercises, unclear instructions (Jack et al., 2010). A practical rule of thumb is three to five exercises per program. Not eight, not twelve. That number comes from practice rather than from a trial, but it fits what we do know: the more barriers a patient perceives to exercising, the lower the adherence.

What that looks like in practice:

  • Two exercises that hit the primary goal
  • One or two supporting exercises
  • The "nice to have" exercises wait until the next consult

If you find yourself wanting to give eight exercises, the problem is on your side, not the patient's.

2. Set realistic parameters

The parameters (reps, sets, rest, load) decide whether the exercise fits into the patient's daily life.

Start under the programd limit. A program that already loads to maximum in week one leads to pain, avoidance and eventual drop-off.

Build up progressively. Patients who notice they're getting stronger keep going. Across two systematic reviews, self-efficacy comes out as one of the strongest predictors of adherence (Essery et al., 2017; Chester et al., 2023).

Be explicit about pain. Pain is a signal, not a stop sign, but without a threshold everyone interprets it differently. Give an acceptable pain level (for example VAS ≤ 4); above that, fewer reps, not stop.

Avoid vague parameters like "a few times a day". Patients read that as zero.

3. Add context per exercise

An exercise that comes with an explanation of the why gets done more often. In a review of 28 studies, whether the patient sees the point of the exercise was one of the three most frequently identified modifiable factors (Chester et al., 2023). For each exercise, briefly note:

  • Goal. "Strengthens the muscle that stabilises your hip."
  • Frequency. "Twice a day, five days a week."
  • When to scale back. "Fewer reps if pain rises above 5/10."

One or two sentences per exercise are enough. It costs you thirty extra seconds and doubles the chance the patient takes the program seriously.

4. Communicate smartly

How you hand over the program decides whether it's remembered. By effectiveness:

  1. Video. In a randomised study, the group given a printed handout made more than twice as many errors as the video and live-instruction groups (Reo & Mercer, 2004). A meta-analysis of home-based video exercise programs in people over 65 found 91 percent retention and 85 percent attendance (Rihova et al., 2024).
  2. Photo with text. Better than text alone, but missing motion.
  3. Text. Works for repeat patients who already know the exercise.
  4. Verbal instruction during the consult. Forgotten within 24 hours.

Hand the program over during the consult, not after. Have the patient do the exercise once under your supervision and then ask: "could you do this at home too?". The answer tells you whether the barrier is practical.

5. Build follow-up in from day one

A program without follow-up is a suggestion. With follow-up it becomes an appointment. Three steps:

  • Schedule the next appointment before the patient leaves the practice. Waiting to be called back doesn't lower the no-show rate, it raises it.
  • Send a reminder 48 hours before the next consult. Ask in that reminder whether the program is going; a yes/no via app or email is enough.
  • Ask specifically which exercises got done and which didn't. Patients prefer to say "yes, it's going" rather than admit they skipped half.

6. Adjust the program on data, not on hunch

At the next consult you need two things: what the patient did, and what came of it. The four common patterns:

  • Not executed, no progress: simplify (fewer exercises, lower load).
  • Executed, no progress: revisit the selection. Wrong exercise for the problem.
  • Executed, progress made: increase the load or add something new.
  • Patient asks for more: gold; give them room.

The biggest mistake is sticking to a program "because that's what we agreed". A program is a working document, not a contract.

The thread running through all of it

Adherence isn't a question of patient motivation. It's a question of accessibility, simplicity and follow-up, three variables you have the most control over. Cut half of what you thought you'd prescribe, demonstrate once what you ask for, and schedule a real check within two weeks.

Tools that support this workflow (with clear program building, video instructions and easy follow-up) increasingly exist. What they share is that they lower the threshold for you (writing) and for the patient (doing). Kinmo is built exactly for this: fewer clicks for you, clearer programs for your patient.

Sources

  • Jack, K., McLean, S.M., Moffett, J.K. & Gardiner, E. (2010). Barriers to treatment adherence in physiotherapy outpatient clinics: a systematic review. Manual Therapy, 15(3), 220-228. PMID 20163979
  • Essery, R., Geraghty, A.W.A., Kirby, S. & Yardley, L. (2017). Predictors of adherence to home-based physical therapies: a systematic review. Disability and Rehabilitation, 39(6), 519-534. PMID 27097761
  • Chester, R. et al. (2023). Behaviour Change Techniques to promote self-management and home exercise adherence for people attending physiotherapy with musculoskeletal conditions. Musculoskeletal Science and Practice, 66, 102776. PMID 37301059
  • Reo, J.A. & Mercer, V.S. (2004). Effects of live, videotaped, or written instruction on learning an upper-extremity exercise program. Physical Therapy, 84(7), 622-633. PMID 15225081
  • Rihova, M. et al. (2024). Adherence and Retention Rates to Home-Based Video Exercise Programs in Older Adults: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Telemedicine and e-Health, 30(11), 2649-2661. PMID 39072676
  • Lang, S., McLelland, C., MacDonald, D. & Hamilton, D.F. (2022). Do digital interventions increase adherence to home exercise rehabilitation? A systematic review of randomised controlled trials. Archives of Physiotherapy, 12(1), 24. PMID 36184611