Physiotherapy and Exercise Log

Who this is for

A log of a course of physiotherapy, kept by the person doing it. The first table records each session and what was worked on, the second is blank space for the exercises your own physiotherapist set you, and the third is where you tick off the practice at home and say in your own words how it went.

Anyone part-way through physiotherapy or rehabilitation, people carrying on at home between appointments, carers helping somebody else with their practice, and anybody asked at the next session how the week has gone.

What this helps you track

• Each session with the date, the physiotherapist and where it took place
• What was worked on, and what you were asked to do before the next session
• The exercises your physiotherapist set, written down in their words rather than ours
• How each session and each practice session felt, in your own description
• How many days went by between one appointment and the next

How to use it

1. Write your details, your physiotherapist and the reason you were referred, in the words you were given, at the top.
2. Log each session the same day: date, who you saw, where, what was worked on and what was agreed before the next one.
3. Copy the exercises you were set into the middle table exactly as they were given to you — the sheet supplies none of its own.
4. Tick off your home practice in the bottom table and write how it went in your own words, using the same words each time so the entries compare.
5. Take the log to the next session; it answers the question about how the week went far better than memory does.
6. The browser and spreadsheet versions count the sessions and the practice entries for you.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

Does the sheet come with exercises on it?

No, and that is deliberate. The exercises table is empty. What you do, how you do it and how much belongs to the physiotherapist who assessed you, and this sheet is only the place to write down what they said.

How do I describe how a session went?

However you would say it out loud — easier than last week, sore afterwards, could not finish the last one. Keep using the same words and the entries become comparable, which is what makes them worth reading.

Can I use it for exercise a different clinician set?

Yes. The sheet is not tied to physiotherapy — any programme you have been given and are doing at home fits the same three tables. Note at the top who set it.

Should I write down pain?

Write what happened, in your words, and tell the person treating you. The sheet has no scale and no opinion about anything you record on it.