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Physiotherapy vocabulary · Instructions and Patient Talk

Adherence

Meaning in physiotherapy, with examples

/ədˈhɪrəns/nounCommon term

In physiotherapy, adherence means: How well a patient follows the treatment they agreed to, for example doing their exercises regularly and in the way they were shown.

In Turkish: tedaviye uyum, egzersiz uyumu

How it is used

Physiotherapists talk about exercise adherence and look for ways to improve it, such as short programmes, clear goals and reminders. Many now prefer 'adherence' to 'compliance', because it suggests a shared decision rather than obeying orders. The verb is 'adhere to': 'adhere to the programme'.

Example sentences

  1. Adherence to the home programme has been poor because of her long working hours.

  2. A short programme with three exercises usually gets better adherence than one with ten.

Common collocations

  • exercise adherence
  • improve adherence
  • poor adherence
  • adhere to the programme
  • home exercise programmeA set of exercises a patient is taught in clinic and then does alone at home, usually with written or illustrated instructions.
  • SMART goalsTreatment goals written to be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound, so that progress can be checked clearly.
  • pace yourselfTo spread activity out over time and take breaks before you get too tired or sore, instead of doing too much at once.
  • flare-upA period when the symptoms of a long-term condition, especially pain, suddenly get worse for a while.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Instructions and Patient Talk

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