• Posted February 17, 2026

Most Skip Physical Therapy Homework, Slowing Their Recovery

Most people are skipping some or all their physical therapy homework, potentially stalling or even setting back their recovery, a new survey has found.

More than 3 of 4 patients (76%) assigned physical therapy exercises to perform at home don’t stick with it, according to the survey from the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.

These homework assignments aren’t mere busywork – they’re crucial to a person’s recovery, said Kyle Smith, a physical therapist at Wexner.

“The one to three hours per week a patient spends in physical therapy pales in comparison to the 168 hours we have in a given week,” Smith said in a news release. “And that one to three hours patients are physically in the clinic is not enough to make big changes in the grand scheme of things.”

Simple activities that patients can perform during daily activities might make all the difference, Smith said.

These might include parking farther away at work or shopping, balancing on one leg while brushing your teeth, or doing stretches or squats while watching TV, Smith said.

For the new survey, researchers polled 1,006 Americans about their physical therapy sessions.

Only 24% said they completed all their physical therapy homework.

Another 28% said they completed more than three-quarters of their homework; 27% completed half to three-quarters; and 11% completed a quarter to a half, the poll found.

Only 8% said they did less than a quarter of their assigned homework, and 2% said they didn’t do any of it.

Seniors 65 and older are more likely than those under 30 to complete all their PT homework, 30% versus 12%.

Seniors are much less likely to shrug off most of their homework. About 5% of those 65 and older did less than a quarter of their homework, versus 15% of those under 30.

Reasons why people didn’t complete their homework varied:

• 40% simply forgot and had no reminders.

• 33% ran out of time or had scheduling conflicts.

• 22% found the exercises boring or repetitive.

• 19% didn’t see results quickly enough.

• 18% experienced pain or were afraid they’d make things worse.

• 15% lacked accountability between visits.

• 13% didn’t have the right space or equipment at home.

• 12% didn’t think the exercises were necessary.

• 5% didn’t fully understand the instructions.

“As physical therapists, we need to educate patients that it is going to take some work on their end to reach the goals they have to ultimately build strength and mobility and decrease the body's pain sensitivity,” Smith said.

The survey was conducted Sept. 18-21, 2025, via web and telephone. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.

More information

Tufts University has tips on staying on track with physical therapy homework.

SOURCE: Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, news release, Feb. 16, 2026