Everyone wants to feel successful professionally and personally. Of course, the level of success everyone aspires to can be different, but everyone can provide some standard forPhysiotherapist at SPARK Physiotherapy in Alexandria Virginia Working With Patient which they aim.

For example, one person may want to receive a passing score on their yearly work performance review.  Another individual may view a stellar review as the minimum requirement for success and a monetary raise or promotion as a mandatory indicator of their success. Even if they receive a stellar review, they feel somewhat unsuccessful without the economic or positional change.

How We Measure Success at SPARK

As physiotherapists at SPARK, we hold high criteria for professional success.

  1. We want to see rapid improvements in the client’s quality or degree of movement following treatment interventions.
  2. We desire for our patients to have somewhat immediate improvements in pain complaints with each treatment session.
  3. We measure success in terms of strength gains, mobility improvements, and other objective measures.
  4. We aim to provide high-level patient education that frees our clients from fear-inducing, movement-avoidance activities that only create greater pain and promote continued movement deficits.

We consistently seek to measure, gauge, and track this information so that if an intervention, treatment, exercise, or piece of information creates minimal change, we can redirect our efforts elsewhere. IF THERE IS NO CHANGE, OUR PATIENTS ARE NOT GETTING BETTER.

These are the ways that your physical therapist or physiotherapist should measure their success in treating your complaints. Suppose they are focused more on seeing high numbers of patients, occupying your time with seemingly meaningless exercises, or completing documentation on their computer. In that case, you are probably not receiving the care that will get you results!

Is It Time to Make a Change? 

If you are reading this, you probably want a treatment that will make changes in your pain, performance, movement, and lifestyle. Ask how your health care providers measure their success. You should probably consider alternative care if they don’t meet SPARK standards.


Dr. Kristen A Lattimore, PT, DPT, CSCS, CMTPT is a licensed Doctor of Physical Therapy, Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, and a Certified Myofascial Trigger Point Therapist. She has also had experience as an athlete and coach of the speed and jumping side of Track and Field. She is passionate about integrating her knowledge and experience with fast and powerful exercise into the practice of physical therapy. She also enjoys working with patients whose concerns and complaints have been overlooked and perpetually deferred to the next medical professional. 

Kristen continues to challenge herself with varied exercises, including interval running, weight lifting, yoga, and Pilates. She is passionate about making her patients their best selves and adding power and intensity back into physical therapy. She can be reached at [email protected].