Designing a physical therapy room will ensure functionality of the space.
Physical therapy was introduced in the United States after the first World War in order to rehabilitate injured soldiers, according to Spine Universe. Since then, this industry has grown exponentially as the technologies to treat injuries expand. Physical therapy involves the manipulation of soft tissues that have been damaged due to injury as well as increasing mobility for patients with arthritis, fractures or nerve injury. Designing a physical therapy room will save you time when installing therapy equipment and will also help determine the aesthetic appeal of your practice.
Instructions
1. Compile a list of all the equipment that must be in your physical therapy room. The exact equipment you will need solely depends on the therapy services you offer. After you have written down the equipment necessary, discover the dimensions of each item to determine how much room each item will encompass. Take note of all other items in the room you will need, such as counters, massage tables and curtains
2. Measure the room where your physical therapy practice will be held. Write down this information and gather a notebook and a pencil.
3. Draw the shape of the room you will be designing on a piece of paper. This does not need to be an exact scale drawing but simply a rough draft. After you have drawn the rough outline of the room, begin to place boxes representing different pieces of equipment. Inside each box, write what piece of equipment it represents.
4. Return to your physical therapy room, and using the rough draft drawing, make physical marks in the floor for each item. Gather the dimensions of the equipment and other items you wrote down in the first step and use a measuring tape to create a box that is roughly the size of each item. By doing so, you'll be able to visualize if a piece of equipment is too large for the room or if you need to alter the design of the room. Review the placement of each item in the room after you have marked the floor. If every item fits move on to the next step.
5. Collect color swatches from your local paint store if you want to change the visual look of your physical therapy room. Color selection is important to help make your clients feel comfortable as well as to keep the room from being too dark or bright. After you have selected a minimum of five different color combinations, review the colors and have several friends or family members give their opinion.
6. Finalize your design by making a final drawing of where your equipment will be situated as well as a final color swatch for the walls. If you wish to add decorations, such as artwork or plants, wait until after you have placed your equipment within the room to determine what areas of the room are bare.
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