PLEASE — Stop Letting ChatGPT Write Your Rehab Program!

Kelsie Mazur, DPT

Recently, I’ve had a wave of patients walk into their very first appointment and admit, “Well, I asked ChatGPT for a rehab plan.” And honestly, it’s both comical and terrifying. Artificial intelligence is impressive. It can plan your vacation, help you draft an email, and maybe even write your kid’s history paper (shouldn’t this be considered cheating?). But when it comes to recovering from an injury, outsourcing your rehab program to a chatbot is a recipe for frustration or worse, further injury.

The truth is, injuries are never one size fits all. ChatGPT might give you a generic list of exercises pulled from the vastness of the internet, but it has no idea why your back hurts, why your knee flares up, or why your shoulder feels unstable. What might help one person, could completely aggravate another. That’s where nuance comes in, a nuance that an AI model simply can’t see through a keyboard! And here’s the bigger issue: rehab isn’t just about exercises. In many cases, recovery requires manual therapy: hands-on work to restore mobility, decrease pain, and get tissues moving properly again. You cannot massage your own joint capsule, perform a spinal mobilization on yourself, or release a trigger point the way a trained clinician can. ChatGPT might hand you a list of clamshells and bridges, but that’s a lot like giving someone a hammer and expecting them to build a house. The real craft lies in how the tools are applied. 

As a Doctor of Physical Therapy, my job is to spot those subtle details: compensations in your movement, mobility limitations, strength imbalances, postural habits. I rely on real clinical experience, human observation, and current research, not just patterns scraped from a data set. And that distinction matters big time. Rehabilitation isn’t just about throwing a bunch of exercises at you; it’s about tailoring the plan, progressing it safely, modifying it when your body responds differently than expected, and explaining the why behind every step. That’s also where accountability lives. If your symptoms flare mid program, ChatGPT won’t know- I will. If you’re plateauing, ChatGPT won’t reassess- I will. And if you’re frustrated and need reassurance that healing takes time, ChatGPT can’t put a hand on your shoulder and walk you through it- I can.

So, I’ll admit it’s a little funny when patients say they tried to rehab with AI. But it also shines a light on something important: your body deserves more than a generic, one click solution. Recovery isn’t about speed or convenience, it’s about precision, safety, and expertise. And that’s exactly why you should trust a professional who can give you care that’s personal, thoughtful, and evidence based, not just computer generated. Think about it this way: you wouldn’t ask ChatGPT to perform surgery, file your taxes, or represent you in court. So why are you asking it to fix your injury? The stakes are too high, and the margin for error is too small.

Bottom line: when it comes to your recovery, don’t trust an algorithm.

Let’s chat! Book an assessment and let’s get you back to feeling good in your body.
No referrals, no waiting, just answers. Did you know that we offer free 1-on-1 injury screens? Wattage Physical Therapy will take an in depth look at your ergonomics, posture, muscle tone, muscle weaknesses, and movement patterns to create a plan for YOU. If this article intrigues you, you can directly email me, Kelsie at Kelsie@wattagept.com. I would be happy to help you start the process of living a life free from pain.