The importance of getting the right treatment
Are you having trouble recovering from a recent or an older injury? Are you wondering if you are on the right path with your treatment?
Or, have your treatments finished, and yet you feel you have still not recovered?
As some of you may be aware, about 1 year ago I injured both my shoulders, arms, and hands.
The process of my recovery has been...interesting.
Many a time over the years I have wished I had been able to work on myself, but never more so than in the past year.
Being limited by injuries in both shoulders, arms, and hands, and by what I could actually reach, I did the best I could.
I was fortunate to be able to draw from my trainings and experiences in therapeutic bodywork, movement therapy, and other trainings.
I am well aware that this is more more than many people would have been able to do for themselves.
And, as so many people need to do, I needed to seek treatment where my insurance would cover it.
During the process of my recovery I have come across some Occupational Therapists (OTs) and Physical Therapists (PTs) who have really listened to what I was saying, looked at what I was presenting with, and done very good/ appropriate treatments on/with me.
However, during much of this past year of recovery, I have experienced frustration and confusion regarding what was and what wasn't being done for me in the course of treatment.
With my years of experience and training in various therapeutic bodywork techniques and various movement techniques, I knew that there were specific things that my body needed in order to progress in its recovery, and I knew that my treatments were not doing/ providing these things (I did explain to my providers what I was experiencing, and ask them questions about their treatments).
It has long been my belief that on our roads to recovery, movement - along with therapeutic bodywork - is very important.
It has also long been my belief that a movement recovery program of strengthening and exercising that is forced upon compromised joints, restricted/congested/misaligned or "confused" -about-how-to-communicate areas in order to open them up, strengthen, re-align, and/or re-organize them will backfire, if what is actually needed first is appropriate therapeutic bodywork.
1 year after my accident I have still been experiencing restricted range of motion, weakness, and swelling, limited/ created by restriction in the joints, muscle groups, etc., and by a disruption in "communication"/ signals.
Yesterday I was finally able to receive treatment from a PT friend who's training and perspective is very similar to mine.
As she worked with me, she did express surprise that certain specific things had not been done as part of my treatment, particularly early on in my course of treatment.
She took care to listen to me and look at me, and the work that she did addressed what needed to be addressed.
I now have little to no swelling, and increased range of motion and strength in all the areas that had been troublesome.
The importance of getting the right treatment cannot be overstated.
For "regular people" out there it is hard to know if you're getting the right treatment for you-why wouldn't you be getting the right treatment if you're seeing reputable providers?
I will tell you a few things to look for/consider if you feel that you are not recovering.
1) Is your provider doing basically the same thing to you every time you see them? If they are, and if your recovery is not progressing much, that could be problematic.
2) Is your provider giving you exercises to do that you may not be able to do at all, because of restriction/pain /weakness, and not helping you modify the exercises? Is your provider expecting, with either a minimum of therapeutic bodywork or none at all, that the exercises they give you will resolve your issues, and, if so, how are you progressing?
3) Do you feel noticeably worse after every time you do the exercises the provider has given you? If so, have you mentioned this to your provider, and what has their response been?
4) What are your provider's expectations for your recovery? Note that "Time will resolve this the rest of the way" is not necessarily the appropriate response. What are your expectations for your recovery?
The therapeutic bodywork and the therapeutic movement work that I do with clients and students addresses many of these issues.
If you are having trouble recovering from a recent or an older injury and are not sure if you are on the right path with your treatment, or if your treatments have finished and you have still not recovered, consider contacting me for a consultation, or coming in for a session.
We can talk about what your treatment has been, where you stand now, where you would like to move toward, and how we can get you there.
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