Have you ever gone to P.T. in the past and felt like it was beneficial, but it didn’t help everything? Or maybe you felt like it was your fault that you didn’t gain the results you were hoping to see. Probably you didn’t do enough dead bugs or quad sets.
I am here to say, that most likely it wasn’t you, but rather your therapist missed something. Please don’t misinterpret that statement as a slight to other P.T.’s It is just a fact that even though we all leave P.T. school with a good knowledge base for human movement and physiology, very few if any, receive courses on nutrition. That’s a shame, because pain and chronic disease management can be mediated a lot by proper nutrition.
The Tantrum
One of my strengths is making connections between two seemingly unrelated topics. I can transition between all practice settings and find commonalities amongst them. Currently, my focus is in pediatrics and neuromuscular development of the young child. There are so many correlations between these little guys and adults both relating to functional movement and motivation. As an example, when looking at a child’s unwanted behavior, parents are recommended to think about the antecedent or what happened before the behavior came about. This is exactly what I want you to do when thinking about your health symptoms. Because the symptoms you are experiencing: low back pain, skin irritation, headache, high blood pressure, muscle pain, are your body’s way of communicating something to you. Just like your child’s tantrum, hitting, biting or refusal to eat broccoli is his way of telling you something.
Communication is only effective with understanding
Often it is easier to focus on the symptoms or behaviors rather than identifying the antecedent, but in order to really stop your child from pinching his baby sister, this will be necessary. A time-out may “fix” the behavior (symptom) in the moment, but 5 minutes after the time-out is over, guess who is back at it? This time he is throwing toys at her head. This cycle could continue, or you could look at the root cause (spoiler alert, it isn’t because he is the meanest 3 year old ever).
Professional help
Whether you are noticing quirky behaviors, delayed milestones or difficulties learning how to read, if you as a parent can provide strategies to help your child thrive and move to the next stage,that’s all you need to do. Then there are times when the things you know; the advice from the neighbor and the Pinterest ideas fail. You don’t know what else to do. I can tell you what I did. When my son was four I schooled him at home. We built crazy block towers, hunted for ladybugs and worms in the backyard and had a great time learning and playing together. The exception was with recognizing letters and their sounds. I couldn’t make sense of it. All of the strategies I read about in books, computer games and phonics videos didn’t help him learn these concepts. What was going on? The reason why he wasn’t learning these concepts was because I didn’t identify the cause. Once his dyslexia was identified, he began to progress. His symptoms could not be helped until the cause was identified.
The same is true for you. You probably have tried a number of ways to alleviate your symptoms: medications, surgeries, 21 Day cleanses, supplements and a membership at the massage place near the mall. These remedies may have improved some symptoms, but there is a very good reason why you are feeling overwhelmed and defeated at your lack of real progress. You need help identifying the cause.
How can a P.T. Help?
I have the background and training to work with all members of your care team. I am there also to support YOU 100%. I have my formal degree in physical therapy with additional training in nutrition for pain and chronic disease management, massage and mindfulness. Lastly, I understand the importance of community support, finding a rhythm in your life as well as incorporating variety into everything. My physical therapy treatment plans are individualized and sessions don’t just end when the hour is up (your hairdresser doesn’t kick you out of her chair just after 60 minutes, does she?). I work 1:1 with you in your own home and I also offer live video visits which may work better with your schedule. When the time is right for you and you are looking for a professional to support you on your journey towards your optimal healthspan, please think of emPOWERme P.T. and all of the ways I know how to investigate the cause of your symptoms being your true healthcare ally.