One of the more notable behaviors I demonstrate with my clients is that I am consumed in my desire to help them. During an hour-long session, solving that problem is the only thing on my mind. We are going to battle together, we both have skin in the game, and we are going to work at solving this problem.

Depending on the duration of symptoms, both the painful experience and the psychological warfare can become intertwined and leave the patient feeling hopeless. One of the most powerful tools in these cases is the understanding that there is no one to blame. It is no one’s fault that pain is present. In my line of work, pain is simply an outcome.

Your genetic make up and your environment interact in all circumstances, leading to small changes over time. Healthy, active tissues regain their capabilities more readily post-injury.

We are all under pressure to get things done, we take short cuts sometimes to be more efficient. If that becomes the norm, compensations are now our primary strategy, and we begin to sacrifice the efficiency we sought in the first place.

Many of us want to get out there and take on the day, work hard and accomplish things. This is admirable, and requires a high level of output. Make sure to provide yourself with the required input to maintain the energy levels needed to thrive in the work you want to do.

We all have a certain amount of potential, and with a good coach we can fully realize our capabilities. As a physical therapist I take it upon myself to coach patients through their recovery, and we work together to tap into that unrealized ability.

We all develop strategies for moving within the world, and when those strategies work for long enough, they become subconscious. Only when we are unable to utilize that strategy does something grab our attention.

As a physical therapist, my wheelhouse resides in the mechanics required for motion. The number of contributing factors to a patient’s issue can be many. Keeping this in mind allows us to make better decisions together, and with enough time, solve the problem.

The most difficult part of being a physical therapist is asking a patient to recognize the importance of taking their health into their own hands. It requires making themselves a priority in a world that insists everything else comes first.

Slowness implies an abundance of time. Time is a fundamental resource we are all searching for, one that we want more of, yet we spend less time doing the things we want to do.

Your standard, run of the mill, physical therapy clinic will typically assess your range of motion at your first visit, and maybe once or twice more during your episode of care. What if that range is changing and in order to make better decisions we need to monitor those changes more closely? When I go to a tailor, he takes measurements every time I see him, why shouldn’t your physical therapist?

Movement is a complex topic. It has a number of variables that impact the outcome, some of which we can track and interpret, others of which we cannot. At the heart of movement are simple rules, these rules compound and eventually lead to the complexity of motion as a whole.

Like all aspects of pain, issues at the knee are complex. I have reduced the treatment options down for the sake of this post, however these strategies can be useful. Finding a person that is a specialist in movement related issues can be of tremendous benefit, as they may be able to assist in identifying potential causes and they can coach you in your return to where you want to be.

Our ability to regulate input and output requires effort, and effort requires energy. We all have a limited supply and examining how you are spending that energy can have tremendous benefits.

The most effective way to get the most from your exercise regimen is to determine the desired outcome, select activities that promote that particular change and reassess after a sufficient period of time.

Adaptation is something that we, as human beings, have developed a remarkable ability to do. Despite ever-changing environmental conditions, we find a way to thrive.

Every client has unique needs that require thoughtful solutions, and the context of those needs is always changing. We must be adaptable in our approach, fluidly altering our plans as needed.

Research from several decades ago, circa mid-1960s, revealed that muscles do not stretch very much. Their elastic qualities are minimal, and this makes sense if they are the force producing agents we need to move things.