I have fielded a question many times from my current patients that I wanted to write about. “Dr. Murphy, I am nearing the end of my plan of care, and I am in much less pain. I am back to ____________________ activity but now my biggest concern is not wanting this pain to come back. What do I do from here?”
If it were up to me, I would create a transformation in all of my patients. I see patients who have many different levels of health and activity. Some people you know are “health freaks,” they are always exercising, eating right, and getting plenty of rest. These people just have an internal drive to be well. Then you may know the friend who is more sedentary and enjoys hobbies that are not all that active. The consistent thing with both of these types of people is twofold. 1. They don’t want to be in pain and 2. They want to not get back to a state where pain is keeping them from their hobbies!
We all have the best of intentions when it comes to being active, but reality is that life pulls us in many different directions. Before I went to PT school, I was a competitive age group triathlete. I even did an Ironman Triathlon back in 2008. The Ironman distance is a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike, followed by 26.2 miles of running! If I tried to do that now, I would certainly die! Now I chase my 3 kids, try to be a loving husband, and try to run a successful company where I help my community be active and pain free! My ability to devote as much time to my personal wellness has been challenged with these new responsibilities. Pain, however, is a good motivator.
There is nothing more frustrating to me than seeing a patient return to my clinic after getting a great outcome just to find out they are hurt in the same area again. Inevitably, they tell me that they dropped off their prescribed physical therapy program because they were feeling so good, but it came back to bite them. This is human nature. Like I mentioned above; we are busy people. The old saying out of sight out of mind is true for a reason. No pain, no problems is one I like to use. As a physical therapist I have seen firsthand the benefit of my patients who commit to a longer-term approach to their efforts to stay out of pain and keep being active to a high level.
To have a specialist on your team is a huge asset. I will tell you briefly about one of my patients. She is like most people, she does not like pain. I have seen her multiple times throughout the years for various pains. She recently called me and told me about her knee. It had been hurting for a week and it was keeping her from walking for exercise. She came in to see me and in just 1 visit I did some hands-on techniques to her knee that eliminated her pain completely. It was just 3 days after our session that she was back to progressively increasing her walking mileage! I don’t promise a 1 visit magic session like I was able to do for this patient, but I can tell you with conviction that if we can keep your body in optimal condition, pains come less frequently and when they do come, we can get rid of them quickly. This has been proven in my clinic, time and time again.
Since I don’t want to see you again for the same injury and you don’t want to be limited by pain, I have come up with a few options to keep me in your corner. I want to be able to walk the journey of wellness with you for the long term. Do you think it would be easier to stay out of pain on your own or with the help of a specialist PT who has 15 years of experience? Captain obvious question there.
If you are interested in learning more about the options we have, just click here, fill out the form, and we will send you more info. I am so looking forward to creating even better long-term outcomes for you and our community!
Here’s to your health,
Dr. B