Here’s the truth folks, sometimes, even we the physical therapists need help. Even though we know all the things about all muscles and movement patterns and joints, we still have aches & pains.
Let’s think of it as the “Bad Breath” phenomenon–known to others but not known to self.
We have all the information in our brain, but then we go moving around the world (or specifically our workplace) where our hips are stuck and we aren’t using our butt muscles or we are cheating and using different muscles, but we, the therapists, don’t notice it on ourselves but notice everyone else walking around our lives. We are the same as you-our minds play tricks on us and what we THINK we are doing and muscles we THINK are activating aren’t.
Libby had an “ah-ha” moment a few weeks ago when she finally decided to seek another Women’s Health Physical Therapist’s opinion on her pelvic floor after having issues for years, even before she brought three beautiful people into the world. Pelvic floor is Libby’s specialty, so to ask for help seems CRAZY! But you see, her brain was tricking her too and things were cheating and contracting and doing things that she wasn’t aware of, because her brain was giving her mixed messages. She always thought she was bulging through her pelvic floor and had a strong “dropping out” feeling, however when she got a full evaluation from one of her fellow Women’s Health PTs, she learned she was actually guarding and contracting her pelvic floor.
A non-pelvic floor example would be if one of us had a total knee replacement. There is not a therapist in the world that should do their own rehab after that kind of surgery. You can’t inflict that kind of pain on yourself, or push yourself like you need to be. You also can’t be sure you are walking and moving like you should right away after surgery in order to have the best results.
You can’t be the healer and the patient at the same time.
If we need help, so do you. Clients frequently walk into our office, having tried to diagnose themselves for months or even years to “fix” themselves. I always say “I went to school a very long time and paid a lot of money to figure this out for you”, and that’s the truth. It’s also the truth that I need someone else who paid a lot of money and went to school a very long time to figure things out for my issues as well.
Even if you have googled every symptom, done every exercise that some celebrity or online trainer told you to do, you still need help! Self diagnosis is a scary thing–for EVERYONE! #seekPT #breathedsm