By Jeffrey S. Carter, PT, MBA
Pain is what drives most people to seek Physical Therapy treatment. When we are in pain, it impacts our entire life. We think about our pain. We complain about our pain. Often, we are obsessed about our pain! Pain prevents us from performing the things we want to do and pain, at times, causes us to do the things we wish we would not do. In short – PAIN SUCKS!
We go to our doctors to get relief from pain. Often, what is the first response from the medical doctors? Medications! Yes, if it hurts – MEDS! Meds, often, do not fix the problem. They just cover it up and make us temporarily feel better. Sometimes meds can even make things worse. Don’t get me wrong, meds have their place and we should be thankful for them! Just imagine having surgery without anesthesia!
We go from practitioner to practitioner looking for pain relief and often spend days, months, and years! $635 billion are spent annually in the USA alone! Pain is a pain and a big problem!
So the question is – It’s about Pain or is it? Pain is a symptom and not the source of the problem. So why are practitioners so obsessed in treating pain and not the real underlying problem? I can not tell you how many times I have heard from a patient, “nobody has ever checked that during an exam”, or, “nobody has ever told me that is the real problem”, or, “I have lived with this for years and have gone to many practitioners and I have not gotten truly better till now”.
The source of the problem may be a joint dysfunction, a disc derangement, poor posture and body mechanics, poor ergonomics, nerve compression, nutritional deficits, anxiety, depression, stress, poor coping skills, torn muscle / ligament / capsule, fracture, adverse neural tissue tension, scar adhesions and the list goes on and on!
A good practitioner must do a complete examination; and I mean a COMPLETE assessment! In the days of “move them in and out”, rubric, algorithm, cost effective, cost containment healthcare, the patients and their needs are the last thing on the mind of the practitioner. Hitting the target volume or keeping the patient in the system is the bottom line! We must spend the time needed to perform a thorough and comprehensive assessment to find the root of the problem and then set up and execute the proper treatment plan. We must include the patient during the entire process. After all… it is their body and their life.
I have been a therapist for over 34 years and I have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly in our healthcare system. If you are in pain, seek out help from a practitioner that takes into account you as a whole person, will take you seriously, spend time with you, physically assess you though touch, talk to you, listen to you, explain to you what the real problem is, assist you along the proper treatment plan, execute the plan and rejoice with you when you have achieved your goals. This is healthcare at it’s best!