“I have tried everything”

Something I keep experiencing again and again are patients that come to me and in their Athletic Therapy initial assessment they say, “I’ve tried everything, I get temporary relief and then it just comes back again. I’ve been dealing with this for years”. Does this sound like something you have said in the past?

My first question for these individuals: have you done any rehab exercises before? And a lot of the time the answer is either A) Yes but I didn’t do them or B) No I wasn’t prescribed any. My rule of thumb, that I have likely mentioned in previous blog posts, if I put 30 minutes into treating you, you should put 30 minutes in for your self afterwards (sometime during the week). If you try the exercises for one week and get no relief, do not give up! Strength and flexibility gains take habitual work, and it will not happen over night.  

Interestingly, I played volleyball one Winter and a girl on the team had a shoulder injury. I asked her what was going on with her shoulder and she said, “I’ve been injured for a year and nothing has helped”. So I asked, “Have you done any rehab or therapy?” Her response: “No, but I rested for an entire year”. This goes to show that just rest does not always solve your problems either.  Doing the same old thing over and over with no relief is also not a solution.

I am proud to be an Athletic Therapist and that we offer a different approach to treating musculoskeletal injuries. My experience with elite athletes as well as the general population has allowed me to treat a lot of different injuries, see different responses to treatment, showed me what works and what didn’t, what surgical intervention was required and subsequent progress post-op. When I can offer a new, fresh approach to a patient’s injury I am excited for them to experience Athletic Therapy and see the positive effects of it on their lifestyle.

If you feel like you’ve “tried it all” then think again. Have you seen an Athletic Therapist?

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