Four life lessons from physical therapy

In recent years I've had physical therapy three different times. The first was after I got knocked down by a car as the driver was backing out of a parking space.  Last year a slight impingement in my right shoulder and a pulled hamstring muscle sent me back. Here are a few things I learned from those experiences.

Experts who demonstrate and explain the whole process are more effective than those who just tell me what to do. When I used to do leadership development for a living I followed the tell-show-do-review training model. Tell the trainee what to do and why. Show them how to do it. Allow them to do it and then review what they did. It's a model that works for any age and in any learning situation.

It's important to pay attention. The slightest angle off as I pull the elastic band or lift the weight can actually harm rather than help. I also have to pay attention to my instincts, such as recognizing when I hit a limit or need to change how I plan to lift, push or pull.

We have to to it ourselves. Once I've been taught, it's up to me to do the work that will result in an improvement. No one else can do it for me. It's my responsibility and my work alone that will make things better.

We have to keep at it. The pain may ease or go away, but for some, PT exercises need to be part of a daily routine to keep it that way. For many, we remember what to do when we feel a twinge and need to head off a return to the state that sent us to PT in the first place.

 

Whether or not you have had physical therapy perhaps you can agree with the truths of these learnings and along with me select just one of them to concentrate on today.

 

Marilyn