What are the signs of an outdated therapist?

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How do you know if a therapist does stay current with the research literature?

 Due to my presence on social media, I get a lot of questions from people in pain, every week.

One of the typical questions is this: “How do I know if my therapist is staying up-to-date with the current research? And knows about all the stuff that you talk about?”. 

Below are 18 signs that your therapist does not stay current with the research, and that the therapist most likely provides low-quality treatments and care that is sub-optimal.

If your therapist proposes to “fix” or “correct” some part of you…..

That is a strike, and the therapist is out”dated”.

If your therapist proposes that any of your muscles are “switched off” …..

That is a strike, and the therapist is out”dated”.

If your therapist proposes to “activate” some part of you…..

That is a strike, and the therapist is out”dated”.

If your therapist proposes to “reset” some part of you…..

That is a strike, and the therapist is out”dated”.

If your therapist proposes that your pain are due to something called “crossed syndrome” …..

That is a strike, and the therapist is out”dated”.

If your therapist proposes that any of your muscles are “switched off” …..

That is a strike, and the therapist is out”dated”.

If your therapist proposes to do something with your “fascia” and “correcting” it…

That is a strike, and the therapist is out”dated”.

If your therapist proposes to make you better by using “cups” that are sucking your flesh….

That is a strike, and the therapist is out”dated”.

If your therapist proposes to make you better by using “needles” that are puncturing your flesh….

That is a strike, and the therapist is out”dated”.

If your therapist proposes that your pain are due to something called “trigger” points or “knots”

That is a strike, and the therapist is out”dated”.

If your therapist proposes that your pain are due “bad” and poor posture…

That is a strike, and the therapist is out”dated”.

If your therapist proposes that your pain are due to having a “weak core”…

That is a strike, and the therapist is out”dated”.

If your therapist proposes that your neck pain are due to having a “text-neck”…

That is a strike, and the therapist is out”dated”.

If your therapist proposes that your pain are due to having “instability”…

That is a strike, and the therapist is out”dated”.

If your therapist proposes that your pain are due to having “wrong or “bad” movement”…

That is a strike, and the therapist is out”dated”.

If your therapist proposes that your pain is due to having “faulty movement patterns”…

That is a strike, and the therapist is out”dated”.

If your therapist proposes to make you better by using ultrasound, that will help with your pain…

That is a strike, and the therapist is out”dated”.

If your therapist proposes to make you better by using an laser, that will help with your pain…

That is a strike, and the therapist is out”dated”.

If your therapist had one single “strike”, you should be looking for another therapist. A therapist that does stay current with the research literature and provides care based upon our best understanding and the current scientific knowledge.

What is often forgot in all this, and in the never-ending professional and academic debate on what treatments and modalities should be used, and what should be discarded, is very well exemplified by this:

 “If just one PT had told me that pain wasn’t in my tissues, that pain doesn’t equal damage, that it’s more complex than that, especially the longer we’re in it, it may have saved me years of suffering.” Joletta Belton
 
Joletta Belton pain patient, a patient advocate, an internationally acclaimed lecturer, and she is currently Co-Chair of the IASPs Global Alliance of Pain Patient Advocates Task Force.

What is forgotten is the enormous responsibility it is to accept to take another human being under our care and guidance. An outdated therapist is not in any way, showing themselves worthy of this enormous responsibility.

 “With great power comes great responsibility.” Ben Parker

This quote has a straightforward meaning; if you are in a position to (potentially) have a significant impact on another person’s life, and to be a vital facilitator in getting them better, make sure that power you are used for good.

“A person never has something to do with another person without holding some of the other person’s life in his hand” Knud Ejler Løgstrup

 

This post is an adaptation of a post made by The kettelbell physio and The Fysio Neuralyzer.