Whilst undergoing my studies into becoming a Myotherapist I was educated under the philosophy of “treating with the aim for discharge” which translates to a job well done. In an ideal world the client has come to the clinic with their initial pain and complaint, together with the practitioner they have been appropriately managed, receiving a few weeks of back to back appointments, proactively been completing their corrective exercises and their appointments have been slowly pushed out as their levels of pain are dropping and their strength and condition improves.
As a practitioner, in my eyes the dream situation would be seeing a client at the four week mark twice, with the client coming in and saying “I feel good” followed by the smile that accompanies the phrase, a truly gratifying feeling.
This all ties back to “the aim of discharge” they are now doing well and it’s time to have the discussion “how do I best manage you moving forward”? Some clients live an active lifestyle and this would potentially require more treatment to maintain what they have achieved and others don’t require further treatment, leaving our schedules for now but are left with the reminder that we will always be there for them if they experience any further discomfort, aches or pains.
Recently I was treating a gentleman who had had a complex history, having been through a series of traumatic and serious injuries. In present time he had worked hard to overcome them and was now stronger than he had ever been. The client had come in and openly asked for regular treatments and this threw me a bit based around my education and exposure. It was almost a parallel philosophy moment for me, from my perspective this client had no need to be seen as regularly as he was requesting.
As a health practitioner and a person it’s important for us to remember that there is a lot more to a person than just their anatomy and the complaint they present with. We must always take the most important facet of a person, their feelings, thoughts and desires and also be aware of our own preconceived ideas and past experiences and how that impacts on any given moment. For the aforementioned client if treating him consistently gives him the feeling of being able to achieve his goals, allowing mental clarity and seeing me helps him to do this, and then I will continue to see him regularly. In the end as practitioners we just want the best for our clients and based around my education and training we will continue to work together to achieve his goals and targets, maybe one day further challenging his body by having appointments less regularly.
So I leave you with the same question we began with, are you receiving enough treatment?
Edgar Campos – Elite Myotherapist
