October 2011

Magic Hands or the School of Pain?

                It has been a little over 24 hours since I performed an initial evaluation on a woman with bilateral TKAs.  In my mind, I was very gentle and conservative in the treatment methods and so I thought I’d give her a call to see how great she was probably feeling after I used my magic hands to assist with her recovery.  I was a little shocked, then, to hear how little she slept because of the pain, how she somewhat regretted coming (after all, home health PT wasn’t that bad), and how she was considering never coming back.  Well there goes the confidence I had been building since graduating back in May; a big stack of cards tumbling to the ground.  I collected my thoughts and did every type of encouragement and support I could muster to get her back for one more try.  Don’t give up on me, I said.  I want to help get you better.

                Later that day, I mentioned the above conversation with the front desk gal, to which she smiled and said, “Well yeah.  A lot of the patients that leave this clinic seem to be hurting more than when they arrived.  I tell them that the physical therapists are trying to restore some motion. . . and sometimes it can hurt for a little bit.  In those situations, when asked what university theses PTs went to, I tell them the ‘school of pain.’  There’s a reason why I don’t let you guys touch me when I’m hurting.”

                Well that made me feel better.  Thanks a lot.  That night, I kept running through my head all the stuff I learned at Regis, about how to help patients cope with pain, about not pushing past their limits, about how to help patients progress.  I have made patients hurt temporarily, but I suppose I had it in my mind that my magic hands could do no wrong.  Also, it’s funny how during internships, you’ve got your clinical instructor to “blame” stuff on, but now there’s no one to blame but yourself. . . .  and the weather, of course J

                The good thing is, the lady with the bilateral TKAs has come back.  We’ve modified her treatment regime and she is doing much better with pain.  It’s so easy for me to base my performance and skill as a PT on just 1 patient, but I have to keep reminding myself of the countless patients who feel significantly better after receiving our services and they are able to return to activities that they otherwise would not be doing had they not come in.  I love at the beginning of each evaluation, asking patients what they hope to get from physical therapy.  I love setting goals with a patient and then helping them achieve them.

                The ultimate test will be when the front desk gal will trust me into treating her sometime.. . . We’ll see if that ever happens.

I coached Spencer's soccer team this fall. 4-5 year olds, co-ed. Tons of fun. I think Spencer had more fun catching rain-drops than chasing the ball, but it was a great experience.

 

Up and to the right of this picture is Pike's Peak. We have a beautiful view of the mountains. We love this area of Colorado Springs in Old Colorado City.

 

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