Spoken & Unspoken Lessons in My Rehab
You know the most important thing in my rehab journey has been something that my therapist said to me, rather than something he did to me or for me. On one of my very first visits he told me, “I don’t want you to be a repeat customer. I don’t want you coming back to me in 6 months, a year. You have to do the work in between sessions to get better.”
It was a pretty obvious thing to understand once he said it, but shamefully not something that I really thought about before that.
Even after my injury I continued to exercise regularly, and I figured that at some point I would be able to work through the injury, fix it, and get rid of the pain. So, that’s what I did. But, it didn’t work.
During that time I went to a handful of different doctors, physical therapists, chiropractors, and more, looking for the answer. Each in their own way pushed me along on my journey. Some were really good and guided me towards thing I should be doing. Other were not so good and I took their advice as things to avoid.
But throughout all of those visits, I really thought one of them was going to have the magic bullet. That at the first, second, or third visit they’d be able to pop something back in place, release a tense muscle, or do something else that was going to get me back to 100 percent in an instant.
In a way it’s made me understand how people look for the magic pill in fitness. In their health. When it comes to exercise and diet. There just feels like there has to be something that will make everything the way I want it. Now.
But injuries and fitness have that in common. The only thing that works in the long term is consistency. And that’s what my therapist highlighted for me, and that’s what I’ve been practicing ever since. And while I’m still not 100 percent, I am firmly in grasp of healing.
Another thing my therapist gave me was permission. Permission to dig deep into my muscle and tendons even if it was uncomfortable. Permission to contort my body into odd ways to alleviate my pain and improve my range of motion.
Before he unknowingly gave me this permission I would often stop just short of getting into a position that would’ve been beneficial to my rehab for fear of re-injuring myself. But the exercises he gave me to do pushed those limits, and when I did them and realized they were helping, and not hurting, it allowed me to push a little further.
The last thing I would say is that it is also important to be doing the right exercises. When you’re talking about being consistent, one of the key elements that almost ensures consistency, is progress. If you’re seeing progress, you are much more likely to continue. And of course the opposite is true. If you’re not seeing progress, then you’re unlikely to continue.
The exercises he gave me helped. I felt physically better, and that feeling encouraged me to continue.
Some lessons are taught. Some are spoken. Some were not even meant to be lessons. You have to be on the lookout for all of them.