Time for a change of perspective!
Guiding patients through the recovery process can be very challenging. There are so many factors that will impact the outcome of their treatment in our office. Controlling all of these factors is nearly impossible.
First and foremost, EVERY patient is different than the others. The pain that brings them in is different. The cause of that pain is different. The things that their pain prevents them from doing are different. No two patients are exactly the same. It is impossible. Even if you have an identical twin and are both dealing with lower back pain, the causes will likely be wildly different. The limitations that it causes will be different. The impact that it has on their lives will be different.
One of the topics that has come up in the office a couple of times this week, is the idea that while we want to imagine that the road to recovery is a straight line, it rarely is. For years I have used the image below to explain rehab to our patients.
The beauty of this image is that it clearly demonstrates that there will be many ups and downs in the process. However, as long as the general trajectory is trending in a positive direction, we are progressing toward our goals.
Last week we discussed the new book that I have been reading, Hidden Potential by Adam Grant. His book contained an image that gave me a new perspective on our recovery process. Here is a photo of that image.
There are times when we can feel like we are spinning our wheels. Whether we are talking about recovering from pain, a new training plan, a new nutrition plan, or any new habits that we may be trying to implement in our lives. If we take a step back and look at our progress from a different perspective we may just realize exactly how much we have improved during the time that we thought we were stuck in our rut.
If you are working toward a goal, but still seeing what you feel is limited progress, remember to look from a different perspective and you may notice more improvement than you realized had happened during your journey.
