
The desperate patient causes the desperate clinician to do desperate things - ropable
https://thehonestphysio.com/2019/06/08/the-desperate-patient-causes-the-desperate-clinician-to-do-desperate-things/
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Aromasin
I can attest to being a slave to "treatment" for a while. I used to clock into
my local physician, who'd have a go at my back with manual therapy (post-op
fractured vertebrae, ruptured vertebrae, and massive scar tissue from surgery)
until we got "rid of all the knots" and I'd leave, skipper as anything - until
they came back over the course of the next two weeks.

Eventually, after about 6 months of this bi-weekly physical therapy, I quit
going because I knew it wasn't doing anything to deal with the underlying
problems. I swapped to a different physio, who I complained to about having to
go to physio so regularly but nothing changing. He gave me a list of exercises
and told me "You want to cure your back pain? Do these until you can touch
your toes. Don't come here back till then." Came back after breaking that
hurdle. He gave me a new list, and said "Do these until you can touch your
hips to the ground in downward-dog". Next one "Do these until you can hold a
bridge for a minute." Rinse and repeat, until 18 months later, after about 10
appointments, I no longer had any back pain.

If you're struggling with injuries, I highly recommend shopping around for
physiotherapists until you find something that works for you. I'd have been
getting manual therapy on my back for the rest of my life if it weren't for
testing the waters.

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wayoutthere
Most white collar workers have very weak “core” muscles from sitting all day.
This is basically everything between the bottom of your ribs to your thighs —
abs, obliques, and everything in the pelvic area. It’s pretty obvious how
changing from a life that requires us to stand / walk / run to one where we
sit for long periods of time would work those muscles FAR less than sitting at
a desk.

Weakness in your core leads other muscles — like those in your back — to
overcompensate. For me, it started as hip pain, for others it’s knee pain
(yup, weak core muscles can cause knee issues too!) But back pain is probably
the most common, and is usually caused by weakness in the obliques putting the
weight of stabilizing your head / torso almost entirely on your back muscles.

Fortunately treatment is easy. Bridge poses, crunches, kettlebell workouts
(particularly good for the obliques) and yoga are probably the best exercises
to work your core. Consider your PT a personal trainer: one your health
insurance carrier is more than happy to pay for given the link between
physical fitness and overall health.

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agent008t
Barbell squats and deadlifts are probably a more direct and effective way of
making your muscles stronger, including your "core" muscles.

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maxxxxx
I know you mean well but let’s not optimize too much. If you do something,
really anything, you are already way ahead.

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aflag
And we never found out what happened to Paul :(

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ptah
I think the writer is fishing for comments from people wanting more paul :)

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jacobush
I’m desperate to know!

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airbreather
Recognise the power of the white coat (to most) and use it wisely.

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coldcode
This also shows how easy it is for people (and medical people) to imagine
there is some magical potion that will make everything perfect again, even if
it is imaginary. I think in software we do things repeatedly thinking they are
making thing easier or better when in reality the machine isn't even turned
on.

