Today I want to talk about our current healthcare or medical model. I worked as a physiotherapist, and it was in this setting I found a gap in helping people with pain. Which was being able to get at the root cause or causes of pain and/or why a person was still experiencing pain. To create long lasting change and healing, one must face and work through the different layers of pain. Now this isn’t an article about bashing the current healthcare system. Instead it is about bringing awareness to the current gaps so we may be able to create change. Without awareness we cannot change.
The first gap I identified in the current healthcare model was lack of time. To get into the layers of a person’s pain experience and all the factors affecting their pain we need the time to listen. We need the time to be able to listen to their pain story. With the current medical model, working as a physiotherapist we have limited time. We have a certain time frame and a specific schedule we’re expected to follow. In this case, we do the best we can with the time we have.
The second gap is in physical therapy school, the discrepancy between knowledge of pain and the factors that influence pain and the application of practical tools to assist our patients address all layers of their pain experience, not just the physical.
In physical therapy school we are taught about the importance of the biopsychosocial approach to providing treatment. The biopsychosocial approach or model involves considering the biological or physical, mental, emotional, and social environment factors and how they can affect one’s pain experience. Unfortunately, as physical therapy students we’re taught the importance of all these factors however we’re not provided with education and training on tools to assist our patients with factors other than the physical that are affecting our patient’s pain. It doesn’t matter how many times a patient’s joint is mobilized, in other words a way of moving a joint that is stiff so it can get more movement, or if the patient was provided with the “perfect” exercise plan, if there are other factors affecting a patient’s ability to take care of their health outside of the treatment room, they will not be successful in creating sustainable change with regards to their pain. As a result, patients become dependent on the treatment to maintain their current status but aren’t able to reach that next level of healing to be able to thrive in their life instead of surviving. It is then that pain has the power and controls a patient’s life.
The third factor is facing the harsh reality it may be ourselves getting in the way of our own healing. Stay with me. I know the initial knee jerk reaction is, “No, it’s not. I’m not getting in my own way.” I know this because that is what I thought when my mindset and wellness coach challenged me to face the reality I was improving with regards to my own pain only to a certain point because of my fear and self limitation when it came to movement and exercise. I had such a strong internal reaction because it was the truth. Facing this was not easy. Once I got past my initial defence reaction that it couldn’t be me. I was able to look at the possibility that it was me getting in my own way of further healing. My next common pattern was feeling bad for what I’d done to myself and beating myself up. This doesn’t help anything. Recognizing this I gave myself the space to feel the feelings and reflect on how I have contributed to preventing myself from further progression with regards to healing. I was able to see the deeply rooted fears and beliefs I had around my pain. I truly believed any pain I felt meant I was going to injure myself or make things worse. And thus I started to stop doing things that I enjoyed physically all together. This wasn’t intentional, it just happened. This fear of pain and reinjury was preventing me from stepping more into the physical freedom I wanted in my life. A phrase that helped me change this fear and limiting belief was, “If I wasn’t in pain would I go and do this?” And if the answer was yes I would go and do that thing. I was going to face my fears of reinjury and enter into this new experience as an opportunity to change this fear and self limitation using the tools I have learned to take care of my body when I’m in pain. Every time I face this fear I am helping my body learn a new reality, that it isn’t re-injured and it is safe.
My hope for the future in helping people with pain is that our culture and medical models will evolve and transform to allow individuals to feel safe and have the time to share their pain experiences and feel heard and encouraged to face their fears and limiting beliefs without judgement. That they have the power to create the change they desire.
By taking the time to put in the work to heal myself and look inwardly I have been able to create the greatest lasting change I have ever experienced when it comes to pain. I continue to evolve and transform along my healing journey.
May you have a beautiful day.
With Love,
Steph