3 Things I’ve Learned About You…From My Own Injuries

It usually comes up at some point, I’m a Doctor of Physical Therapy because I was the perpetual physical therapy patient. 10 years in and out of surgeries, rehabilitation, and re-injury and at some point it becomes the best financial decision to become your own physio.

Let me be clear in that no part of me enjoys the frequency of my injuries but they’re a fact of my anatomy. And they’ve taught me a lot, especially as a provider. Here are some of the biggest impacts they’ve had:

1. Always easier said than done, huh?

   If there are any other providers (of really any profession) reading this, you’ll know it to be true. Anything you’ve taught to a client is infinitely harder to remind yourself of.

   Between those conversations with patients and my next injury, I’ve suddenly forgotten it all. Re-interpreting a little R&R (rest & recuperation/relaxation/recharging) to mean push harder and figure it out later.

   I then hear myself in a session “You can either make time to heal or your body will make it for you” ..and it sinks back in. I take the moment to remind both myself and my patient that knowing what to do doesn’t make it any easier to do.

2. It sucks, in a special kind of way (empathy)

   I had a lot of empathy for knee injuries (because I was always injuring my knees). The challenge of not being able to navigate your home or the community so easily, feeling like your upper body was shot from just getting to the Uber on crutches, just wanting to be able to walk.

   Then I broke both of my wrists and had surgery on one with the other in a brace. I couldn’t get water, use the bathroom or open any doors without assistance. I couldn’t work, I couldn’t hold a book, I couldn’t even walk/run because it hurt too much to have my arms hanging.

   Then I “threw out my back” (sacroiliac joint irritation) and couldn't exist comfortably. Even just breathing the wrong way had me begging for mercy - sitting, standing, laying…(it goes on).

   Each and every one of these injuries helped me understand what my patients faced whenever they weren’t in my office. To hold space for them and the non-physical part of the journey.

3. You can do it, understanding really is the key

   I have managed all of my injuries on my own. Duh, you may think. But really, all that means is that it’s the information (not the hands) that makes magic. When you know why you’re in pain, the pain becomes less threatening. It becomes communication.

   I always tell people that it’s more the pattern and the process that I’m giving you than anything else. Why, when, and how are we doing any of it? It’s also why I emphasize teaching so much. If you know what I know about your body and the injury, you too can manage it that well.

Maybe that’s what makes me good at what I do? Maybe it’s what makes me exhausted at the end of the day? Maybe both? In any case, I’m “looking forwards” to what I’ll learn from every other injury awaiting me in my future.

Quick side note: it’s not pessimistic to assume I’m getting injured again any day/month/year now. That’s the human condition and best for said human condition if we try see it as an opportunity to learn and improve the depth of our connection with our bodies.