Top 5 Fridays! 5 Common Thought Viruses and My Explanations

The longer I am a clinician, the more irritated I get at all the garbage that is told to patients that gets their CNS sensitized.

Here are 5 Common Thought Viruses

1) My doctor says it's arthritis

the changes we see on scans, etc are just the kisses of time (Butler), or wrinkles on the inside (EIM)
is your right (insert body part here) older than your left?
"arthritis" is just wear and tear, cars can run just fine with 50,000 miles with no issues, sometimes just a little maintenance is needed to keep you running
clicks/cracks during movement means you're moving, would it bother you if it didn't hurt?
when you feel fine, your x-rays still look the same

2) It's a disc

great news!
what your neck/back looks like when you're lying in a tube does not tell me how you feel, move, or function
combining several studies, taking hundreds of pain free people off of the street, anywhere between 30-80% of them have some sort of wear/tear, spurs, discs issues, etc... but with NO pain or history of it
a disc? that's great! the research shows people with neck/low back pain of any particular reason respond very well to PT, often very rapidly!
sometimes the discs may be reduced, sometimes they cannot, but regardless, the scan does not have to change for you to feel or move better
when we make big changes on visit 1, and they are kept by you to visit 2, a majority of these cases have very successful outcomes

3) I need surgery - education at discharge for future issues they may not see you for

if you go to one or more surgeons, the end result is often surgery
if a surgeon tells you need surgery, go see a PT
if a PT tells you need surgery, may actually may need it!
for neck/back, if you do not have radiating pain, complete loss of strength (without pain) in a limb, or loss of bowel/bladder, you most likely do not need surgery
research shows for knees, especially cartilage issues, that in the long term, patients do better with PT alone rather than surgery

4) running is bad for you

like my man and great source of running info Chris Johnson, says running is an ADL
do you tell your kids to, "Hey stop all that running! It's bad for you!" - as if it were smoking?
anything a kid can do, you should also be able to do
things like mobility, stability, and symmetry all help running and form makes a difference as well
injury happens to 80% of runners, but it can be treated and prevented as well

5) You have to live with it

my biggest pet peeve!
just because some specialist or doctor told you they could not do anything for you, does not mean anything can be done
EVERY patient has the ability to recover from pain/injury, especially pain
pain does not equal damage after a short while

Also don't forget when someone comes in with an acute flareup - That's great, research and experience shows rapid onset = rapid resolution in most cases!

Staying Eclectic