Laurie's Blogs.

This blog is inspired by another great Mike Reinold, PT, podcast.  In this issue, the question was about things that practitioners regretted doing or couldn’t believe that they used to do in the past.  https://mikereinold.com/things-we-have-changed-our-minds-about-over-the-years/

Some of the answers were:

• •Being ‘tunnel-visioned’ about techniques and not learning from other industries (i.e. customer service principles, motivation techniques, connecting with people).
• •Don’t make assumptions about what people want.  Talk to them to understand their priorities and goals.
• •Be okay with saying “I don’t know” and be okay to try thing out and look things up.  Clients respect it (especially when you follow up)!
• •Manual therapy is super important – joint mobs, soft tissue work in particular.  And while exercise therapy is important, when combined with manual therapies… and moving away from biomechanical thinking and into neurophysiological as well.
• •Getting too specific into a technique or tool after taking a course and treating EVERYONE with the technique you learned (and forgetting everything else you know)!
• •Finding the balance between giving people what they want and what they need.
• •Don’t get so hung up about ‘form’, ‘technique’, ‘specificity’ that it reduces your flexibility, creativity, or adaptability to do what is best for your patient.

So, it sparked me to think about MY career and what I’ve learned over the past number of years in treating canine patients.

• •The relationship with the pet’s owner is AS important as the therapy you do for the dog.
• •Help owners to come up with ways to do their exercises at home.  (This is how I’ve come up with suggestions like ‘cavalettis’ over a vacuum hose, kids toys, or rakes, brooms, and mops!)
• •You don’t need to shave a dog to do NMES, you just have to ‘spot goop’ really well with ultrasound gel.
• •When owners are nervous, it’s okay (and smarter) to back off of doing the manual technique you want to do (i.e. a technique that might cause a yelp, such as a first rib manipulation) in favour of something slower (i.e. craniosacral or a scalenes stretch and massage).
• •If in your gut something just doesn’t seem right.  Honour that sense. Tell the client, and gently but with conviction convince the pet owner to go back to the referring vet for further diagnostics (and be sure to call the vet or send a letter to help explain).
• •This is a ‘new field’ and there are still plenty of vets who are ‘non-believers’ when it comes to rehab.  Don’t take it personally.  Be in for the long game!
• •I too have fallen into the trap, of ‘learn something new’ and use it on every patient.  For the short term, this might be good learning to see which patients it works for, which it doesn’t, and which it makes worse!!  Learn quickly and figure out where the new tool should fit in your repertoire of things you can offer.
• •If an owner says they’d be more comfortable with their dog muzzled… then muzzle the dog!!!
• •When a dog is really tired already, don’t push him/her to exercise hard for you!
• •Question what you see, read, & hear.  Does it make sense?  Is there evidence to back up the opinion?  You’re allowed to use YOUR brain too!

Okay… so on that note, what are the things YOU Have learned over your career?  Are there things you regretted doing earlier in your careen until you learned better?  Are there things you can’t believe you did years ago?

Let me know, so I can share!!!

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZW37KFQ

Thanks!  And CHEERS until next time!

Laurie