17 years ago I started massage school. It was a family run school with numerous campuses around the surrounding states. They had built a name for themselves so when I graduated I had job offers from all around the country.
Over ten years later I went to work at that same school and found that the curriculum hadn't changed at all! Pretty scary to me considering how quickly the world of physiology is changing! I only lasted at that school for one term.
Fast forward again to four months ago when I hired a therapist who had just graduated from that school. In talking with him I found out that the curriculum still hadn't changed! So in over 20 years of that school being open they hadn't updated their information. Come to find out though this is very common in the world of rehab. We are taught the same old info and processes with the same theoretical info but as if it was fact. That's the part that bothers me the most.
When we don't understand something we try and come up with an explanation that makes sense to us. "The reason for thunder and lightning is because Thor is striking his hammer." Right? How well do you think it went over when the first person suggested a more scientific explanation. Well, we do this a ton in the rehab world. We massage, scrape, cup, adjust, mobilize, whatever to a client/patient and when their range of motion improves we say it's because we released tight muscles, broke down scar tissue/adhesions, or we put things back into place. But research has been done and none of that has been found to be true. The amount of force it takes to deform tissue even 1% is way beyond what a massage therapist, cup, or scraping tool could provide. Sorry, but look it up.
We're way overdue for a language refresh in our rehab world. There are so many claimed benefits out there that need to be thrown out. So start with yourself. Listen to the way you speak to your clients/patients and double check what you are saying to them. Google is so easy, but you just have to find reliable sources instead of sales pitches. One of my favorite companies has continued to do this, Rocktape has come out numerous times to update their following and say that what they had said is wrong. No shame in it, its built a following of practitioners in chiropractic, physical therapy, athletic training, massage and personal training/strength coaching. I have a ton of respect for someone who can admit a mistake and then show or explain how they're going to fix it. My clientele have appreciated it as well, it shows them that I am continuing to learn to improve my craft.
Give it a go, be prepared for some butt hurt as you learn that what you thought and believed in so strongly has been clarified and it's not what you thought it was. But then continue on and find out how you can use this new knowledge to improve the lives of others. Just because you may not be breaking up scar tissue doesn't mean you're not doing anything at all. The change in range of motion is still real, but what happened to make that change isn't what we originally thought.
No comments:
Post a Comment