Working as a physical therapist for the past seven years, I see where the physical therapy model has gone wrong. Let me take you through the typical course of physical therapy for a patient that has a painful orthopedic condition:

1) Patient goes to the doctor because he/she is experiencing pain

2) Doctor recommends rest, ice and gives patient referral to physical therapy

3) Patient goes to physical therapy and from my clinical experience, more than 50% of patients have chronic pain, where their pain has been bothering them for at least greater than 6 months

4) Patient's referral from doctor is to go to physical therapy for twice a week for 4-6 weeks

5) Clinically speaking, half of patients respond negatively to physical therapy secondary to factors including noncompliance of home exercise program (which I find is the majority of patients), longer healing times especially since most patients are coming into physical therapy for greater than 6 months of painful symptoms, patients perform repetitive/overuse activities at their job for 8-12 hours a day.. and the list could go on and on....

WHY should we wait until we have pain in order to get assessed in how we move, how we work and how we live? We should be taking care of our bodies including monthly physical assessments by qualified physical therapists, chiropractors, strength and conditioning coaches, and athletic trainers. Would you wait until your car broke down to get a check. So why do we wait until we have pain to see a medical healthcare professional? You should see one to decrease severity or even prevent these issues! Just like you see the dentist every 6 months for check up, you should see a healthcare provider at least one to two times a year for a physical assessment and get educated on how to keep your body staying healthy physically! Let's create "A Movement" to "Treat Yourself by Treating Yourself!" I want to empower you to take care of your own health now without drugs or surgeries! Who is with me?!