Seeing A Good Practitioner?

10 Jul Seeing A Good Practitioner?

How does one know if they are seeing a good practitioner? Read this blog post to help answer this question!

Physical Therapists at MYo Lab often get asked “should I see a Chiropractor.” In fact, the answer given applies not just to Chiropractors but to all medical professionals… “it depends on the Therapist themselves.” There are incredible Medical Doctors, Physical Therapists, Chiropractors, Osteopaths, Dentists, Psychologist, etc. and there are equally terrible ones in every profession – a kind of cosmic Ying Yang.

Members treated at MYo Lab have freely explained terrible experiences with a Chiropractor, a Physical Therapist, or a Medical Doctor. In turn, they have sworn off seeing those professions. On the flip side, the exact same profession can help hundreds of people. If a negative experience or lack of improvement has happened, here’s a challenge: change the thought process surrounding these professions. Instead of blaming and demonizing that medical profession as a whole, blame the Therapist who was specifically seen. Rather than warning family and friends not to see a Chiropractor, warn them not to see that particular Chiropractor. Instead of believing that ‘Physical Therapy did not work,’ think that particular Physical Therapist did not have the skill set or knowledge to treat the condition.

The reality is, even though each profession goes through years of schooling, all medical professionals are not the same. Some keep up with research, take courses, and constantly work to improve clinical skills. Others get good at 1 or 2 techniques, coast on said techniques, and only work to improve a sales pitch.

Here is a brief check list to ensure the practitioner is competent and ideally great at what they do:

1. Did they perform a proper, thorough assessment, where they asked questions, touched the injured/painful areas, and performed testing on said areas?

2. Did they educate on their findings? Did they give a diagnosis that makes sense?

3. Did they give a timeline of recovery and pitch a solid care plan (i.e., this will take 3 months to recover from; with a need for 8 visits over the next 2.5 months)?’

4. Are they regularly using an Objective Measure to track progress in Therapy (i.e. testing strength, measuring range of motion, repeatedly filling out the same questionnaire)?

5. Are they only using 1 or 2 techniques that after 3-4 weeks are not changing pain or function? Are they changing what treatments they are doing if there is no improvements?

If “No” was the answer to 3 or more of the above questions it is likely a waste of time and money with a lack of quality care. Try someone new.

Hopefully this blog post has helped in determining whether or not one is seeing a good practitioner!

We are always accepting new members who are ready to commit to their health and wellness journey. If you are ready to experience the MYo difference, book now so one of our team members can welcome you to the MYo Lab community!

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