A significant other can make a significant difference in pain relief

Your caring partner is always welcome to join you when you visit Cedar Hill. Because, when you’re experiencing pain, another set of eyes and ears can make your visit more effective. And they can help you remember the stretches, exercises, and things to avoid so you can feel better sooner.

 

A significant other joining my patient consultations can greatly enhance the physical therapy experience.

As a physical therapist, I cringe when partners say, “Oh honey, don’t do that! You’ll hurt yourself,” or “Let me do that for you.”

Caution like that makes sense during acute pain from an injury or surgery. But once doctors’ orders have been completed, they can be counterintuitive – patients usually do better the quicker they get “back on the horse” of a normal routine.

A significant other or other family members can be helpful motivators and assistants in your recovery when they’re properly instructed, by:

• Talking with me and asking questions. Learning about their loved one’s condition. Understanding why and how each exercise helps. Knowing what not to do. This equips them to be an advocate for quicker, safer recovery at home.
• When appropriate, I can teach your loved one how to assist you with stretches at home. With my supervision, your partner can watch as I help you with stretches, then do them on you for comparison until both my technique and theirs feel the same.
• Being a second set of ears for you, because pain can hinder memory and focus. They can help you remember to do your stretches “how Paul showed you.” They can also be another set of eyes for me by painting a picture of what motivates you best, what environmental obstacles may be at home, and what your normal responsibilities are. This helps me formulate a care plan that best suits your “real” life.
• Cheerleading!  Difficult tasks are always better with a buddy spurring you on. Because motivation shown in the office can sometimes flag at home, it is important to be consistent with proper “Paul-Approved” directions so healthy habits can form.

Families CAN be great enhancers of at-home physical therapy. But it helps to remember that pain, especially of a chronic nature, is not only an individual experience but also a social one. It changes roles. Family may have to alter how they keep life rolling with their loved one “on the bench.” 

This means a caring caregiver should also give care to themselves so they can stay motivated to keep motivating you.

Being informed and realistic about goals and expectations goes a long way to tamp down potential burn-out for your family and discouragement for you.  Y’all hang in there together and recovery will happen.

Being a teammate in therapy should follow a “Goldilocks model”:  Depending on the stage of recovery, don’t push the patient too hard or expect too much, but don’t hold them back either.

Indeed, having family on the team can make physical therapy “just right.”