How We Guide Our Clients At Reload In the Post-Injury Treatment Process
The 4 Steps in Reload’s Post-Injury Treatment Process
Returning to movement and physical activity can be both challenging and overwhelming. At Reload, we take a guiding approach. We understand how important it is to provide you with the support and confidence to navigate your post-injury treatment journey successfully.
We have the same goal as you – to help you regain your mobility and strength, manage your pain effectively, and, ultimately, improve your quality of life. Throughout the post-injury treatment process, we address common concerns and misconceptions about movement and pain.
With the help of PT Dr. Mona Tsutsui, this article explores the four steps we follow in the post-injury treatment process.
Step 1: Assessing Range of Motion and Movement Abilities
The first step is an assessment of your range of motion and movement abilities. We’ll evaluate joints and movement capabilities, taking into account any limitations or restrictions that your injury has caused.
From this initial evaluation – part of our comprehensive physical therapy evaluation – we get valuable insights into your physical condition that are essential to help tailor a personalized treatment plan.
During this assessment, we observe your performance during exercise and the impact of coaching on movement. This helps us to identify where we can improve and also determine whether any modifications or assistance tools are needed to help reduce pain and improve movement.
“For example,” says Mona, “if we see a client with a knee injury, and they are telling us they can’t do squats or stairs because it hurts, the first thing we look at is their range of motion and strength within the ranges they’re describing the onset of pain.”
Step 2: Challenging the Notion of Inherently Right or Wrong Movements
One of the most common misconceptions about exercise and movement that we need to challenge is that there is an inherently right or wrong way to move. As Mona explains:
“I wouldn’t say that there is a wrong movement or a good movement. However, there are better movements that may be more applicable to a client at their exercise experience level, stage of recovery, and goals.
“A common issue is when people find exercises on social media or YouTube that aren’t catering to what they need. They try all these exercises that have been recommended for their pain symptoms, but those exercises are not ‘for them.’ Or perhaps they aren’t ready for those exercises yet.”
There may not be a bad exercise – the real question is whether or not you are ready to do that specific exercise.
In our approach, we tailor exercises to your needs and experience. We know what works for you because we evaluate your baseline strength and ensure that you meet foundational requirements for each exercise. Then we can consider incorporating other global movements into your routine, helping you to progress at a pace that improves your overall fitness.
Step 3: Addressing Fear of Pain
“We always assess if you’re ‘afraid’ of physical activity. We address this in session. Of course, if you’re scared of doing something, we won’t force you to do it if you feel it could harm you. Our goal is to find an exercise or movement that you feel comfortable doing but is still challenging ─ the hardest thing that you can do well,” says Mona.
Our experience is that fear of apprehension of physical activity is common, especially for those undergoing post-injury treatment. This might be caused by doctors telling you to ‘take it easy and rest, or you’ll make the pain worse’ or by trying to progress too quickly or doing exercises that are too challenging at your stage of recovery.
“We have developed a questionnaire that helps us determine the level of concern or fear you may have,” says Mona. “This helps us to form a benchmark to set achievable goals and gradually increase the challenge of specific exercises.
“We go slow. We find something that is very easy as a starting point. Then we go step-by-step to challenge you a little more. We push it up to a point where it’s an exercise you can do very well and that you are able to do it on your own – and it’s targeting the muscle groups we’re looking for.”
In short, we:
Start slowly
Consider your pain experience
Find a safe and easy starting point
Progress step by step
Step 4: Building Confidence and Overcoming Pain-Related Barriers
Building confidence is essential to the post-injury treatment process.
Our aim for you is to reach a point where you can perform exercises independently. Part of that is to get you to the point where you feel confident in the movements we have you do. As your confidence grows, so will your proficiency in the exercises you are doing. This allows us to gradually increase the challenges we set for you.
The ultimate goal? To help you regain the ability to move freely and without hesitation. And so that you aren’t living in fear of pain or injury.
When you overcome the mental barrier that is holding you back from exercise or activity, you’ll experience an improved quality of life. Those limitations and restrictions that stop you from enjoying the activities you love to do will gradually dissipate.
The Impact of Reload’s Community-Centered Approach
We believe in the power of community. Many of our clients feel isolated because of the pain they have and the way it stops them from doing things they used to do. Our community-centered approach is designed to provide extra energy and motivation in a supportive and inclusive environment.
“My job is enormously rewarding,” says Mona. “When clients are able to get back to doing the things they couldn’t do before, those are the moments we celebrate.”
“Even if they still have a little bit of pain, if they’re able to do more of that activity with about the same or less pain, it’s a good sign of progress. So often, people come in, avoiding everything they love doing. The pain consumes them. It takes away their social life and everything else. That’s heartbreaking.
“So, the best part is when we see them start to function better, get stronger, and try things they couldn’t do before. They have the confidence to do things they weren’t doing before. They may have a few aches and pains after, but they know they can recover.”
Accelerating Your Recovery with Reload
We’re committed to helping our clients through the post-injury treatment process with care, expertise, and a community-centered approach.
The four-step process we have embedded is crucial to recovery. It enables us to assess motion and movement abilities and to challenge pre-conceived misconceptions of right and wrong movements and exercise. We address any fear of pain, build confidence, and empower our clients to overcome their internalized pain barriers and regain their movement.
Our community-centered approach amplifies the benefits of physical therapy. Clients benefit from a supportive network that motivates progress as well as belief in their ability to recover.
Are you ready to embark on your post-injury treatment journey?
Take the first step today, and book an appointment with us to start with a comprehensive physical therapy evaluation.
