It seems like ages ago Chris and I were in the thralls of toddlerhood and it was all we could do to stay awake between diaper changes, working, and learning how to take care of these little people we had created.
Work in those days involved seeing anywhere from 15-22 patients a day and doing the best we could with very little time to further our education not just for our patients but for ourselves.
Like many others in our field, I had fallen into the trap of following protocols and using passive modalities (i.e., machines to do the work for me) just to get through the day. I believe this is one of the main factors that lead many young therapists to early burnout. A running joke in our profession has always been “where do all the old therapists go?” At 40 years old, I was affectionately called “Grandma.” I knew in my heart that there had to be a better way. As the years went on, we both knew we were ready for a change.
About 10 years ago, Chris and I decided to start using social media to network with other therapists across the country. We were happy to know that we weren’t the only ones searching for something better. We made a commitment to seek out and learn from the best. It’s always been important for us to continue to grow, both personally and professionally, in order to give the best care to each one of our patients.
Up to this point, continuing education was just getting your hours to keep your license. We traveled all over the country to learn from the best. One of the biggest takeaways was “you can’t treat the body part you have to treat the person”. A knee is not always a knee, sometimes it’s a foot or sometimes it’s not an orthopedic issue at all. When you’ve got 2 hours of paperwork due, 5-10 minutes of one-on-one time, & 2-3 more patients waiting for you it’s nearly impossible to figure this out.
With the growing acceptance of factors like general conditioning, sleep, nutrition, lifestyle, motivation, and personality all impacting the success of most medical and therapeutic interventions, we needed more time to diagnose the person. Just like teachers should be able to teach to the type of learner they have in front of them, clinicians need to consider the whole person. This means talking and getting to know them. The more you know about how they think the more successful you can be in empowering them to get better.
It turns out the awesome new ideas and strategies we had learned weren’t exactly met with enthusiasm. It’s hard to fit new unique ideas and techniques into factory-like protocols. This was what started the crack that eventually opened up into a strong desire to do something different. It took quite a few years to get the nerve up to risk the stability and comfort we had always enjoyed as staff therapists with a steady income.
In 2017 we finally decided to make the move to open our own business.
Jumping in with 2 feet!
Just 4 short years ago we started in a 500 square foot room with 2 tables and our charming personalities. No fancy modalities or machines to hook up our patients to so we could walk off and treat someone else.
It was time to put our money where our passion was. Taking the extra time to interview and get to know our clients has helped us immensely in helping them find the solutions to their problems. Yes, sometimes it is simple but other times they challenge us and the way we think which allows us to bring new ideas forward to others that come into see us.
In the past 2 ½ years we have grown from a 2-man shop to a slightly bigger small clinic with 7 employees. We are proud to provide the type of environment for our clinicians that allows them to grow professionally, bond with the clients they are treating as well as have a good work-life balance. We still value continuing education beyond just “getting your hours done” and encourage out-of-the-box thinking. Our weekly staff meetings are 2 hours of allotted time we spend reviewing techniques and going over any issues or stubborn problems we might be having helping patients.
In the coming months, we plan to make this blog an extension of the education we try to provide to our clients in person. We will be covering specific diagnoses and what can cause them and, more importantly, what you can try at home to get rid of some or all symptoms. Keep an eye for specific topics that might help you, including sciatica, foot pain, hip pain, knee pain as well as strategies for improving workplace ergonomics and at home tools for self-treatment.
We hope to use the blog to interact more with the community as well as through social media so we will be looking to you for ideas on topics you’d like to see us cover.
