Time for my secret: I am a Buffalo Bills fan. Born there, met OJ Simpson when he was a rookie, and have followed them ever since. I follow no sports except the Bills. My wife can’t figure it out, why stick with a team that nearly always loses? I try to tell her that they made it to the Super Bowl four years in a row. But they lost four years in a row. Every season starts with hope, but the first game of each season begins a cycle that is not unexpected.
I was thinking of this this morning, as I read the write up on their loss yesterday in the paper, and how it compares to therapy. Most patients respond quickly to Myofascial Release and their outcomes are great. Others take much longer than I think they should. Slow progress is often troubling to me, as I think all should respond in a similar fashion.
A client this morning reinforced this, as this person was not responding as quickly as I had hoped. I voiced my concern and she assured me that there was definite progress and she was quite pleased. It was my impatience that was the issue. I’ve worked in this field long enough to know that I can’t predict how a person will respond, but I still get impatient when someone does not. My stuff, not theirs.
Maybe this need for patience should carryover into my football viewing, but it gets tough.
How do you react to patients that are slow to respond?
Walt Fritz, PT
http://www.MyofascialResource.com