WHERE IS MY MAGIC WAND?

There seems to be a misconception about physical therapy.  Many folks must believe that we have a magic wand and we wave it over you on the first visit and all is better.  I admit we are awesome, we do make people feel better and function better and we can do amazing things as well as maintain our humility.  However,  there usually is a little homework for the patient, exercises or change of some habits that will aid in the recovery. Without the homework progress will take longer and possibly will just be too slow for some.

Here is a typical conversation......
"Good morning, how are you today?"  I might say.
"Not much better" the patient might say and then add, "those exercises do no help."
"Really?" I reply and then ask "did you do them 3 times a day everyday?"
"Well..... No.......,  But I did them once and they did not help"

WHERE IS MY MAGIC WAND?

My favorite was from a young boy about 10  years old.  He was shown a few simple exercises to be done at home 3 times a day. His mother was also given the written instructions so she could help him if necessary.  His response to the question of doing his exercises regularly was....
"Yes, I did the exercises....... one time, in the car on the way over here and I don't think they helped."

WHERE IS MY MAGIC WAND?

A few of the exercises given to a patient maybe hard to do or a little uncomfortable.  Those are usually the most important exercises to do because they address the problem.  Therefore a response I have heard several times goes like this.
" Yes I did my exercises, but not all of them.  A few of them were too hard to do and made me hurt a little so I just did the easy ones."

WHERE IS MY MAGIC WAND?

Lastly, I like to catch the individual in their little white lie when they say they did the exercises and I know they did not.  Here is a fun conversation.
"Go ahead and start the exercises that you are doing at home" I say at the beginning of a session.
The patient will ask "Which exercise do you want me to start with?"
" Oh just do them like you do them at home."  I reply.
After sitting on the table for a few seconds, looking a bit lost and not knowing what to do, the patient will finally reply "Ok, I did not do my exercises at home.  I don't know what to do."
Busted and

WHERE IS MY MAGIC WAND?

BLESS THE MOTOR MORON; FOR THEY JUST SIMPLY CAN NOT DO IT

Oh, the motor moron.  All you physical therapists out there have worked with a motor moron.  This is the poor soul who can just not do it.  You instruct them to do a lunge forward, which seems to be a simple task.  However, the activity you get is undescribable. Let me explain with an example.

To strengthen the hamstring muscle post knee surgery, a fun activity to do is sitting on a stool with wheels and just walking.  High school age patients liked this activity and occasionally would race me or another patient just for fun.  On one specific day, I had 2 high school post knee surgeries patients, one male and one female, in the afternoon consecutively.

The young man had a crush on the young lady so he stayed after his treatment for a bit to talk to her. Feeling a bit cocky and wanting to show off, the young man challenged the female teenager to a stool race.   Now I had seen this young man walk on the stool and it was not pretty.  He went all over the place and just could not coordinate his legs to walk forward. I was worried.

Despite my misgivings, the race was on.  The distance was 20 feet.  "Ready, set, GO!"

The young woman stool walked directly to the finish line at an amazing speed with no problem.  The young man could not get the  stool to move forward. He was weaving all over the place.  He lost his balance and boom, he fell off the stool.

Of course, I tried not to laugh.  I asked him if he was okay. But, I could not help it and I started laughing as did the female teenager.   The young man snickered a little, stood up and said he needed to leave.

Being a motor moron can be difficult and humiliating and .............hilarious!