We are now one month removed from New Years parties, resolutions and bowl games. Most of us have already broken our resolutions and are looking foward to the warmer weather that is hopefully ahead of us (at least I hope that describes other people besides myself). 

Here at Impact Physio, we are going to be increasing our interaction and improving our services. Our website is being re-designed and will include additional educational resources. We are going to be adding additional services at the clinic that will be aimed at meeting the needs of our clients after their formal therapy has been completed. We are also going to be producing more content for our blog. We will have at least one post each week and we will cover topics from each PT (so you won’t be stuck reading things from my perspective all of the time). 

Now, with no further delay, this week’s topic…

The Waiting Game​

In general, we are a society that craves instant gratification. We should not have to wait for an internet page to load. We order things from Amazon so we don’t have to wait in line at a store. We have instant access to the world through our phones and social media.
With that in mind, why do we wait so long to do someting about our health? We (and I am also guilty of this) avoid dealing with aches and pains until they prevent us from doing an activity that we want (or need) to do. We tell ourselves that “It will go away in a few days”, and then the next thing we know, it has been 3 months and we still do not feel any better.
There are a lot of issues with health care in the US right now. Is Obamacare good or bad? What are the alternatives? Insurance premiums are high! Co-pays and deductibles are high! Most people don’t even know what their insurance benefits are. 
But, unlike Canada and the UK, we have access to routine care without waiting. We can be treated by a Physical Therapist without a referral from a Physician in most cases. Often, getting PT early will save money and improve outcomes.

​There are a few other reasons why early PT is a good idea:

1. Early treatment often results in faster recovery = less visits and decreased cost.
2. Waiting may cause additional damage.
3. Living with a painful condition causes compensations. Our brains instinctively avoid pain which may cause additional stress to other areas and lead to another injury in the future.
4. There may be a more serious underlying condition. PT’s are trained to spot these and refer to the appropriate specialist.

Stop Waiting.

John