I am going to start this post with a warning – be prepared for a rant! Have you ever seen a doctor that did some tests and told you that everything was normal and they couldn’t find anything that could be causing your symptoms, and then just left it at that? Maybe they referred you to a specialist, but then that specialist did some other tests and still couldn’t find anything abnormal. Maybe you saw 5 specialists and none of them could find anything in their myriad of testing that could explain your symptoms. Well, usually the answer then becomes psychological. They think that you must be depressed, it’s the only “logical” reason for your continued symptoms despite their lack of findings. Of course you’re not feeling quite up to par – you have pain or other issues that no one can figure out or help you with and it’s getting worse! Anyone in this situation would be feeling lost, upset, alone, angry, frustrated and like giving up hope. Most likely, the depression didn’t cause your symptoms, your symptoms and lack of guidance and improvement drove you towards depression!
ARGHHHHH!!!! This irritates me SO MUCH! Western medicine tends to gravitate towards tests, imaging, medication and surgery. If nothing is found and the medication and/or surgery doesn’t work, there must be nothing wrong physically, so it might all be psychological. I will say, there is definitely a psychological component to everything – our bodies are all connected and we cannot completely separate our psyche from our physical body. I think that a lot of treatments work purely based on the placebo effect, which means that if you think it will work, it works, no matter if it’s actually resulting in actual measurable changes. This is great! If it works, it works! I’ve also realized throughout the years that if someone is emotionally disconnected, has negative feelings towards their body and their symptoms, does not believe that they can get better, and isn’t open to trying non-conventional treatments, they do not tend to improve as quickly. So there is always a psychological component, but it is not the only solution!
There is hope! There are many things in the body that cannot be explained by modern science. Does that mean that they are not real? Heck no! Every person is so different that I feel like it is extremely small-minded of us to think that we could ever truly understand someone’s physical, mental and emotional makeup. But the best part is that we don’t have to understand it, we just have to listen and let it guide us. People’s bodies and words can give us so much more information than many of those tests and measures if we just take the time to really listen, feel and allow their body and mind to tell us how to proceed. It doesn’t mean that we are going to fix them, it means that we are going to follow their cues and allow their body to fix itself. The body is an incredible healing machine and yes, healing is often supported by therapies, medications and other treatments, but that doesn’t mean that these are the end-all-be-all.
This is one example of what I’m trying to explain. A family member of mine developed a severe pain in her ankle when she was in her early 20s. Over the next year she had every kind of therapy, x-ray, MRI, CT scan, and any other diagnostic tool that her insurance would pay for. No one could find anything wrong with her ankle. Finally, they gave her the option of exploratory surgery. I’m not sure if this was the case, but they may have been starting to think that her pain was all in her head and that this option would scare her enough to get her over her symptoms. Well, her symptoms were still horrible and getting worse, so she opted for the exploratory surgery. Immediately, they found that one of her nerves had become entrapped in fascial restrictions and was severely compromised. If she hadn’t kept pushing for answers, it is possible that she could have eventually had irreparable nerve damage and may have lost function of her foot! She’s never had a problem since she recovered from that surgery – it was just something completely random that no one could explain, but it was real and luckily she continued to push for answers and healing. I’m sad that I did not have my current training or referral network, because it is very likely that we could have helped her without surgery. No matter what, at least she is healed!
I cannot tell you how many patients tell me that their doctors couldn’t find anything abnormal with their testing so they suggested antidepressants or straight out told them that their symptoms were “in their head.” It’s so heartbreaking for me, as I have also dealt with my own medical issues and had a very similar experience – they couldn’t find anything wrong with me after years of testing, so they just came up with a medication that might cover up some of my symptoms and left it at that. Thankfully, I kept pursuing help over the years and finally found a doctor that practices functional medicine. Within 5 minutes she ordered a bunch of other tests that insurance does not cover and gave me a diagnosis within a week! I couldn’t believe that after 24 years of seeing doctors, acupuncturists, body workers and others that I finally had someone that seemed to know almost immediately what I was describing and was able to confirm with tests that no one else had offered, just because insurance didn’t pay for them! I am now on the path towards healing and I feel so blessed to have finally found someone that was able to try things a little differently.
I will never tell anyone that their symptoms are all in their head. As practitioners, we need to be open-minded and realize that even if our skill set does not seem to be helping someone’s symptoms, that there are so many other pathways towards healing! In my experience, many chronic issues or difficult-to-treat conditions require a team of practitioners. The work that we do at Solstice Physical Therapy is very holistic in nature – we treat the entire body, we think outside-of-the-box and utilize many different forms of specialty therapies, and we work with an amazing team of like-minded healthcare practitioners. Team work makes the dream work!! Haha…I know how corny that sounds but it’s completely true. My patients that have the absolute best results are often also seeing one or many of the following: a doctor that specializes in regenerative medicine, chiropractor, another PT, acupuncturist, functional medicine or naturopathic doctor, massage therapist, etc. Together, we can put all of our incredible skills and talents towards helping each patient as an individual – we can treat them as the very unique person that they are and allow their body to lead the way towards healing.
In conclusion, don’t ever let anyone else tell you what you are feeling. You are the only person that knows what you are feeling, and keep searching until you find the people that will really listen and allow your body to guide them towards what is right for you. Solstice Physical Therapy is a great place to start, as we do full-body assessment and treatments and go far beyond the symptoms to find the true source of the issue. Then, if we feel that another practitioner’s skills may be beneficial for you, we will refer you to the best people that we have found. Also, if you are already seeing other practitioners, Solstice PT can be a great addition. Wherever your path takes you, don’t give up! We only have one chance to live our best lives.
Check out our website at www.solsticephysicaltherapy.com, email me at drlisa@solsticephysicaltherapy.com, or call (720) 369-7738.
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