Whatcha lookin at? Part III
The topic of the day is overall wellness of the individual and of society as a whole. I have some strong opinions regarding this and if you disagree with what I right, that’s your prerogative. Please leave a comment stating why you disagree.
- “ Work Well-Being Dimension satisfies the thirst for purpose…need for fulfilling a purpose in ones’ vocation”
This is important. Think of all of the people on disability, whether short or long-term. If there is no purpose, then how empty are we? This reminds me of a story: My dad…my Superman retired in 2005-ish. When he retired, he asked me about some symptoms he was having. Coughing up blood and difficulty sleeping. He attributed it to getting kecked by a horse in the previous week. I saw red flags. One thing led to another and he was initially thought to have lung cancer. The man didn’t smoke and as long as I can remember never smoked. After retirement, he spent his time sitting around watching Bonanza. He had a surgery and removed a mass from his left lower lobe, which was non-cancerous, but was due to a bacterial infection. This is a moot point, because the bacterial infection would have killed him also. Anyway, after the surgery, my brother bought him a horse. He found a new passion…a new purpose. My dad is healthier now than I have seen him in a long time. My mom doesn’t particularly like his spending time with the horses, but he has a purpose. My mom still searches.
We all need a purpose…we all need a why. If you don’t have one, keep looking because someone we all have talents and can all be helpful to someone else if we take the time.
- “Play Well-Being Dimension acknowledges that play provides the individual
with laughter, cheer, energy, and balance”
From the work well-being to the play well-being. I think that we have confused busyness with work and/or play. For instance, many of us say that we are busy when asked how we are doing, as if busy-ness implies that we are working. This is not always the case. I am way more productive when I am not busy. Play is difficult for many people because we, I , forgot what it means to be “unbusy”. This time of laughter and cheer. Having a daughter has greatly helped, a I recently went down a sslide for the first time in a long time. If you know me, then you can image “big guy in a little coat”. That’s how it felt going down the slide.
- ‘Well-Being of Our World Dimension reflects an individual’s perceptive on living in a healthy environment and protecting natural resources…broad overview of the world…responsibility, justice, an earth-caring lifestyle, a desire of well-being for all”
I don’t know if I agree with this dimension totally. As much as I am for a “green” environment, I don’t know how much someone’s throwing away electronics affects me personally. I won’t judge someone taking plastic over paper. Short story: While in Poland, we went to the grocery store weekly. We had to pay for every bag that we used. It was about a nickel in US dollars. Although it wasn’t much, remember that people there don’t make as much as we do here, so this is a major sacrifice in order to carry the groceries out of the store.
- “Even when a individual presents with signs and symptoms of pathology, education of secondary complications prevents further signs and symptoms leading to disability”
I see many patients with low back pain. Most of these patients come into the clinic looking for one thing (and research shows this is the number one thing that patient’s want): education. They want to know why they are experiencing symptoms and how can they go about fixing themselves. If we can educate patients or society as a whole regarding normal compared to abnormal experiences, there may be less disability.
- “Prevention practice encompasses health care designed to promote health, fitness, and wellness through education and appropriate guidance designed to prevent or delay the progression of pathology”
Those promoting health should also demonstrate a healthy lifestyle. Without a doubt, if I passed you on the street, you may ask “Do you even lift bro?”, but I can squat with the best of them (drug free of course). Many therapists don’t allow for time in their day to exercise and to me this is hypocrisy, seeing as exercise is the intervention charged the most in our profession. It’s like a Doctor telling you to quit smoking though you see the stains on the fingernails. Hypocrisy!
- “Preventive care also includes instruction to minimize or eliminate injurious forces throughout daily life. This instruction includes recommendations to optimize conditions for performance, whether the performance is related to simple activities of daily living, work activities, leisure activities or activities related to competitive sports”
Robin McKenzie, Shirley Sahrmann, Stuart McGill, Brian Mulligan, Florence Kendall, Geoff Maitland, Stanley Paris: These are the giants of the previous century. They took therapy and principles of health to the health care practitioner. Giants of today are: Grey Cook, Kelly Starrett, Quin Henoch, Therapy Insiders, Barbell Shrugged guys, because they are taking healthcare to the patient.
As a PT, I can affect one patient per hour. Writing this blog, I have already affected twice as many people and I only hope for exponential growth.
Excerpts taken from the following:
Thompson CR. Prevention Practice: A Holistic Perspective for Physical Therapy. In: Prevention Practice: A Physical Therapist’s Guide to Health, Fitness, and Wellness. Thorofare, NJ: SLACK Incorporated:2007.