A brilliant analogy I recently heard regarding something else but which can easily be applied to the human body. You are unique and your life experiences make up your story. Picture yourself as a puzzle. At 10 years old you may be a 60 piece puzzle, at 30 years old – 500 pieces and at 70 years old 1000. Your puzzle pieces are made up of your childhood, the sport you played, the broken leg or arm, or numerous sprained ankles, how your lifestyle may have changed going to college or university, car accidents, genetics, any chronic illnesses. These are just a very few examples. Big events such as marriage, having children, divorce, getting a promotion etc, contribute largely to the number of pieces in your puzzle too.
During the initial assessment, it is vital to understand what your ideal outcome is (the picture on the box of your puzzle), what you have been through in the past (how many puzzle pieces and how ‘easy’ or ‘challenging’ your puzzle is going to be) and how ready you are to tackle putting the pieces together once we tip them out on to the table.
Some people make progress straight away while others find it really difficult to get going. Some people get stuck towards the end and discover there are a few pieces missing while others appear text book and rebuild the puzzle effortlessly.
Depending on the number of pieces and the complexity of the picture, as well as the person building the puzzle, there are different strategies that can be implemented, some people lack strategy or only spend a small amount of time per day or week on the puzzle while others set aside dedicated, uninterrupted time to make progress.
There isn’t necessarily a right or wrong way to go about this, but some methods will be either more or less efficient than others.
As a Biokineticist who is passionate about helping people move towards their desired outcome, I believe it is very important to have a thorough understanding of all the different events and experiences that individuals have faced which have lead them to where they are currently at. It is just as important to understand what it is they would like to be able to do and then assist them in developing a strategy unique to them and their lifestyle in order to get them the best results possible.
Although to the individual it can look daunting when they see all their puzzle pieces scattered over the table, by having an understanding of how they may all link, it is then much easier to develop a strategy and to put in place a step by step process to put the pieces back together again.
If you have found yourself not making progress with rehab for an injury, or if you feel that you have many issues which are all being treated in isolation, why not get in touch to find out if there may in fact be a way to working towards your desired outcome and to get you back to the activities you may feel or have been lead to feel you may not be able to do anymore
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