After 22 years practicing Physical Therapy, I've had some experience with helping people in pain. Here is my current philosophy regarding how I treat pain. This approach works for most people, but if anyone ever says they guarantee 100% they can cure you, please run far, far away! Pain is complex and different for everyone. What works for some won't work for others. I ask always that you "buy in" to what I teach and do, but that if it's not working for you after giving it an honest effort and being open minded to new ideas, we will adjust the way we work together, including recommending that you work with another practitioner who can help you better. My ego is not tied to curing you (I cringe just writing that!). My desire is for you to feel better and move better and live the life that you want to live.
My philosophy when it comes to treating pain is to address and attempt to “fix” the root cause, not just treat symptoms. Yes, the first few times we work together, we WILL treat symptoms because they are bothersome, but we will want to get to the WHY of your pain. Often it is less of a structural damage issue (tissues heal in 6-8 weeks) and has more to do with scar tissue, the feelings and emotions around the injury and your pain, unprocessed stress and traumas, inflammation and the gut, lymph system health and movement habits and the lack of variety of them and chronic postures.
For all these reasons, while I am soooo happy to do relaxation massage to help build resilience in your nervous system, I am loathe to treat your symptoms with just one treatment every once in awhile. In order to make real change in how you feel, we need to work together over a period of time to allow your body to heal and reset. And I always request commitment and follow through at home with my recommendations/homework because THAT, home, is where the real change happens. So I have a requirement of minimum of 3 visits for specialty care and will generally request an in between resetting period before going in to 3 more visits. For most people who commit and work at it, you will notice a change in the frequency, intensity and duration of your pain within that timeframe, though it may not be gone 100%. If we aren’t seeing change, we change the game plan and re-approach. My goal is not to get you caught in the revolving door of chasing pain and other symptoms; my goal is your healing. It may happen in 3 visits or it may take years, but I'd love to be there with you on your journey to feeling better!
Please see my FAQs page on my website: https://www.kirstinbergman.com/faqs for more information.