If you are a physical therapist, doctor, nurse—really any healthcare professional, you will agree with me that pain is EVERYWHERE! It is part of the human experience to feel pain and pain is one of the main reasons that patients come to physical therapy1. If pain is so common and if pretty much all the…
Do The Thing You Are Asking Your Patients To Do
As a student physical therapist, I am tasked with learning many hands-on techniques for evaluating and treating future patients. Part of the learning process entails not only practicing these techniques (with the oversight of clinical and classroom instructors) on other students, but also having people perform these techniques on me as part of classroom “lab”…
Top 5 Things I Learned From Battling Chronic Pain
1- Everybody Needs Help at Some Time in Their Life Seek help early: lose the “get tough” mentality: It is okay to speak up about pain and hardship and will actually be more helpful than if you keep it to yourself. This also makes it more likely that you’ll get the help and support you…
Storytelling as Narrative Truth
In my own healing journey, I have found it helpful to both read stories from those with similar injuries and/or chronic pain as well as to write about and share my experiences during my own personal recovery. Stories and narrative accounts have the potential to foster connection with each other by increasing our ability to…
“Checklists” for PT Orthopedic Evaluations
Thanks to the physical therapists over at “The Student Physical Therapist” for featuring my guest post on: Performance Hacks for Physical Therapy Evaluations: The Power of The Checklist SEE BELOW FOR EXAMPLES OF MY ORTHOPEDIC PT EVALUATION CHECKLISTS: Upper Extremity Evaluation Checklists Lower Extremity Evaluation Checklists Spine & SI Joint Checklists Also, I would encourage…
Helping Patients in Pain: Creating Agency Without Blame
The best way to get someone to stop listening to you is to blame them for a problem. Anyone experiencing chronic pain has no doubt felt this sense of blame from healthcare providers as well as friends and family (not all, but most likely some of these individuals). As I’ve written about before, others’ reactions…
Lasting Effects of “Last Friday Night”
If you have ever had “one too many drinks” during a night out with friends, then you are pretty familiar with some of the immediate effects that alcohol can have on the body– impaired balance and coordination, decreased reaction time, slurred speech, etc. Alcohol intoxication can affect all body systems, but perhaps the most serious…
Guest Post on “Know Pain”
I am thrilled to have made the connection with UK Physiotherapist Mike Stewart, creator of the “Know Pain” website full of pain education resources, courses, and blog. He recently shared a guest blog post of mine about my perspective on chronic pain. You can find the post here: Know Pain: “Breaking The Silence About A…
Guest Post on “Fitness Pain Free”
Super excited to have a Guest Blog Post I wrote featured on one of my FAVORITE BLOGS of all time = Fitness Pain Free Big Thanks to Dan Pope, PT, DPT, OCS, CSCS (and creator of Fitness Pain Free)! Here it is: “How I Recovered From Chronic Knee Pain: Patience, Persistence, and Positive Inputs”
Can Running Make You Stronger?
After taking a break from running to recover from injuries (My Recovery Story), I have recently been pounding the pavement (and trails) again and really enjoying how I feel now that running is a part of my life again. Beyond feeling generally healthier when I am running consistently (I don’t run a ton, but try…
Leda’s Interview with PAIN OUT LOUD host Dr. Melissa Cady
I am so thankful to PAIN OUT LOUD and Dr. Melissa Cady for having the opportunity to share my story of recovery from chronic knee pain/CRPS. Check out the trailer: Leda’s PAIN OUT LOUD Interview Trailer Create a FREE membership with PAIN OUT LOUD to watch the full interview here: PAIN OUT LOUD WEBSITE Steps…
What’s in a Diagnosis? Are Labels Helpful or Hurtful in Medicine?
One of the first debates in my clinical psychology class in college (that has obviously made an impression and stuck with me!) was about the pros and cons of a categorical system of diagnosis for mental illness (vs. a system that recognizes diagnoses along a continuum)1. Diagnoses for psychological illness are described in the “Diagnostic…
