Click here for this edition’s Table of Contents
1) Repetition = Persuasion. One of the benefits of a checklist assessment type of examination is that it is repeatable and consistent. This not only makes it clinically effective, but it makes it repeatable and consistent. So instead of chasing a different pain path every time the patient comes in, you repeat the assessment, repeat the clinical reasoning, and repeat the treatment approach. Instead of confirming their hypochondriac wonders by chasing pain, persuade them with repetition and consistency. So stay consistent and keep repeating yourself (more than just words). Repetition = Persuasion.
2) Create the “curiosity gap”. “Our results suggest that using interventions based on curiosity gaps has the potential to increase participation in desired behaviors for which people often lack motivation,”
3) Friendship is an important aspect of health, “It appears that both in and out of stressful situations, the daily presence of bond partners actually regulates the system that manages the body’s hormones, reducing an individual’s overall stress. While active support of a bond partner reduces glucocorticoid levels the most, their mere presence also leads to less stress.”
4) “The words you attach to your experience, become your experience” –Tony Robbins
5) “Find a meaningful analogy to spur on the behavior needed for change.” -Matt Dancigers
6) “The best way to get people to take action is to touch their emotions and give them a cause worth fighting for.”
7) Sometimes being optimistically positive leads to stagnation. Sometimes people need to hear the truth. “In a recent study by Nabi and Prestin (2016) in which “fear” and “hope” were investigated as motivating factors in health care decisions, an interesting finding turned up. If fear is used as an argument for engaging in a particular behavior, and the lack of action is associated with dire consequences, people are as likely to commit to taking action as those who receive a message of hope where choosing to act is associated with positive consequences for an individual.”
8) Use stories to make points. Not arguments or lectures.
9) Here’s a great article on reducing anxiety before big speeches, “We can calm our nerves by observing, accepting, and reframing it as part of a natural process.”
10) I had an older patient come in with neck pain that was so bad she went to the ER the week before. No neurological signs or symptoms. Just restricted high-threshold movement patterns. I educated her on pain, anatomy, and the way the body works. I gave her the simplest exercises (pain free AROM and diaphragm breathing). I told her to do them often and that “lotion was motion”. I gave her confidence that it would get better. She came back the next week, turned her head to both sides with pain-free full range of motion, looked at me, smiled, and said, “lotion is motion”.
11) Matt Danciger explains why the rhyme in the above scenario works so well – “As we know from Recall Bias, if things are easier to remember and recall, they seem more prevalent, and perhaps more true in your world view.”
12) Another one I recently heard, “you have to feel it to heal it”.
13) Herzberg Motivation Theory
The main reason I do this blog is to share knowledge and to help people become better clinicians/coaches. I want our profession to grow and for our patients to have better outcomes. Regardless of your specific title (PT, Chiro, Trainer, Coach, etc.), we all have the same goal of trying to empower people to fix their problems through movement. I hope the content of this website helps you in doing so.
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