If you want to recover from an injury or optimise your training or performance, get your head sorted out first. Without it on your side your body just won’t play ball.
As a physiotherapist I deal with the psychological as well as the physical. My patients often comment that being a physio must be exhausting physically but in fact it is the psychological aspect of what I do that is the most tiring, as well as the most rewarding, part of my job.
Recently in particular, I have been inspired by the psychological attitudes of my patients. From those with serious anxiety who are tackling it courageously with the help of a psychologist, to those who’s level of patience and determination on their road to recovery is astounding, to those who are achieving physical challenges against the odds that their bodies can achieve them for the sake of charity.
I wish I could shout their individual stories from the roof tops, to inspire others to follow in their footsteps, to show people that with the right support you can get better, even with chronic pain, and return to being healthy.
Obviously, I would not dream of breaking patient confidentiality but I often wish that creative writing came naturally to me and that I could spin their remarkable personalities and journeys together into a fictional story. What would happen if they met, how would they respond to each other, could their communal voice make significant changes in attitudes to chronic pain? Unfortunately, I lack the literary skills, so in the meantime I will continue to be grateful to the wonderful human beings that come and go in my life.
Apologies to those who were hoping for a blog packed with physio advice but quite honestly this is the best bit of advice I could ever give you. If you want to recover from an injury or optimise your training or performance, get your head sorted out first. Without it on your side your body just won’t play ball.
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Lucy Macdonald
Chartered Physiotherapist
02075838288
lucy@octopusclinic.com
PS I have purposefully resisted the urge to have a rant about the lack of funding for psychological services and the injustice of the fact that those who can afford it can seek more comprehensive psychological support… maybe next time…
Lucy Macdonald has 14 years’ experience as a physiotherapist getting rid of pain and treating the cause of injuries in professional, amateur and non-sports people including members of the GB ski team. Lucy specialises in treating complex conditions and injuries, and regularly gets patients better who have been unsuccessfully treated elsewhere. This includes groin pain, knee pain, low back pain, shoulder pain, inflammatory conditions and hypermobility syndromes.
Lucy is equally happiest skiing in deep powder, at the opera or simply hanging out with her family, which recently gained a new member – a little boy. She enjoys world music, dancing, a good political debate, yoga, skiing, walking up mountains and is embarrassingly addicted to Zumba.
