We are going to get a little brainy today rather than physical.

There are stages to making a life change:

• Precontemplation
• Contemplation
• Action
• Maintenance
• Relapse/Termination

Let’s talk about each one individually and how it applies to you and your success in physical therapy.

Precontemplation

This is the stage where you aren’t in pain necessarily or if you are it doesn’t bother you enough to seek out treatment or wonder if there is something you could or should do something about it.

Contemplation

This is the stage where you think about how you are in pain or you can’t do something as easy and you begin to think about what you should do.

Action

You’ve decided to talk to your doctor about your symptoms and your doctor provides you with a referral to PT.

This is where the big question comes though: Are you coming to PT or are you being sent to PT?

What’s the difference between these two options?

• Those who are sent to PT may feel like their symptoms or treatment is out of their control and that it is up to the medical system to improve them.
• Those who come to PT may feel that even though their symptoms may be severe they want to work with their PT and the medical system to improve their outcomes.
• If you feel like you are being sent to PT that train of thought can change, you’ve already taken action to begin improving your circumstances. You may have had symptoms for a long time.

and so making the leap to change can take a long time too. Don’t fret, your PT is there to help you.

Maintenance

This is where everything you and your therapist did comes together as a plan to help you to continue to improve. This may be exercise, dietary modifications, new specialists, you name it. But it’s up to you to keep up the good work!

Sometimes people may need PT for a brief check-in, and we would much rather see you a few times a year if you need a little help to get back into your routine or to help progress you into your next best steps. (Ask about our wellness program)

Termination/Relapse

Now I didn’t pick these words because they sound like failure.

Let’s start with what termination could mean.

• You’ve stopped the exercises your PT recommended because you found a different activity or set of exercises that you enjoy more.
• You’ve stopped your diet because you managed to lose the weight you wanted to and feel happy in the place you are and now feel comfortable with making smarter food choices. This helps us move into relapse.

Let’s use the previous example that you have lost weight and feel confident in your new body but the holidays are approaching and winter is coming. You pack on a few extra pounds that nobody intends to put on. Have you had a relapse? Sure, just a small one and returning to your smarter choices fixes that quickly.

A different way to think about a relapse is when your symptoms come back and you think to yourself, ‘I haven’t done my exercises in a while.’ And once you do them your symptoms improve.

Regardless of where you, a friend, or family member are in the process CBAY is here to help you get back to work, play, and recover.