Welcome/Mission Statement

New Year, New Venture

Welcome to Minimalist PT!

Given that we just rang in a new year, it seemed the appropriate time to try something new and different.  New and different for me, that is. Never in a million years would I have seen myself doing a blog.  However, at the urging of a tech-savvy friend of mine, this "minimalist" when it comes to treatment ideas and techniques, decided to give it a go.  After all, it IS 2017!

As a practicing physical therapist for almost 24 years, I have seen and done A LOT.  I would like to think that in that time I have been able to help some people get back to living their lives to the fullest and have been able to provide them with the tools necessary to manage whatever condition necessitated them seeing me in the first place.

I have worked in every setting imaginable in the PT world and through this varied experience have been exposed to people of all walks with just about every diagnosis, social situation imaginable.  Through this "exposure" and experience I have been able to not only educate my patients regarding their conditions, but have learned a ton from them as well.  In fact, I would go so far as to say that in many cases I learned much more from them than they learned from me.

This is the very reason I decided to start this blog.  By the way, the mission statement is under the heading of the blog:  "A forum for patients and providers to share information and exchange ideas with the goal of putting the power of healing in patients hands".

 My reason for starting this blog?  

Through the exchange of information and experience with numerous patients and numerous providers over the years, I have come to find that often times the simplest, most basic tips, exercises, treatment techniques can go a long way in helping people not only get better, but manage things themselves.  If the patient has the power to manage things themselves, they can greatly "minimize" the amount of direct, hands-on care that they require.  After all, isn't that the idea?  To empower people to be able to manage their condition?  From a business standpoint, I guess, this makes little sense, right?  I mean after all if they don't NEED me, they also aren't PAYING me.

Isn't life about more than profit margins and revenue, though?  At the risk of sounding like an idealist, I would like to think it is mostly about "doing the right thing no matter the cost or the reward" -- to loosely coin a phrase from my friend St. Ignatius of Loyola.

I must give credit where credit is due.  I did not come up with this "minimalist" ideology on my own.  Approximately 10 years ago, a former patient and now friend turned me on to a great website/blog.  The website is Ross Training.com.  My friend, a lifelong exerciser and amazing guy had been using some of the exercise programs written by the site's founder, Ross Enamit.  His initial program was called "Never Gymless".  The basic premise being that you can get very fit without equipment; that you can use your own body weight any time, any where and get incredible results.  He has a plethora of exercise regimens, home gym equipment ideas and training advice -- FOR FREE.  What a novel idea!  A gift to those interested in pursuing fitness.

My friend and I have had many discussions over the years about just how much sense his approach made.  It's basically the KIS principle -- Keep It Simple.  Do something enough and it can have benefit.  No need for fancy equipment, complicated regimens.  Just DO SOMETHING!

Then the light bulb came on.  Why not apply this to physical therapy?  How much can I do with less?  What can I give people to do that is simple, yet effective?  Can I put the power of healing more in THEIR hands than mine?  After all, they're living with their condition 24/7.  I'm pretty sure they are more invested in getting better than I am in getting them better.  They also have thought about their condition significantly more than I have and probably bring something to the table that can help me help them figure out how to get better.

That was the motivation for this latest "brainchild"/blog if you will.  Not a place for me to espouse how amazing I am and how many awesome things I've figured out that work for people.  No.  A place where ideas can be exchanged, topics can be explored and people can be empowered to take care of themselves.  Am I trying to say that traditional PT is useless?  Absolutely not!!  I'm just saying we may be better off approaching things from the standpoint where the patient is in control of their rehab, where they can do what they need any time, anywhere, like my inspiration "Never Gymless" instead of going to an office somewhere 3 times per week for however many weeks.

This is not to say that patients do not need or benefit from hands-on care or assessment.  To the contrary, this is the foundation for figuring out what they can do to help themselves.  Obviously, certain issues require A LOT of hands-on time.  I just happen to think that perhaps we can strive to minimize just how much time that is.

So in a nutshell - "Do more with less".  Welcome to the site!  Bring your ideas, insights, impressions, criticisms, etc.  Let's share what we can do to empower those that want to improve, get better, reduce pain, improve strength, whatever it is; myself included.

I look forward to the journey and the opportunity to provide a resource that hopefully will be of value.