A Quest for Better Movement

Every client interaction starts off a quest for the both of us. We are both striving to find a better way for them to move in the world. Clients seek me out because they are in fact having difficulty moving, something is preventing them from doing the things they want to do. My job, after identifying these activities, is to discover barriers and create pathways around or through them.

Movement is a complex activity requiring our bodies be interconnected and coordinated to such a degree that no one fully understands how we accomplish it. There are guiding principles that I operate from, and they simplify things by applying rules that nature appears to operate within. Those rules get applied repeatedly as I engage with a patient on their journey to move and feel better. The process involves both of us attempting to discover the root of the issue and how to change their strategy for a better outcome.

The time between myself and the patient during our session is uninterrupted and fully focused on solving the challenge at hand. We are literally on a quest for a better solution to their movement related concern. New obstacles typically emerge during this discovery process, requiring creative solutions and adaptability. This is part of the exploration, we are moving forward, but not without speed bumps.

There is no doubt that the road to moving differently is difficult, I think we would all prefer that our bodies solve the problem without our conscious effort. There are times when that is not the case, and we need a concerted effort to improve ourselves. As a physical therapist that is where I get excited by the challenge, it’s where meaningful growth occurs, and patients discover their capacity for improvement.

Austin Ulrich, Physical Therapist