Deep Foundations

There is a common phrase that goes something like “the deeper the foundation, the taller the building” which seems to be applicable to a number of aspects of life. Physical therapy is no different. Whether it be my abilities as a provider or my patients quality movement patterns, the deeper the understanding the higher we rise. Learning is usually not something that comes easy, it does take concentrated effort and repeated bouts, making the foundation deeper, more robust.

Most modern physical rehabilitation, by and large, is a superficial attempt at healing the body. There is a set curriculum that is taught, and the interventions supplied are based off of the understanding of that curriculum. Questioning that model results in those are entrenched in it, digging their heels in and finding an unsatisfactory answer. The desire to find better answers has nearly been extinguished. Bold questions and even bolder answers do not seem to exist in this realm any longer. The pioneers of physical therapy made extraordinary claims, many of which turned out to be incorrect, but some of which have proven useful. As a field, there are not many explorers willing to push the boundaries of what we know, leaving us stagnant and vulnerable.

Physical therapists can do incredible things for their patients, literally altering lives for the better. Movement is the foundation by which we all interact with the world, and we are of the few professionals who can make a massive difference in that foundation. The knowledge we possess or seek to gain is paramount to making those changes. The deeper we go, the more capable we become and the higher we elevate ourselves and our patients. The burning desire to improve, seek answers and find truths is critical to progress. Creative solutions to the common problems we see are waiting to be discovered, we just need to give ourselves permission to search them out. Our predecessors sought to learn new things and find incomprehensible answers. Those same attributes are what can advance our understanding, deepen our relationship to meaningful work and create a more resilient discipline.

Austin Ulrich, Physical Therapist