Trial and Error

I run tests with every client interaction I have. Each and every treatment session, I take a patient through measurements, collect information and make decisions based off of those data points. The interventions that I apply are just like running a trial from previously collected information, any error that arises is noted and informs decisions going forward. Without this process, treatment becomes a shot in the dark.

Science is very much predicated on this form of experiment. No one really knows what will happen, in any situation. Theories are developed, but without a proper test, the outcome is unexplained. This is true in physical therapy as well. Unfortunately, most interventions that are provided are done so haphazardly. Protocols have been developed to manage most conditions a physical therapist will encounter; they are cookbooks that inform their decisions. This approach can be successful in some instances, but they lack to creative initiative to adapt to the actual patient and their current symptoms. Cookbooks provided rigid instructions, they do not allow for the scientific process to take place.

For me and my practice, a treatment session begins with a conversation regarding symptoms and the problems at hand. From there, measurements on how the patient moves are collected. These measures inform me on the movement capabilities of the person I am working with. Those measurements, typically range of motion, guide the hands-on interventions and exercise selections going forward. Then, after an intervention is performed, measurements are re-taken. This is the process of trial and error. The data points may change, and that determines future actions.

The method of trial and error may be the most profound way to make changes in the world we live in. Even my tailor takes my measurements each time I buy a new suit, he wants to know what has changed as it guides his decisions. Possibly the best way to move in the desired direction is to collect data on your current position, act, and then collect new data.

Austin Ulrich, Physical Therapist