A common misconception that many have is that someone has the power or the ability to take away pain. You see Practitioners or Specialists in hope of achieving absolute pain relief. As much as my colleagues and I would love to wave a magic wand and bippityboppityabrakazam away all the hurt, that’s not how it works.

Being in pain sucks. It’s a miserable experience. When you see a Practitioner and the hurt goes ‘poof’, naturally, you view the Practitioner as some kind of pain killing guru. Here’s the deal though…

While the Practitioner may be incredibly skilled, educated, and experienced, they did not take away the pain.

It was simply the right concoction, presented at the right time, and applied in just the right way that allowed your Systems to reorganize and create an opportunity for change. The Therapist gave a solid assist, but you did all the healing. Unfortunately, the credit for healing is often misplaced and can create a bit of a challenge in future sessions when the pain does not abrakavanish.

WTFAQ: But it still hurts.

Therapist Answer: Well, yeah, that’s a thing. More often than not, attaining pain relief is a process that requires a lot of time and commitment on your part. A Therapist’s role is to provide education and insight to guide your Systems into a decreased state of alarm. We aim to decrease sensitivity while increasing functionality.

Measures of change such as increased strength and speed, fluidity of movement, and range of motion guide our progress. In some cases we need to provide support to the surrounding structures; muscles, tendons, joints and ligaments in order to take the pressure off or remove the attention from the painful area. Generally, as these measures continue to improve, your pain decreases.

This is article one of my new series WTFAQ for Clients and Practitioners. If you are a Client that would like to ask a question, please comment below and I will add it to the list. If you are a Practitioner that gets asked a question frequently and would like a response in my *ahem* unique way of communicating to the masses, please comment below.