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I was introduced to the world of physical therapy after being treated for a type of cancer called osteosarcoma when I was sixteen.
The condition left me unable to walk for almost two years. After chemotherapy and a handful of surgeries I began outpatient physical therapy for my left leg. My physical therapist quickly became like a coach to me and I didn’t know it at the time, but he would change the course of my life. He pushed me three times a week for almost a year and in that time, I never even took a step. The day I was cleared to put weight on my leg was the day that I applied to PT school. I wanted to make a difference if people’s lives like he did for me.
The relationship between a physical therapist and a patient is so special. When the PT can relate to what that patient is going through the bond becomes stronger. It helps the patient open up to the educational piece of physical therapy and realize that there is a reason for all the exercises we use for their rehabilitation. It’s that connection between the PT and patient that can be the biggest motivator.
When I was going through my rehab, my physical therapist told me, “It doesn’t matter that you can’t play soccer anymore. You are still an athlete.” He also tells that to 70-year-old patients that come in and that is something that I have carried over into my own practice. You enjoy gardening? That makes you an athlete. You want to keep up with your grandchildren but your back hurts? That still makes you an athlete.
Related: The Most Important Exercise You Can Do
After seven years of school, my academic career came full circle when I was able to work with the physical therapist that had made such a difference in my life for my final internship. He pointed out patterns and key points of information that he had seen over his years of practice. It helped me to see the body as one continuous chain. Someone may present with knee pain or ankle pain, but is it because their hip is malfunctioning? By treating the body as a puzzle you can ultimately solve it by identifying how to treat the root of the pain so that the patient leaves physical therapy better than when they had originally started experiencing pain. It’s what makes my job so interesting and exciting.
Physical therapy for cancer changed my life and I am so happy to now be working at Back in Motion Physical Therapy’s South Portland clinic so that I can now help others get better. If you have any questions on how physical therapy can help change your life, please feel free to email me at [email protected] or call to book your free pain consultation with me at our South Portland Back in Motion Physical Therapy clinic.
