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Have you ever helped a client who later credited their improvement to something else?

Have you ever helped a client with a problem, for example, relieved their RLS, or frozen shoulder, or knee pain, Sciatica, etc, only to have them then decide that it was due to the supplements they took (after they told you, "Wow, you stopped the pain"), or the injections a doctor had given them weeks before they came to see you because the injections hadn't done the job? I've had that happen here and there, but now, years later, when their Sciatica returns after a fall, or their legs start jumping around at night again, they are coming back and saying, "I need you to do what you did before". It is very interesting to me and I'm wondering if this has happened to anyone else.

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Permalink Reply by Robin Byler Thomas on December 21, 2011 at 8:07pm

Well, I have certainly noticed it is a client's nature to forget when they're feeling better and remember when they're feeling pain. Which is why I write everything down AND remind them of what we accomplished at a particular session on a particular goal. So, in answer to your question, yes, I've probably experienced what you've described and reacted differently depending on my patience level that day: "supplements, ha!"

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Permalink Reply by Linda LePelley, RN, NMT on December 21, 2011 at 8:20pm

Good point about documentation of plan and outcomes. -- "supplements, ha!" - LOL!!

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Permalink Reply by Gordon J. Wallis on December 22, 2011 at 12:19am

Along the same lines...Documentation helps.. I remember one particular client.. She came in complaining of low back pain... I then palpated and eliminated two really painful lumbar trigger points...... Anyway when I saw her a month later.. I asked her how she felt after her last massage.. She told me .. well my back still hurts... I'm thinking about seeing a doctor now.. I thought to myself.. Oh well .. you cant help everybody... But I took notes on her .. and noticed that her original complaint was low back pain...and the trigger points that I worked on... Well I rechecked her low back.. No pain what so ever, even after deep palpation.. I showed her my notes.. Then she said.. But I hurt here... Shoot , she was indicating the top of shoulders... lol She had completely forgotten her really sore low back that she originally came in for.... ..Long story short.. I worked her shoulders, and gave her great relief... So yea.. documentation helps... And working in a spa.. I don't always do that.

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Permalink Reply by Daniel Cohen on December 22, 2011 at 11:04am

Most recognize what I have done to help their bodies correct. That is why my business can be based on referrals. But some have done just as you describe. As for documentation, I rarely do that because I am too busy working with the clients. Many Doctors and Nurses I talk with say documentation has taken so much of their time away from working on clients. As in all things it is about balance.

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Permalink Reply by Lucianna Johnston on December 30, 2011 at 1:25am

Yes.

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Permalink Reply by Pete L Blanco II on March 21, 2012 at 11:11pm

I do a lot of documentation in my practice and I have to say it really doesn't take all that much time. I type them in Microsoft Word following SOAP format while my client is getting dressed. More often than not, I have my notes completed before my client emerges from the treatment room at the end of their session.

Daniel Cohen said:

As for documentation, I rarely do that because I am too busy working with the clients. Many Doctors and Nurses I talk with say documentation has taken so much of their time away from working on clients. As in all things it is about balance.