Or in this case, knowing when to see other specialists. Just because I know a small amount on how your body reacts to (insert) exercise, doesn’t mean I can treat you when you develop piriformis syndrome, or what to do when you tweak your lumbar spine when you went to pick up your cat. Be open to finding other professionals. If you came to me to “fix your body”, realize and be open to the idea that there are better professionals than me out there (in regards to other needs of course). Here is a simple and run-down list of what some professionals can do:
Physical Therapists: Good ones can perform what many other professions are specifically trained in; sometimes you just don’t know what to look for in the Physical Therapist. Manipulation, traction, massage, e-stim, among a host of other things, like rehabbing an injury [when you didn’t listen to your body and kept on benching or deadlifting with a rounded back anyway] are all things a competent PT can handle.
Massage Therapists: Body work to reduce pain, release muscle groups, among a host of other ideologies.
Chiropractors: Offers manipulations, e-stim, and light massage/body work. Find ones that ask you what is wrong, instead of just adjusting everything as soon as you walk in.
Nutritionists: Offers nutritional services, often in corporate and medical settings. Good ones just don’t give you low-calorie diets to fix your problem either.
Registered Dietitians: Offers strategies and information regarding nutrition. See nutritionists.
Other specialists…
Functional Movement Specialist (FMS) Certified: Takes your body through different screenings to accurately pinpoint movement based dysfunction.
Selective Functional Movement Assessment Certified: From the certification “About” page…
“The Selective Functional Movement Assessment (SFMA) is a series of 7 full-body movement tests designed to assess fundamental patterns of movement such as bending and squatting in those with known musculoskeletal pain. When the clinical assessment is initiated from the perspective of the movement pattern, the clinician has the opportunity to identify meaningful impairments that may be seemingly unrelated to the main musculoskeletal complaint, but contribute to the associated disability. This concept, known as Regional Interdependence, is the hallmark of the SFMA.” Sort of a physical therapist but for performance purposes (whether this “performance is picking up the newspaper or lifting 495lbs off the ground, it’s up to debate).
We all have our roles. If you’re Personal Trainer is giving you manipulations or traction methods on the side, realize that this is out of his or her scope of practice. Also, if your Personal Trainer isn’t talking to you about food habits and/or diet logs, realize that you can do better out there as well.
Miguel Aragoncillo 