There are four pillars to chronic pain, but one stands out and it is something you probably think about every day.
Goal setting
Many times, someone's goal, and maybe its your goal right now, is to be pain free. That is a wonderful goal, but it's not where we should start your recovery. We need to start with very specific and personal goals. There is a helpful acronym:
Goals need to be SMART
S: Specific
M: Measurable
A: Achievable
R: Relevant
T: Time-bound
As you can see a goal of "pain-free" does not fit into this model. It lacks specificity, is tough to measure as there are many types of pain, and does not give us a timeline. Where you can start, is thinking about a functional goal such as: after 2 weeks of sessions at Liberation Physical Therapy, I will be able to walk for 15 minutes without pain.
Or
After 2 months of pelvic floor rehab, I will be able to hold my urine for my 30 min commute home 5/5 days.
You can see both of these goals are specific to you, measurable (time or days), achievable as they are an expected outcome of quality therapy, relevant to your daily life, and time controlled with a finite limit.
Of course, not all goals will come to fruition. In that case we can work together to rework the goals to make them more achievable, your success if my success. There is nothing better than crossing goals off and moving onto more challenging ones.
Goal setting should not be underestimated and is a core principle to successful rehab.
- R
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