When a person sees that their MRI shows a tear, they can become very fixated in that structural aspect. But we are more than just the structure of our body. How we use our body is very important. Just like how we drive our car is just as important, if not more so, then the build of our car. Proprioception is our awareness of our body. In this case, we discuss how improving proprioception completed the last step of a person’s recovery.
We have been helping a lady with her knee after MRI had showed a meniscus tear. She’s in medical school and working at her clinical rotation. The miles of walking and hours of being on her feet took a toll on her recovering knee. She knew that these activities are her future so she took her physical therapy very seriously.
More than just strength and flexibility
She’s does all of her strengthening and stretching every day, and at this point her strength and flexibility are both great, probably more great than the average person without knee pain. “I guess the pain is just the tear then" she said.
“Not necessarily. We heal but we have to relearn how to use our healing body properly,” I responded.
Learning to use our body
We begin to challenge her proprioception with a series of balance and dynamic exercises. Standing in tandem, standing on one leg, standing on foam and wobble boards. Jumping on to, off to, and on squishy foam and bosu balls. Skipping, starting, and stopping on the bosu ball. Catching and throwing balls while on balance boards. The exercises became gradually more challenging but they are fun!
One day, she noticed, “hey! I don’t have any pain after walking around the hospital anymore!” And she was able to resume jogging and doing squats without pain.
Our body is dynamic
It’s helpful to have high tech instruments show us what’s wrong with our body. But don’t focus on what’s wrong, but instead focus on what you can do to improve. We are more than a bag of muscles and bones. With the right mindset and right training, it’s amazing what people have accomplished!