Your doctor said they can't help, what now?
Don’t give up, your doctor doesn’t know everything!
Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash
It is considered a controversial statement, but it is a fact. Your doctor does not know everything. I will not speak to international customs and social patterns, but here in the US these two professions, above all others, are revered as the epitome of professionalism. Now, when I say doctor in this post, I am referring to medical doctors. People of many professions can hold a degree of doctor, but few are treated as infallible. I too am a doctor (as are lawyers who hold a degree of J.D.), but in most circles in the United States, my degree of doctor of physical therapy does not carry the same weight. Most people use the term doctor to refer to their primary care physician, surgeons, and other doctors of medicine. Not only do physicians not know everything, but they do not even know everything about the human body. This does not mean that I do not respect the incredible wealth of knowledge or the amazing skills they have. It means that I am acknowledging the existing holes in their knowledge. It means that sometimes a physician cannot cure a person, but it does not mean no one can. It means physicians do not always know all of the available treatments for a particular injury, ailment, or medical condition. It means that sometimes a physician does not have any treatments to offer, but someone else may.
The title of doctor means that the person has graduated from an institution and educational program which qualifies the individual as an expert in their particular field. Medical doctors are experts in medicine, health of the human body, and sometimes surgery. Doctors of Medicine are not experts in wellness of humans. This is an important distinction. This is one reason that medical doctors or physicians, are not experts in everything to do with the human body. Again, this is not meant to suggest a lack of respect for what physicians do, their knowledge, or the services they provide. A physician must learn a great deal to earn their degree, undergo further training as a resident, pass a stringent licensure exam, and take yearly continuing education to practice medicine. Physicians hold an important place in society and provide an incredible service, but it is important for us as a culture and for physicians themselves to recognize the limitations of that knowledge.
Many doctors do not understand or are unwilling to admit the limitations of their knowledge
All too often, I hear from clients who have been told, “we don’t have treatments for that” or “I cannot help with that, you will have to live with it”. Because physicians are treated as the ultimate experts in the human body, a statement of “we don’t have treatments for that” is assumed by most people to mean we humans or the entire medical community do not have a treatment. “I cannot help with that, you will have to live with it” suggests that the physician is aware of the training and expertise of other professions and that no one would be able to help with the reported symptoms. Unfortunately, in actuality, most physicians are completely unaware of the breadth and depth of the knowledge of physical therapists. Until recently, physician referral was required to receive physical therapy, but even then most physicians had only minimal knowledge of the benefits, treatments, and outcomes of physical therapy.
I commonly treat and resolve symptoms that physicians claim are untreatable:
Queefing - I have helped clients reteach their bodies to activate muscles in a pattern which does not allow gas to fill the vaginal cavity allowing people to return to yoga (or other activities) without embarrassment.
Pain - I have treated pains to the body in clients who underwent invasive testing with no known cause.
Constipation - I have treated clients with lifelong pain with bowel movements, difficulty having bowel movements, and stretching to their rectal muscles to have regular pain-free bowel movements.
Hemorrhoids - I have helped people learn their risk factors for continuing to aggravate their hemorrhoids to avoid surgery.
Diastasis recti - I have helped clients return to working out without abdominal distention who were told that they would require surgery in order to ever feel strong again.
Stress incontinence - I have helped clients learn to not leak urine with coughing, sneezing, running, jumping, etc.
Unsuccessful surgery - I have helped clients who received surgery, with an unsuccessful outcome and no change in symptoms to achieve significant improvement if not complete resolution of symptoms.
Sometimes, I can’t help, but I try to admit that as soon as possible, and recommend next steps to explore in order to find another solution. I do not expect physicians to know all the answers, but I would love physicians to stop being dead ends to care. I would love to see a cultural shift where people do not give up because a physician does not offer an easy treatment solution. I would love people to not settle for months, years, or decades because a physician did not have the answer. So, what is my advice?
Always get a second opinion, but not necessarily from a second physician
The best way to find out if a particular provider can help you is to ask them. I am much more likely to predict whether I can help someone than a physician is. To find out who can help you need to talk to wellness providers. We are not going to save your life if you are in a high speed car accident, should not be your primary provider when diagnosed with cancer, and are not the ones to consult about a drug interaction. Physical therapists are should be involved in your recovery from all three of these health concerns/incidents, but we are not the best initial providers. If you are up walking and enjoying your life for the most part, but have pain, incontinence, lack of mobility, feel weak, or limited in your life, then a wellness provider is your best bet. I recommend talking to a physical therapist, an acupuncturist, a massage therapist, a chiropractor, etc to ask whether they can help. It seems silly, but google can help to pick which type of provider to call first. Many of these providers are likely to have a few of each other type of provider that they refer to if they cannot help themselves.
Finally, I do not believe that the responsibility of finding care should fall to the people. I would love to see a cultural shift where physicians are required to give some education on other options to explore when they do not have treatments within their medical practice and knowledge. I would love interdisciplinary networking and true knowledge of what other care providers offer to be a normal expectation among physicians. Until that happens, it is up to us.