How Changing Our Habits Can Change Our Practice
Change can be difficult. Like, REALLY difficult.
In fact, we’ve written posts on here a few times regarding different ways therapists are stuck (or refuse to change) the way they practice. Quite often because of not wanting to include research in their practice, or committing to the new narratives around pain science etc.
If we did change, it often feels like a daunting task where the things we have been doing for so long have to change, and in turn there is sometimes fear around how our patients would react when this change occurs.
In the past, I’ve often chalked this up to the methods we use, or techniques we love become part of our identity and thus we don’t want to change.
While I still believe this to be true, it can’t be the only reason.
While reading a book recently, it dawned on me there could be another reason, which most of us probably don’t even realize. Mainly because this occurs subconsciously, it happens routinely, is performed regularly, and most of the time just happens automatically.
What I’m referring to a simple word that most of us don’t realize we are doing with every patient who comes in to see us.
Habits!
Little Seeds Of Change
Quite often when teaching or discussing different concepts around manual therapy with other practitioners, inevitably the topic always comes up “how do I incorporate this in practice”?
I’d say this is especially true with Massage Therapists and discussing how to begin including movement and exercise into treatments (this is just my take on discussions I’ve had with therapists, not the general rule).
There is usually a concern where the patient comes in and just wants to get on the table and get their treatment going. Even to the point of looking at their watch in an attempt to make sure they get their full hour on the table.
This was also true as I started getting interested in pain science and while learning along the way had to change my narrative with patients. I was genuinely worried (also due to my lack of confidence) that patients would think I sounded like I was out to lunch and start seeing a different therapist.
Well, the reality is, when I started doing more of both, not one of my patients ever looked at me and refused to do a movement, or told me they thought I was out to lunch (they may have thought it but never said it to me), and they very well could have because I’m sure it sounded like I was vomiting all this new information at them.
However, there is a way to do this in a much better way than I did when I first started trying to incorporate these things into my practice.
When we are trying to create change with a patient it’s usually about planting little seeds of information and playing the long game. It’s not always about making huge, grand changes all in one session. It’s about incorporating small changes over a longer period.
Perhaps it’s making one small change in an activity of daily living until eventually several changes are made and your patient adapts to a new routine or exercise until it becomes a habit.
So, if this approach can and does work for our patients, what if we took the same approach with our practice?
Changing Our Habits
In his book “Atomic Habits” James Clear breaks down how to build good habits and break bad ones.
One of the things I found really interesting was a quote from the book talking about habit change, I couldn’t help but relate it to how so often our techniques become part of our identity in our practice:
“The real reason habits stick is that it becomes part of your identity, improvements are only temporary until they become part of who you are”
“When you have repeated a story to yourself for years, it is easy to slide into these mental grooves and accept them as a fact. In time, you begin to resist certain actions because “that’s not who I am”. There is internal pressure to maintain your self image and behave in a way that is consistent with your beliefs. You find whatever you can to avoid contradicting yourself”
Just about everything we do in our clinic is a habit without even realizing it.
The way we greet a patient when they come in, the way we sit in our clinic room with them when they first arrive, the way our hands make initial contact with them when they’re on our table…all habits. We’re probably more likely to call it a routine, but these are all habits we’ve created, which is also part of the reason you’re successful.
Your patients REALLY like this routine.
And the thing is, so do we! It’s comfortable and familiar, which makes change all that much harder.
However, if we truly want to grow in our practice, it’s a matter of us deciding we will change, not making the patient change (although this will happen gradually).
This can also be daunting because it can feel like we’ll get left behind (making it all that much easier to stay in our groove), which is overwhelming, I mean, it takes 17 years before research is actually implemented in most medical practices, so it’s not like we’re going to get left behind by attempting to change what we do in our practice.
In this book, James talks about how to create new habits by doing something called “habit stacking”. To do this you identify a current habit you already do each day and then stack your new behaviour on top of the current one. As you begin to master the structure of doing this, you create larger change by incorporating more of these small changes until these new habits are formed.
Could we just start by asking one new question during our intake and do it with each patient one day, then the next, until it becomes part of our normal conversation with a patient? Once this becomes our new normal, we could include one graded exposure movement before each treatment? When this becomes part of the routine, start to incorporate movement into a treatment, then homecare, etc. Even if all we do is just change by a small fraction each day or week, this can have a profound change in our practice and our patients over the long term. As this adds up you can have some breakthrough moments that not only make you a better therapist but can enhance your career. And the best part is, while you gradually make this change, your patients will change with you without them realizing it. These changes will become an expected part of your treatment and hopefully, they won’t be checking their watch at the start of the treatment.
If you’re curious or want to know more about habit change and how it can help you and your patients, I highly recommend “Atomic Habits” which you can get HERE.
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This is a great article! I like your perspective on playing a long game and that healthy habits that create change must become part of who we are and a decision we make for ourselves.
Glad you enjoyed it Diana, change is hard but necessary for ours and our patients success.