Posted March 25, 2011 · Report post The Lie Detector Did you know that results of the polygraph, or the "Lie Detector" test, are not admissible as evidence in New York State for criminal cases? Sometimes as a Physical Therapist I feel like I'd love to have one to help get the truth out of patients. When you love an activity so much—your favorite hobby, or sport, or recreational thing, whether it be gardening, or aerobics class, golf or tennis—it doesn't really matter what it is. Pretty often I see patients hesitating to be TOTALLY honest about how their pain responds to that activity. Can you blame them? You know inside that as soon as you admit to me as your PT, let alone yourself, that it hurts to do ACTIVITY XYZ that I may tell you to back off. Well let me tell you about this patient I had in the clinic the other day. He administered his very own Lie Detector Test and I was really surprised at how he shared his results with me. It seems a small thing but I really think the way he told me the "RESULTS" of his test was sort of profound. This guy—let’s call him Jim—is an avid runner preparing for his first half marathon in about two months. He's feeling the stresses grow as the time to prepare for the race is closing in on him. Jim came in with knee Iliotibial Band Syndrome - basically it's pain at the side of his knee. It can be super painful and definitely mess up your plans to go hit the pavement for a running session. We'd had some discussions about finding pain-free levels of activity he could do that would allow him to progress as he began treatments. I was teaching him how important it was to not only "Add the Good" (i.e. treatments, meds, ice...etc.), but also how he had to "Take away the Bad" too if he wanted to get better the quickest. He was struggling with trying to keep on running without ruining his progress. After two or three sessions, where he'd come in and tell me about how he'd gone out for "just a little run" and inevitably was left with an angry knee, this is what he told me last week... He said what I think was a really revealing and important perspective I want you all to think about..... "If I'm being completely honest with myself by a half mile into my jog my knee was not feeling well...It wasn't a 'stabbing', terrible pain, but I knew it didn't make sense to keep running." You hear how he ended it? There was still that little bit in him that wanted to hold on to the fact the pain wasn't "stabbing"...it wasn't "terrible." Maybe, just maybe since it wasn't "that bad" it might be ok to keep running through it. Fortunately his sanity prevailed and he focused more so on the first thing he said which I thought was AWESOME... "If I'm being completely honest with myself." WOW! That is cool stuff. As a patient, please, please, please ALWAYS remember to do what Jim did - BE HONEST with yourself. Jim had a real breakthrough that day. It's no small thing when someone who absolutely loves and thrives on participating in an activity can look in the mirror and admit that for the time being it just doesn't make sense! Jim put himself through the Lie Detector. He came through with flying colors! I think it's the very first time in 20+ years I've heard a patient say it quite that way. How are you doing with your Lie Detector when it comes to the stresses that might be holding back your recovery? We're here to help you and your loved ones get back to Peak Performance. Make sure to ask us more about any questions you might have on the quickest way to get you back to the things you love doing! Mike Napierala, PT, SCS, CSCS, FAFS Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
