Everything was great until…
Some time ago, I was in a Vietnamese restaurant in Cabramatta NSW. Those who know the area will confirm that ‘Cabra’ is about as authentic as it gets outside of Vietnam, hence it’s nickname ‘Little Saigon’. I was there with some work colleagues after a dry needling course. One of my colleagues ordered a combination Pho, so I said, “make that two”.
The flavours were great until…
My colleague was excitedly picking out pieces with her chopsticks saying: “yum! I found some liver and oh there’s some tripe”. Instantly, that odd looking piece of calamari that I was about to shove into my mouth, didn’t have the same appeal to it. I said to myself, don’t question it, trust the flavours. But my perception of the food and taste immediately changed.
I grew up on an “Australian diet”, you know the one with sausage rolls and meat pies (please don’t tell me what’s in them either…).
I admit, my diet is far more diverse than a dog’s eye and dead horse, however I would not go out of my way for some some pig intestines anytime soon.
My point is to demonstrate how information, good or bad, can immediately change a person’s perception. Although I enjoyed the taste of the meal, after receiving information about what the ‘combination’ part of ‘combination Pho’ meant, and what was in it, my behaviour immediately changed. It created avoidance and suddenly I wasn’t so hungry anymore. I pushed the odd-looking squid tentacles off to the side and picked out the heart shaped chunks of ‘beef’. What was tasty as the start, wasn’t so tasty at the end, even though it was the same dish.
Now, I know we are not eating Pho in clinical practice, but it demonstrates how the information we provide to our patients can influence their perception of their body.
Consider the influence of unnecessarily using diagnostic and structural labels for common, non-specific musculoskeletal complaints. How can labels and terminology influence how people perceive and trust their body? When I ask patients about what they believe is causing their pain and the reasons for their pain, it is not uncommon for many of them to say things like:
“Apparently there are extra pieces of bone and there’s no cartilage left, that’s what the MRI said…”
“They told my that I am out of alignment and my muscles are too tight or too weak”,
“The doctor said that I have 3 disc bulges and arthritis”,
“I actually didn’t have this much pain until someone told me what was wrong…”
When talking about most musculoskeletal pain presentations, they are rarely serious and mostly self-limiting. But how a person perceives their pain will influence their behaviours, attitudes and beliefs.
The importance of what we say can be highly impactful. Let’s make sure the messages we are delivering to people are empowering rather than the contrary.
