The ultimate target of any physical therapy is enabling the patient in self-management through
exercise. The medicine we prescribe cannot be just taken passively, it has to be ‘performed
actively’!

Thus, obviously, patient should be made proficient in the performance of exercise. And, of
course, acquiring any skill just requires practice! Creativity adds a new dimension to just plain
rote practice! So, the therapist needs to sharpen up & get creative with the prescriptions!

• A technique is the brainchild of ingenuity
  This is a famous statement which features in the “Maitland concept” used by
  physiotherapists. Simply put, it means that treatment can be modified in any way which
  suits you, as long as the specific purpose is satisfied. Doesn’t this statement directly
  support the need for creativity?? Try to know your patient’s interests & incorporate into
  the treatment! Make treatment fun & unlike a bitter medicine which has to be force
  fed!

Many a times, patients with severe pain display an ‘avoidance’ behavior towards some
movements. If your brain feels bending would damage your back more, you would end
up unintentionally avoiding any activity requiring bending. Creatively modifying exercise
can make your fearful patient bend even without realizing!! Imagine telling him how
well he performed afterwards, and imagine his delightful surprise after it!!

• Transfer of training
  Another theoretical concept well known to the practitioners of neurologic sciences is
  the human brain’s wonderful capacity to adapt! The brain doesn’t need to know all
  types of dogs to recognize an animal as a dog! Similarly, effect of training for one activity
  can be carried over/transferred to the performance of another similar activity.
  What’s more this has been shown to provide vast improvements in the required skills!
  

This concept also allows us to play around with our prescriptions! Make the patient
exercise, dance around or play his way into pain relief & improved performance! Allow
him also to come up with more & more activities involving similar movement patterns &
placing similar demands! Involve patients in their own treatment planning & give them
all the creative freedom!

• Random Vs Block Practice
  Practice really can never be under emphasised.But, practicing the same thing in the same order day-by-day gets really boring! And we all know how unproductive a bored brain becomes!
  You can tackle that by changing the sequence, the repetitions, the frequencies and
  basically always keep the brain ‘on its toes’!! Keep sessions changing, unpredictable &
  engaging & watch how much your patients enjoy! An added bonus is better retention of
  the skills learnt!

All our treatments mean nothing without the patient’s interest & adherence…. And the only
way to assure that is with modifications & innovations!!
This mammoth task can be done if we are ready to dig into our bag of tricks, be artists,
performers & even magicians; & not just therapists!!

Thank you for taking time out to read this article. It is going to be a part of a bigger genre where we explore physiotherapy from a practical and management aspect. We cannot cover all the sports because of time restrictions, but if you guys liked the article and want us to break it down for each (or any requested) sport, mention it in the comments below. The figures are not validated by research(unless stated/cited otherwise), albeit are based on author’s personal knowledge and practical experiences in team management