An injury is ultimately a failure of a bodily tissue to respond to force or the nervous system’s management of it. This is why it is important for long term conditioning and co-ordination of the injury to be developed. As well as this, the injury must be put into the context of the whole body function and the role it plays in that patient’s lifestyle.
This is why it is important to empower the patient, as they are the source of their recovery. Through diagnosis and hands on treatment (i.e. massage, stretching etc.) their confidence is increased and they are in significantly less pain. They then have a much better mindset to carry work on their own rehabilitation with less frequent visits to the practice. This is financially and time wise far more efficient for the patient.
The alternative which is to empower the practitioner’s skills, can lead the patient to develop a reliance on the practitioner and may even fuel a “God complex” type persona for the practitioner. This should be avoided and long term management should be based on instead, the patient’s empowerment