As Always, Context Matters

Part of the “art” in rehab or fitness is knowing how to decipher what matters vs what doesn’t. 

When we use the Client Attribute Profile, it’s important to understand that how you weigh each variable is contextual to each client. For example, two clients with pain have range of motion deficits… in theory, this could be really important given what they are doing, but contextually, the story might not make sense. Part of our goal is to take the information and start to make sense of it.

Let’s say client 1 has low back pain when the squat to full depth (hip crease below parallel) - this client is also missing ankle dorsiflexion - this correlation makes sense so we work to increase dorsiflexion with more weight pointed toward this variable. 

Client 2 has low back pain, but when they hinge they also note that because of the limited ankle dorsiflexion, they respect their range of motion and only squat to just above parallel - a different correlation pattern that pulls some of the weight away from thinking ankle dorsiflexion is the main biomechanical driver. 

Now, let’s take those same clients and look at their lifestyles:

Client 1 - sleeps an average of 4 hours per night, works out at the 5 am class, and trains 6 days per week. High likelihood that I am going to focus on the weight of this variable. 

Client 2 - Sleeps 7 hours per night, trains consistently 4-5 days per week, and takes rest days on feel/need. Low likelihood of the lifestyle variable coming into play here. 

So what’s the main takeaway:

Data is simply data, and data is irrelevant without interpretation. When you are outlining your client’s plan, make sure you take the time to work through each data point and highlight what you’ll be working on and why, as well as what they need to continue doing and why. Both sides are equally important for buy-in!

Simply put, the understanding of which variables carry more weight for each client is more important than the variable finding itself! Now, go apply and let me know if you have any questions!