Why aren't you counting?
This is not medical advice.
There is this mild gripe that most therapy people have towards the masses. Not every patient does this, but the percentage is high enough to make us question why we bother.
Sometimes we ask people to do an exercise and count to 10.
We assumed incorrectly either that;
A. You are able to count to 10, or
B. You care enough to follow directions, or
C. You have the attention span to stop at 10.
Why the numbers are important
If I ask you to complete 3 sets of 10 repetitions, that is for strengthening. If you can do it 30 times straight through without rest, you are not getting stronger, you are gaining some muscle endurance.
The weight and/or repetitions should be hard enough that a one minute rest is required. If you don’t need a break, the weight is too easy.
Most corrective actions to decrease pain involve strengthening. So the numbers are important. If the weight is too easy, you’re not going to get better.
What causes this malaise?
I think the reason we see this so much is insurance. Many people think they’re not paying for the session, but in reality we are all paying, all the time.
If you paid me $150 cash before we started, I bet you would be paying attention much better, and be working very hard. You’d also expect a pretty stellar session. Would you want an ice pack at the end? Probably not. You’d probably want to continue exercising longer.
My guess is that you would count every dollar and every repetition.
Pessimism vs naivete
I don’t want to be too pessimistic, and say that we will never fix healthcare. But I also don’t want to be naive. Many sectors are a shit show.
I know many people are unwilling to pay for medical care, when they have insurance. But you may find better quality sessions, for much less time, if you pay cash.
I know many people who won’t pay cash for medical appointments, yet don’t think twice about paying cash for massage, yoga, pilates, hair cuts, personal training, pedicures, etc.
There are providers out there that are starting to take cash only. It’s likely they are only that successful doing it because they are good enough to pull it off.
Consider counting your exercises repetitions, and the value in dollars of your medical care.