Walking and saying "gum"

This came to me while on a recent mall walk. The subfreezing weather in this area has made it wickedly tortuous to get outdoor exercise, so walking a few circuits of the local mall helps heat up the muscles, tendons and ligaments; it will stir the blood and unleash the peace. I doubt the majority of people who use physical therapy departments, colloquially termed the home of "physical torture", agree that what they do unleashes their peace. I feel it for myself during these walks.

The multiple engagements I must manage during the exercise period - dodging the shoppers and staff; avoiding the displays and distractions; maintaining the pace I want (only stop if you are going to hit someone/thing); foot plant begun with heel strike and step through, and great upright posture; all that - help me hear my inner voice. A lot of soul work gets done during those walks. It does help me unlock, feed and flex my mind. Gee, those PT's and I have a lot in common.

Even though our two professions are born of different mothers - APTA out of the wartime vocation of "Reconstruction Aides", originally all women; ASHA, largely male university clinicians serving disabled children; -  we each and together moved to meet acute needs of our consumers, in both the medical and educational spheres. Clinical discoveries and evolved standards of practice yielded programs of clinical and then, basic research; concurrently, educational standards for clinicians great and changed to meet the needs of consumers and the marketplace.

Above and beyond all the distinctions of the professions' growth, are the intertwining of movement and communication, of the motor act and the cognitive interaction. Our colleagues in physical therapy are cognizant of the contributions of play, of stress and of  daily need when moving and communicating. Stress is a distinctive quality of both the gym and the therapy room: I joke often that  some of my patients often begin to talk, when their bodies are stretched and contorted (OW! NO! =! $#%=£×_€=÷!!!).

I do admire our mutual interests and approaches; particularly, how movement and instrumental acts can engage the mind. I am still silently fretting when others assume I am a PT; that PT'S lead rehab departments predominantly; that PT took the lead at making the doctorate the terminal degree; or that we are joined at the hip for the Medicare B "therapy cap". Those dilemmas need not be owned by APTA. Time to just keep walking - and thinking.