From instagram to instatherapy. Is this good? Is this bad? Should we care?

In the last few years, we’ve seen tremendous growth in how social media plays coach/doctor through people like you and me. This has been amazing as it allows us instant options to help us overcome back pain and other ailments as an example.

 Is this good?

 I think it can be good.

 I love the sharing of ideas that were once only known to rehab folks and other allied health professionals.

Even then, there are novel ideas that are new and give me hope that there’s still more to discover when it comes to health and wellness. It’s wonderful to see how innovative and willing people are to share their ideas.   

 I have only one reservation and it’s a big one… that leads us to, “Is this bad?”

 Is this bad?

 It can be.

 No two people are alike. We all come in different shapes and sizes. We have different attributes and capabilities. And some of us have various limitations. With an appreciation of all these differences, we can’t blindly accept that a 30sec reel can replace the skill offered by a professional. Moreover, a professional who needs to evaluate your current movement baseline, who can then advise you on a proper management routine.

 If we subscribe to a post’s intervention, we run the risk of hurting ourselves inadvertently.

 For these reason’s it can be bad.

 Should we care?

 Yes.  

 We need to know what things are curated and how they’re curated. Therefore, understanding, at a basic level, what evidence-based medicine is and how it informs our decisions, is of the utmost importance.

 BOTTOM-LINE: we need to be good consumers of what we see and what we read. A post cannot encapsule a person, their anatomy, or their movement nuances. We need to remember that Instagram is not Instatherapy.