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by yshavit 1282 days ago
"Education" maybe the worst of them. One of the what-to-do steps is... learn what to do? Talk about drawing the rest of the freaking owl.
3 comments

Yes this one is comically bad. The description is even worse: "Your body knows best. Avoid unnecessary passive treatments and medical investigations and let nature play its role."

So really this is preaching anti-education. Do not seek out information about your injury.

They certainly worded it poorly, but what they meant was "voodoo doesn't work". As in, educate your patient about their wacky home remedies, and try to get them to engage with realistic recovery outcomes.

From the paper:

> E for educate

> Therapists should educate patients on the benefits of an active approach to recovery. Passive modalities, such as electrotherapy, manual therapy or acupuncture, early after injury have insignificant effects on pain and function compared with an active approach, and may even be counterproductive in the long term. Indeed, nurturing an external locus of control or the ‘need to be fixed’ can lead to therapy- dependent behaviour. Better education on the condition and load management will help avoid overtreatment. This in turn reduces the likelihood of unnecessary injections or surgery, and supports a reduction in the cost of healthcare (eg, due to disability compensation associated with low back pain). In an era of hi- tech therapeutic options, we strongly advocate for setting realistic expectations with patients about recovery times instead of chasing the ‘magic cure’ approach.

It seems like a lot of folks have responded to conspiracy idiocy by going all-out anti-learning in favor of blind deferral to experts. Even if I thought that was wise, telling people not to research their injuries is like telling the tide not to come in. Better to focus on identifying trustworthy information.
Seriously. It's a trend I've noticed with a lot of anti-misinformation people, including with my friends and family, where they skip the learning and critical thinking part and just buy straight into whatever is said by someone who calls themselves an expert.
These are guidelines for medical practitioners, who are well-placed to educate their patients.
Read them again. Where the guidelines say "you", they are clearly addressing the injured party.
Does "Education" lead to recursion?