Why some people hate RAPID

A funny thing happened on social media this week.

One of our critics spent several thousand words explaining why RAPID cannot “test neuroimmunology,” “measure neuroimmunology,” “regulate neuroimmunology,” or “treat neuroimmunology.”

The problem?

We’ve never claimed any of those things.

Not once.

As the discussion continued, the comments became increasingly dramatic. We were informed that we were committing crimes, practicing medicine, violating Canadian law, misleading the public, and apparently single-handedly threatening the integrity of healthcare education.

That’s quite a week for a couple of manual therapists.

What struck us most wasn’t the criticism itself. Criticism is healthy. Science advances through questioning, debate, and scrutiny.

What struck me was how often people argue against things that were never actually said.

This happens everywhere in healthcare.

Someone discusses neuroscience and gets accused of claiming to be a neurologist.

Someone discusses nutrition and gets accused of practicing nutrition.

Someone discusses psychology and gets accused of practicing psychotherapy.

And apparently, if you discuss neuroimmunology, some people assume you’re claiming to measure cytokines in your treatment room. (Wish we could though)

Let’s be clear about what RAPID teaches.

We assess pain, movement, function, and range of motion.

We apply a treatment.

We reassess pain, movement, function, and range of motion.

We are not measuring Substance P.

We are not measuring macrophage activity.

We are not measuring cytokines.

We are not running blood tests between treatment passes.

We’re measuring clinical outcomes.

At the same time, we discuss modern pain science because pain is not a muscle.

Pain is not a tendon.

Pain is not a joint.

Pain is a human experience involving the nervous system, and current research suggests interactions between neurological, immune, psychological, and social factors.

Understanding the science of pain does not mean claiming ownership over every system involved in pain.

It means being better educated about the thing we treat every day.

The funny part?

The more heated the discussion became, the simpler the question became…

“Can you show me where we made the claims you’re criticizing?”

No quotes ever appeared.

That’s a useful lesson for all of us.

In an era of social media outrage, before accepting criticism -or joining it -ask one simple question…

“Did they actually say that?”

Because sometimes the loudest arguments are against positions that nobody was holding in the first place.

Until next time, we’ll keep doing what we’ve always done:

Keep learning.

Keep questioning.

Keep testing.

Keep treating.

Keep retesting.

And occasionally enjoy the free entertainment.

Cheers,

Sherry & Rob

RAPID NeuroFascial Reset