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Musculoskeletal suffering: diagnosis and a variant view

1995; Wiley; Volume: 17; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1111/1467-9566.ep10933380

1467-9566

Eline Thornquist,

Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments

Abstract What acounts as relevant and valid information in a diagnostic context? A descriptive analysis of a first encounter from physiotherapy practice provides the background for a proposed response to this question. The encounter took place between a therapist and a patient suffering from muscular tension. It exemplifies the employment of dimensions of experience and knowledge other than those ordinarily accepted by scientific medicine. Prevailing notions of the body and the traditional distinction between ‘objective’ and ‘subjective’ knowledge are considered against this background. It is suggested that the tacitly accepted separation between the physical body and human experience be superseded by a new understanding. Conversely, the prevailing correlation between ‘patient/symptoms/subjectivity’ and less valid information on the one hand, and ‘clinician/signs/objectivity’ and valid information on the other, is shown to be counterproductive. Verbal and bodily information are not categorically different, belonging to the separate worlds of ‘res extensa’ and ‘res cogitans'. In real lives—and real bodies—they are complementary. It is argued that more complex interactional forms are better suited than standard diagnostic procedures to understand and deal adequately with patients’ often complex ailments.