Those leaving the debate are leaving the others behind.

Are we ignoring the obvious?

Whether you swear by the biopsychosocial model, live in manual therapy, or are a leading proponent of cognitive functional therapy, the patient’s story is where it all starts. Ignore it and no technique no matter how advanced will hit the mark. Without history, even the fanciest intervention, most evidence based approach or best massage is just guesswork.

The problem? Many modalities are busy fighting each other in the social media wars. Some clinicians roll their eyes at approaches they don’t believe in. This tribalism makes them lose the bigger picture. They argue over methods while patients suffer because their stories are overlooked.

History driven care cuts through the noise. It doesn’t matter what your preferred method is. When you actually listen, capture, and use a patient’s history everything else falls into place. Patterns become obvious. Decisions become smarter. Interventions land at the right time in the right way. Patients get better faster.

The irony is simple. Those who fully embrace history driven care are already leaving the debate behind. They see real progress in their patients because they understand that the story comes first. They are growing faster as clinics, they are getting better results with their patients. They left the debate and now they are leaving the others in their wake.

Every modality works when the history drives it. Ignore the story and all the techniques or approaches in the world are wasted energy.