Should you follow my advice?

This is a recent story that I thought was interesting because it almost sounds like it would be written for a Readers Digest magazine. On a daily basis I try to give people instructions on how to help themselves but often your advice gets debunked by a friend, neighbor, or doctor internet. I’m sure this is how dentists feel when trying to get people to floss. Here’s the story:

A patient recently was asked to perform some exercises for her knees. I told her to do them daily and return in one week to assess her progress.

The following week I walked into the treatment room and asked, “Did you do the exercises?”

She replied “no.”

I looked at her in bewilderment. I couldn’t understand how such a simple exercise performed once a day for 30 seconds per day could be so difficult.

“Why not?” I asked.

“Well, I saw my other doctor in Santa Barbara and he said I shouldn’t do them. He said he didn’t know why my left knee was hurting so he gave me a cortisone shot. Boy did that hurt” was her answer.

In my confused state, I tried to understand the situation. “Okay, so you have two different doctors. One says to perform an exercise, the other says not to. So I guess it’s up to you to decide which advice you want to follow.”

“He charges more so I’m following his advice” she explained.