Physical Therapy Humor: A Few Jokes Only PTs Understand Part 1
8/15/2022
By Mike Severo, PT
PT Cruising: Humerus Bits for Physical Therapists
Physical therapy is a severely underrated profession. If you work in this field, you're faced with the heavy-duty of helping people regain their capacity to function in their social, professional, and civic lives. This can be overwhelming at times.
It is know both anecdotally and scientifically that a bit of humor can help us humans get through stressful times, and physical humor is no exception. In this spirit, here's a quick look at some hilarious bits of PT levity to bring a smile to your face.
Let's dive right in.
Replacement Blues
So, I was taking my strait-laced, marine veteran dad out to his physical therapy appointment in my car when I decided to put on some music. The first song that came up was Shakira's 'Hips don't lie.'
So, my dad goes: Hey, do your hips lie to you?
I reply: Well….no?
Dad replies: Heh, mine do, being prosthetics and all.
I almost drove us into a ditch.
Moving Targets
So, what does the pinched nerve tell all his buddies? 'You know, before physical therapy, I used to be a real pain in the neck.'
Ask yourself, why wouldn't Gwen Stefani make a good physical therapist? Because she holds a very strict 'Don't tell me cause it hurts' policy in her offices (shoutout to all the 90s kids).
As a patient's body was falling apart, bodies kept trying to separate themselves from each other —all except for the femurs and patellas. So, one patella asked a femur, ‘Why are you so devoted to sticking by me?’. 'I kneed you!', the femur replied.
As a therapist, I didn't want to raise my patient's expectations too high, so I had to keep them on their toes.
PT Puns
All physical therapy patients come in wondering whether they'll make a satisfactory recovery. More often than not, the most reassuring answer is, 'It's going tibia OK.'
Checking in on one of my therapy student's progress, I asked them how they were coming along. Without skipping a beat, they replied, 'It's a joint effort!' I swear they must have been planning that for days.
After a therapy session, I asked a patient how they felt. They replied, with a wide grin on their face, that their back felt like I was pretty hilarious - it was cracking up the whole time!
Don't ever worry about your attractiveness as a physical therapist - what other profession do you know of where you can literally be turning heads all day?
Final Word
There’s humor to be found everywhere, even in the darkest of circumstances. Keep a smile on your face, and you can be sure that you’ll be more effective as you tend to those under your care.
Sources
https://www.buzzfeed.com/hannahmarder/jokes-about-therapy
https://www.coolpun.com/topic/physical+therapy
https://www.americantravelerallied.com/blog/physical-therapy-jokes-join-humor-hospitals-movement
https://yellowjokes.com/physical-therapy-jokes