Researchers Say Swearing Can Help in Physical Therapy
SWEAR JAR: DEPOSITPHOTOS.COM/ANDREYPOPOV
If you’ve ever used colorful language
during a tough physical therapy (PT)
session… you have science on your side!
A new study in the Archives of
Physiotherapy suggests that in physical
therapy environments, more relaxed speech
— namely, swearing — can help in a
number of ways, including pain reduction.
The research, led by Nicholas B. Washmuth (Department of Physical
Therapy, Samford University, Birmingham,
Ala.) and Richard Stephens (School of
Psychology, Keele University, Staffordshire,
U.K.), proposed that language can impact
how a physical therapy patient “thinks,
feels, and performs… If used correctly, within a biopsychosocial
approach to care, swearing has the potential
to significantly improve patient outcomes.”
The researchers noted that swearing can help people
to bond and can “enhance the therapeutic
alliance between a patient and a physical
therapist. Improvements in social pain,
physical pain tolerance, and physical pain
threshold can occur by strategic swearing by
our patients.
“Even physical performance measures,
such as power and force, could be
enhanced if patients swear.”
Washmuth and Stephens suggested
swearing in the PT environment “should be
used to accomplish specific goals, such as
relief from pain or stress.” And they noted that
swearing aloud “can also increase physical
performance,” as shown in other studies.
The study, titled, “Frankly, We Do Give a Damn:
Improving Patient Outcomes with Swearing,” was
published March 17, 2022. Archives of Physiotherapy is
the journal of the Italian Society of Physiotherapy.