Clinical One has Begun

After a year of class I'm finally free, well at least I'm working for free.  I started my first clinical rotation in an outpatient orthopedic clinic this past Monday.  What's interesting about this site for me is I already work there as an outreach athletic trainer.  ATC's don't interact much with the PT side of things, so I'm excited I get to "put on the other shoe" and see the PT side of things.  I'll admit, it is a little hard to tone down the rehab difficulty for the older patients and get out of the "return to sport" mentality.  My CI is great and very willing to teach, although sometimes I wonder if he is a little obsessed with McKenzie.  I guess everyone has to have a guru to follow. (More on this later in the week.)  I'll try to post something interesting about clinic every week, or at least an article I found helpful for me in deciding on how to treat a patient.

Is the Wii here to stay?

There has been much discussion around the PT blogosphere about the Wii and its implications for physical therapy. I tend to hang out in the negative camp, but I do realize the Wii could have positive benefits with both the elderly and patients with neurological deficits. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is providing $2 million in grants, which will be awarded to 12 research teams "to help strengthen the evidence base that supports the development and use of digital interactive games to improve players' health behaviors and outcomes." I was unaware there was any solid, current evidence supporting the Wii for rehab purposes, but I guess time will tell if this is $2 million well spent.

I've got to post a link to this video as well. It's a great spoof on Amy Whinehouse's "Rehab."

Blog Comments Redone

So I probably should've done this before my last post, but sometimes I can be a little slow.  As you might have heard Disqus is allowing comments to be a little more than just comments, but a mini-network.  Evidence in Motion has a good explanation of it.  Hopefully it will work and facilitate some good discussions.  Now I just have to find material worthy to discuss.

Manipulations and Free Speech

Wow! A group of University of Puget Sound students posted a video highlighting the beneficial effects of manipulation in controlling back pain.  EIM brought the video some attention, which has now caused quite a stink.  During the credits, two girls who were nicknamed C7 and S4 were pointing out their said dermatomes in a picture of themselves  (a.k.a. one girl had her 3rd digit up and the other girl was pointing at her butt).  Note, the video was taken down and the credits were edited to include only a single picture of the class.  The tragedy of living in a politically correct world.  As you can see from the comments that followed on the EIM blog, the PT profession is in dire straights, and it's not because of the students from Puget Sound.  Feel free to join in the "war of words" either here or there, but regardless of your feelings, be proud of the students for trying to make a difference in their state.  If more of us can have this type of passion for our profession, vision 20/20 will hopefully come a little early.  

PTs and Title IX

Michael Sokolove writes a great article in the New York Times entitled “The Uneven Playing Field.” In this article, Michael looks at the increasing number of female participants in sports, and, as a result, the increased prevalence of injuries, specifically ACL injuries, in these female athletes. What’s great about this article though, is the author looks to a PT for answers about how to help these girls decrease their risk for injury. Holly Silvers, a physical therapist and director of research at the Santa Monica Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Research Foundation, does a great job marketing the PT profession by first pointing out the girls she saw at risk for overuse as well as acute traumatic injuries to the author. She then goes a step farther, when asked if she could help these girls by saying that “yes, in four to six weeks I could improve [them] a lot. In three months, I could get the job done. I would educate the muscles, educate the nerves. [They] could build strength and change [their] patterns.”
I have a great mentor who always quotes Benjamin Franklin, “ An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Now where’s that direct access?

Stress

This article about stress before even getting to school could not be more appropriate for my life today.  Luckily I got in to my PT school of choice, but sometimes the stress I incur makes me wonder if it is worth it.  I just passed my Medical Conditions practical, but how much did I increase my chances for getting CAD by stressing over how to treat someone with CAD?  Maybe I should start playing the Wii; I'm sure it helps with stress.

Traveling the World while Never Leaving Augusta, GA

I just realized that I haven't made a post in over 2 weeks.  It's not from laziness, however, but from being on Spring Break.  Down here in Augusta, we have the great privilege of having our Spring Break during the week of the Master's.  Instead of going to the beach, I decided to drive people around for the week through a local company that housed people from all over the world.  Between a group from Taiwan, who was on their first trip to the US, two guys (check this guy out) from Britain, and a family from South Africa, I had a great time.  I learned first hand though, that driving sleep deprived is worse than driving under the influence, as has been reported.  I am back to the daily grind now, so more posts to come.