I do the same thing over and over, improving bit by bit. There is always a yearning to achieve more. I’ll continue to climb, trying to reach the top, but no one knows where the top is. from Jiro Dreams of Sushi. Last evening, my wife and I sat down for a rather rare evening… Continue Reading
How can you change client expectations in order to be most effective?
As a physical therapist, I face certain expectations when a client first comes to see me for treatment. When they walk in my treatment room, a few may look around, wondering where the exercise equipment is hidden, as my room is a 9’ X 13” room with a massage table and little else. But most… Continue Reading
Hacking your way through the jungle of research claims
“When we place our hands on a patient and act/move in certain ways our patients improve.” Social media receives a good deal of criticism from folks who feel it is the ultimate waste of time…though those same folks are usually posting these opinions on social media. Research “findings” are frequently posted on mass media sites,… Continue Reading
Simplifying MFR: A Proposed Feedback Loop for Myofascial Release/Manual Therapy
Over the course of the past few month I’ve done some of the most time-intensive work I’ve done since my college days. I was approached early in 2014 by Medbridge Education, a leading online resource for Continuing Education Trainings for physical therapists. They were in the process of expanding their offerings to include massage therapists… Continue Reading
The Sky is Falling! What To Do About Our Sitting/Texting/Computer/Technology Epidemic?
Recently, there was a fairly lengthy article in my local city newspaper, bemoaning the ills that technology is causing on both the young as well as older adults. Two local health professionals were interviewed for this story, both making comments based on their beliefs and observations and using their impressions to make predictions about the… Continue Reading
Are you legally licensed to do “emotional work”?
This post represents a followup to my last post, “Are you qualified to do emotional work”, with additional background in this post: “Professional Boundaries, continuing a dialogue: Is it time for a change?“. There have been many passionate responses to the first post across this blog, and on both Facebook and LinkedIn Groups. Why the… Continue Reading
Are you qualified to do “emotional work”?
I am going to keep this post short and simple, with a followup blog in the near future. How many therapists (PTs, MTs, OTs, SLPs, etc.) feel they have the training and legal ability, through their professional scope of practice/practice act, to deal with the emotional aspects of their patient’s pain/dysfunction? To define my term “deal… Continue Reading
The Subjectivity of “Cause” (And how it can make us think we are smarter than we really are!)
A recent online discussion made me look at the concept of what we, as body workers, view as cause, in terms of pain and dysfunction in the human body. In my education, I was taught a seemingly useful adage “find the pain, look elsewhere for the cause”. However, cause was always based on an antiquated… Continue Reading
T-Plus Six Days: Route 20/Happy
The house my wife and I own sits on the longest road in the United States. US Route 20 runs from Boston, MA to Newport, OR, one mile from the Pacific Ocean. Route 20 is an old road and, at least the part of it that runs through our small Upstate New York village, and… Continue Reading
T-Plus Three Days
It’s been three days since my rotator cuff repair and acromioplasty. I’ve been watching a lot of TV despite my best intentions prior to the surgery to work through my To-Do pile right from the start. This is the first day I can use the fingers of my right hand to type if I hold… Continue Reading
T-Minus Two Days: Ice
http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Jigokudani_hotspring_in_Nagano_Japan_001.jpg Celebrex is not a wonder drug. There, I said it. In yesterday’s post I had hoped that Celebrex would help me to sleep better with less pain, but it has failed me. I now have a continuous cold/heat machine-thing to try tonight and beyond, courtesy of my office-mates. Ice will be my constant companion… Continue Reading
T-Minus Four Days
http://bluefaqs.com/2010/08/50-remarkable-black-and-white-images-of-people/ I don’t know how many of you can remember when space missions were a big deal; how back in the 60’s people really did stop what they were doing to watch a lift-off or landing. “T-minus” referred to the time remaining until the launch. Yesterday was T-minus four days until my surgery. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Countdown In… Continue Reading
Our Patient’s Stories
As a physical therapist in private practice, I’ve had the opportunity to work with thousands of patients over the years. I’ve streamlined my intake process collect the data I need to efficiently move through the initial evaluation process and make an assessment of needs. My intake form has changed over the years, based on my… Continue Reading
Google Scholar Vs. Google
I came upon a statistic which showed that in the December of 2013, Google garnered a 67.3% share of search engine queries, while Bing (18.2%) and Yahoo (10.8%) trailed considerably. My favorite search engine, Google Scholar, did not make the list. Google has proven itself as a favorite means to access information of all sorts… Continue Reading
Professional Boundaries, Continuing a Dialogue: Is It Time For A Change?
Update: 08/07/14. Subsequent to the post below, the therapist mentioned below was sentenced from 7-14 years in prison. A bit of investigative searching on your own will bring up the details of this case. The testimony was convincing enough to have this therapist, who was performing myofascial release, convicted of sexual assault on multiple female… Continue Reading
Notes on Winged Scapula, Weakness and Postural Asymmetry
True winging of the scapula is a rare condition that results form paralysis of the long thoracic nerve or damage to the serratus anterior muscle. But the observation of winged scapula is a regular part of many physical therapy assessments and treatment plans. Viewed as a larger problem of postural weakness, it becomes the focus… Continue Reading
