Every May, I take a moment to reflect on the passing of Robin McKenzie, an individual that has had a profound impact on the world as I know it. It is hard to fathom that he left us in 2013; a decade has passed in a heartbeat, it seems. Sadly, I remember the day like it was yesterday. I have a daily reminder that sits at the top of my inbox - an email from 2008 from Robin himself with his personal comments about my book, “RunSmart.” The passage of time always puts life’s moments into greater perspective, and with this in mind, I share my reflections on McKenzie ten years on.
Life is full of choices. Frost had to choose between the road less traveled and the road traveled. Neo had to choose between the red pill and the blue pill. Mere mortals like myself have to choose between the right and left fork in the road ahead. Every day presents us with choices and decisions that need to be made. And in the words of Rush, even if you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice. With each choice and decision comes an outcome, a ramification of some form or another - many of which will make us happy, and many of which will make us sad. Choices, choices, and more choices. But we’re then faced with another choice, and that’s where the real challenge is found.
In health care, we talk a lot about evidence-based practice or its younger brother, evidence-informed practice. Aligned with this, we have developed what is now known as the three-legged stool of evidence-based practice. The now-legendary three legs of the proverbial stool include research evidence, clinical expertise, and patients' values, needs, and preferences. However, what has been forgotten in this whole construct is that any good stool is useless unless it stands upon a sound foundation, or as Newton would have it, “standing on the shoulders of giants”. Let’s call them the Three Amigos.
It started as a prize in a photo contest. The camera, an Olympus OM-10, was awarded to my father in a photography contest. I am sure he took thousands of photos over the years, so this particular photo is now just a distant memory at best. I do, however, remember the camera and how my father passed it down to me. Hold it like so, and cup it with one hand underneath so that your fingers don’t get in the way. Yes, just like that. Steady on the shutter button. Such simple things were the foundation for exploring the creative world inside me.
Western culture is fascinated by superheroes, great athletes, and entertainment icons. We’re obsessed with larger-than-life personas with big stories and epic adventures. Many spend a lot of time and energy focusing on someone else’s coolness. However, none of us are any different - and here’s why.
Everything is the fault of social media anymore. That’s the perpetual refrain. Our political issues, our polarization, our diminishing self-esteem… you name it, social media has been blamed for it. I’ve heard it from the right, left, and center, regardless of gender and race. Easy scapegoat, isn’t it? Just blame social media. But in reality, social media didn’t fail us. We failed us.
At some point in time, it is highly likely that you, or someone close to you, will have reason to enter the health care system. The individual will then depend upon the diagnostic prowess and clinical reasoning of one or more health care providers. There was a time when you could place your faith in the system to serve you well. My recent experiences, however, would challenge that deeply-held assertion. It is as though the critical thinking of many a clinician has disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle of health care.
Up to 60% of runners will sustain an injury within any given year. Poor running mechanics, in conjunction with poor, ineffective and outdated training methods, can pose a significant injury risk. "RunSmart" was written to address these issues in the running community.
"Running Injuries: Etiology And Recovery- Based Treatment" (co-author Bridget Clark, PT) appears in the third edition and fourth editions of "Clinical Orthopaedic Rehabilitation: A Team Approach" by Charles Giangarra, MD and Robert C. Manske, PT.
Allan Besselink, PT, DPT, Ph.D., Dip.MDT has a unique voice in the world of sports, education, and health care. Read more about Allan here.
Top 5 finalist in three categories: "Best Overall Blog", "Best PT Blog" and "Best Advocacy Blog".
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