It is with great sadness today that I note the passing of world-renowned physiotherapist Robin McKenzie at the age of 82.
I, like many of my colleagues, have struggled throughout the day. I have found myself challenged to find words to adequately describe what I am feeling right now. There have been tears. And there have been wonderful memories.
I could recount McKenzie's tremendous impact on physiotherapy, musculoskeletal care, and health care as a whole, or his development of the McKenzie Method of Mechanical Diagnosis And Therapy. I am sure that my efforts would be an understatement to his legacy.
But the profound sadness that I feel today is due to the loss of a great man that had a huge impact on who I am as a person.
In the ongoing quest for affordable care, our health care system is in dire need of solutions. If we don't find a way to save some money soon, the system as a whole will implode. Health care will become cost-prohibitive for many - if it isn't already.
We've got to start somewhere. So let's begin with a basic foundational premise: reimbursement based on scientific plausibility.
Did you hear the pin drop in the room? That's because there would be a lot of practitioners that would angrily resist the concept.
Why so? It would demand clinician accountability.
This year is the first time since 2004 that the Toronto Maple Leafs have been a part of the NHL playoffs. They were, until last week, the owners of the league's longest post-season drought. You would also have to go back a lot of years - specifically, to 1967 - to find their last (13th) Stanley Cup win. That gives them the unenviable title of also having the NHL's longest-active championship drought. It's not easy being a Leaf's fan. Trust me on this one.
Just when hopes were high this season, the Leafs have now found themselves in a 3 - 1 deficit against the Boston Bruins. Somehow, this doesn't surprise me from the team that is now the NHL version of the Chicago Cubs. This doesn't qualify as rhubarb as much as it is a painful reality for Leafs fans worldwide.
Reality check aside, and before Leafs depression sets in once again, there is plenty of rhubarb to make you stop and ponder just what makes the world go 'round. Alas, Episode 66 of the Rhubarb Report - game on!
Mal-alignment: the scourge of modern day health care practitioners. According to many, it is the root of all clinical evil in the orthopedic world. It has been used to rationalize countless clinical scenarios and treatment interventions.
Rumor has it that resolution of this malady is also the solution to world hunger and peace in the Middle East. But I digress.
Oh, mal-alignment. How you tantalize us with the hypothetical world in which you contribute so much to so many. But understanding you would require a deeper understanding of "normal" first, now wouldn't it?
Which brings us to - the inconvenient truth about normal.
On Tuesday, April 30, the House Public Health Committee finally voted on HB 1039, a bill that would improve patient access to physical therapy in the state of Texas. The committee voted 6 - 3 to pass the bill favorably out of committee.
Now it is on its way to the Calendars Committee who are responsible for putting it on the House calendar for second and third reading. This must occur before it gets a vote on the House floor.
As exciting as this sounds - and it is - time is running out. This is where you, the consumer, can help decide the future of health care in the state of Texas.
Last month was a tough month. The events of Boston, Massachusetts and West, Texas brought tragedy front and center in our world once again.
The news of the Boston bombings was everywhere you looked. Many were exposed to the devastation that struck the community of West. We are in a world these days in which the more sensational or shocking the news is, the more tragic the event is perceived. It could be Boston or West or Newtown or Columbine or Oklahoma City. You don't have to go overseas to find examples. Just look in our own backyard.
Throughout that fateful week, the overwhelming thought wasn't one of making sense of the evil, the pain, or the suffering. My mind kept coming back to our responses to the tragedies among us.
Pick up any book on training for virtually any sport. Crack it open and review the contents. I have no doubt that you will find it filled with copious content on the physical elements of training. Everyone likes to discuss how to build the physical capacity of sport performance. Workouts are king.
What we need to remember, however, is that the brain and central nervous system control everything. The brain can be trained - just like the rest of the body. Cognitive strategies will have an impact not only on the central nervous system, but the endocrine and immune systems as well.
So without any further adieu, here are five mental strategies that can help optimize your training, improve your racing, and yes, change your life.
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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