Some twenty-odd years ago, I stood outside the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, reflecting on the tragic events of April 4, 1968. I have looked out over the National Mall and Reflecting Pool from the Lincoln Memorial, imagining what it must have looked like on August 28, 1963. Fifty-two years later, his words still have the power to bring me to tears.
Today, we remember and honor Martin Luther King, Jr. and his fight for civil rights and for freedom.
Many of us think of “civil rights” in terms of equality. But it is so much more than that for all of us, regardless of race or gender. In Texas, we hear a lot about property rights and the right to bear arms. But perhaps more importantly are those unalienable rights, those rights that we all share and the foundation upon which we all live, as noted in the Declaration of Independence.
Have you considered your health as one of those civil rights?
Welcome to 2015. Once again we find ourselves on January 1, the start of a new year, with a blank slate in front of us. It's that arbitrary date when you sit down and formulate plans for the year ahead and resolve to make any number of changes in your world.
With any luck, these resolutions won't fall by the wayside by week's end.
New Year's Day can also be a time for a ton of platitudes. We talk a big talk when the New Year arrives.
You'll undoubtedly throw lots of big ideas out there today, plenty of big hairy audacious goals for the upcoming year. Great resolutions lie ahead. But are you truly ready to make 2015 remarkable?
Physical therapy is a movement profession. We are undoubtedly the experts in movement, exercise, and function - and our professional training reflects this.
Subsequent to this, the vision of the American Physical Therapy Association is "transforming society by optimizing movement to improve the human experience". Let's take a moment to consider the meaning of this statement fully.
Since the dawn of mankind, an integral part of the human experience is function and movement. Neither of these are passive by definition.
In order to transform society, we need to focus on the active.
But there is a hypocrisy to be found deep within these words. If we are focusing on the active, then why do we continue to put such a heavy emphasis on passive interventions?
There are a myriad of common excuses that we can all find for not living the dream we so desire.
It is someone else's fault. I am unlucky.There is too much stress. I have too many exams coming up. I am not good enough.
But you know what? I hate to say it, but they are all just - excuses. More often than not, the real problem is simple.
Your own worst enemy is you. The best part, though, is that you are your own best friend and ally as well.
It is a question that I hear regularly when talking to clinicians and students: what do you do if MDT doesn't work?
The question usually causes me to shake my head and take a deep breath before venturing forth into a response. I wish I could say that it is only posed by those with little to no training in the method; however, I've heard this from more than a few MDT-credentialed clinicians over the years.
Let's start with the foundation for a response: MDT is not a treatment. It is a way of thinking.
Thanksgiving is upon us once again. Thanksgiving always provides us with a day to eat turkey, catch some lovely fall weather (fingers always crossed), and take in another University of Texas football game against some unspecified cross-state rival (Texas Fight Texas Fight Yeah Texas Fight).
None of my family live in Texas. They are all still in Canada, so they celebrated Thanksgiving Day in October, otherwise known as Columbus Day in the United States. I don't mind celebrating two Thanksivings, especially if doing so provides the potential for more turkey.
Thanksgiving Day is followed by Black Friday, a day of retail specials and sales. Ugh. The best part of Black Friday is that it reminds me of a great song by Steely Dan, but I digress.
But with all kidding aside, Thanksgiving is a day to Give Thanks.
Health care is chock full of a lot of telling. Telling the patient to do this or that. Telling the patient to not do something. There is a lot of telling going on around the health care world.
Health care has its share of intelligent people doing the telling. And I have no doubt that there are many that are telling patients a lot of good things.
But one problem exists. We mistakenly focus on adherence and compliance with all the telling and immediately assume that behavioral change goes right along with it. A faulty assumption, indeed.
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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