April 20 was the one year anniversary of Texas HB 637 receiving a public hearing – the first ever for a bill related to direct access to physical therapy - with the House Public Health Committee. Actually, it was more like the wee hours of April 21. Close enough.
The committee finally listened to the voice of patients and physical therapists across Texas, although it was a very brief and albeit unsuccessful listen. A one hour hearing at 2:00 am doesn’t tend to attract the general public that are up in arms over these sorts of things, but I digress. With that said, we are now one year later and a mere 8 months before the start of the next legislative session.
Last week there was an interesting editorial piece in the Austin American-Statesman entitled “Texas GOP's health care bill isn't like Obamacare”. It was written by Senator Jane Nelson, author of SB7 (the bill in question) and chairwoman of the Texas Senate Committee on Health & Human Services. If words and espoused principles mean anything at all, and oftentimes they don’t in politics, then we might actually be able to envision Senator Nelson supporting the efforts of physical therapists in the Texas Senate this upcoming session.
This is the 14th in a series of RunSmart videos. The series is on-going, with a new video released on a biweekly basis. These videos complement the material presented in the book “RunSmart: A Comprehensive Approach To Injury-Free Running”. The full series of videos can be found here. A compilation of the first 10 videos will be available on Vimeo as well.
For those of you that are interested in a more interactive learning environment, consider attending a Level One (half day), Level Two (one day), or Level Three (two day) RunSmart program. The Level One program is 4 hours and focuses on basic training principles, running mechanics, and injury prevention. The Level Two program is 8.5 hours and focuses on performance optimization and training program development. The Level Three program is a two day, 15 hour program that includes a comprehensive approach to running injuries. The next Level One program will be offered in Austin on June 3, 2012. The next Level Three program will be offered in Reno, Nevada on May 5 – 6, 2012 at the University of Nevada.
In this video, I discuss the issue of beliefs and science in the world of running. Much of what is done in the running community is driven by beliefs more than science, which becomes problematic from not only a performance perspective, but also from the perspective of injury prevention and injury recovery as well.
We are all faced with challenges in our lives. It could be at work. It could be at home. It may start to feel like there isn’t even a moment away from the noise.
It would appear that although the types of challenge may change, there is always plenty of adversity to go around. I don’t know a single person that hasn’t been faced with a life challenge of some form or another.
I can remember my best friend Richard always saying “tough times pass, tough people last”. But it is more than just being tough enough to weather the storm. It is more than just being able to hunker down and survive the onslaught. It is beyond simply shutting out the noise and moving on.
The paradox of adversity is that although it is something we could all do without, it is integral to our growth. Much as we would like clear skies and smooth seas on a daily basis, adversity teaches us many things about life.
It is a fairly regular occurrence these days - back pain in NBA players. A quick Google search reveals plenty of big names: Derrick Rose, Metta World Peace, Amar’e Stoudamire, Carmelo Anthony, Larry Johnson, Dirk Nowitzki, and Larry Bird. That was just pages 1 and 2 of the search. There have been plenty of careers that have ended abruptly due to back pain.
While we’re at it, let’s tally up the annual salaries of those individuals, or better yet, the salary-per-game. Multiply this by the number of games lost to injury. I hope your calculator can handle a lot of zeros.
The most recent addition to the Hall Of Pain is Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic. He is out with “back spasms”. He has missed five of the last 7 games prior to Saturday, April 14th. That can’t be a good thing when your team is fighting for a playoff spot and playoffs begin April 28.
The NBA and its teams need a solution to the back pain epidemic. Allow me to introduce you to Mechanical Diagnosis And Therapy, or MDT.
It would appear that the Republican Party has kinda-sorted agreed that Mitt Romney kinda-should maybe be their presidential candidate in the 2012 election. Maybe. Well maybe not. Today, definitely. Maybe.
But as I have always maintained, truth is stranger than fiction. It appears that the lead-up to the election is going to get more and more bizarre, which is more and more disconcerting for the well-being of this country.
In the meantime, there is more fresh rhubarb to discuss. This episode of the Rhubarb Report deals with cars, sports, and politics. How insanely original is that?
This news report just in from the world of sport: muscle imbalances - those crazy anomalies that plague athletes everywhere – have been caught defying homeostasis. Not only do they cause every sport injury known to man (or are believed to do so anyways), but they are now defying homeostasis. Homeostasis! Can you believe it? What makes this turn of events more troubling is that they are demanding greater pay for their treatment. Health care experts are reporting that this is sure to become a troubling development for lawmakers in an upcoming November election cycle.
A little satire goes a long way. But the real world isn’t far off this when you hear coaches and clinicians describe “muscle imbalances”. The term is a misnomer at best, and a blatant excuse for interminable treatment at worst.
Self talk has a huge impact on our performance and proficiency, efficacy and effectiveness, in life and in sport. What we tell ourselves, after years and years of programming, defines who we are. We become self-fulfilling prophecies simply by the words we utter within our own minds.
The 2012 Masters gave us a great example of golf - and self talk - all at the same time. Some of it was obvious, some of it less so. Self talk can be reflected in the words that are heard by the media, and sometimes they are found when we read between the lines.
Take three examples: Bubba Watson, Sergio Garcia, and Tiger Woods.
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.