Have you ever seen the movie "What The Bleep Do We Know"? It is a metaphysical journey into quantum physics - by way of our own life experiences and how we perceive reality. It is truly an adventure - in the sense that it addresses a journey we all experience - in parameters that perhaps we just don't realize or at a magnitude we can't even comprehend.
In many ways, it's about life being so much more - and so much less - than we envision. In the grand scheme of things, we are but a perceptual conundrum, a conglomeration of cells ever-changing in a stew of homeostatic mechanisms. We are just a bunch of electrons, protons, and neutrons - a cloud of electrical charges separated by huge chasms of virtually empty space and nothingness. There is so little true "matter" to our being, but we perceive so much more. We live on the quantum edge - of reality, of living, of experiencing, of perceiving, of existing.
It's like the heavyweight championship of the orthopaedic physio world ... and I can just hear the ring announcer now ...
"In this corner, wearing the white trunks ... from various authorities worldwide ... weighing in at 180 pounds ... 'Manual Therapy' ...
"And in this corner, wearing the blue trunks ... the challenger ... also weighing in at 180 pounds ... hailing from New Zealand ... 'Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy' ...
There was a time when I thought that there was but one reality. It exists as it "is", and we exist within that world and experience it in but one way. Blue is blue, right? Vertical is vertical? Well, maybe I hadn't simplified it quite that much, but I certainly didn't think there was that much difference from person to person. Man oh man, was I wrong on that one! You mean to tell me that there isn't just "one" reality?
Our reality is based on our perceptions. Our perceptual mechanisms are driven by our experiences. We collect the data from our surroundings that we want to collect, and we act on it accordingly. Humans are driven by their past experiences and their perceived competence and self-image (or lack thereof). Two people could be standing in exactly the same place, witnessing the same scenario unfold before them - yet their perceptions could conjure up completely different emotional and physical responses. Even something totally benign could create something utterly diabolical in one person's mind ... and something ecstatic in someone else's mind ... all in the same moment of perception.
A revolution in the world of health ... is needed. And it needs to start ... here ... and now.
Let's face it - as it stands right now, the current system of health care, injury prevention, and health promotion - faces some tremendous problems. From the provider side, if you are providing exemplary care you're no better off than if you provide average or outdated care. You don't get paid any more or less for the quality of your work. From the payor side, we're told that "well care" is covered - but this typically amounts to an annual check-up and not much else (if that). From the patient side - I may not want to partake in any of this because they (the powers that be) either aren't going to pay for it, or the cost is exhorbitant (without health insurance), or they're just going to tell me to rest and take some pills anyways. And from the health promotion side - well, good sound educational programs are hard to find and even harder to have reimbursed by a third party payor.
Sometimes the simplest moments, the simplest words, can have the greatest meaning.
And sometimes - you realize that perhaps your words have more impact than you ever thought possible.
I've always believed in being true to myself - or certainly striving to live to that standard. In the midst of all that, as a person and as a professional, as a friend and as a mentor, I've tried to simply lead by example. To me, it's been about maintaining my integrity, my beliefs ... and expressing them succinctly along the way.
In recent days, I've discovered (or perhaps rediscovered) some aspects of my thought processes that I've not seen since college days. No, that doesn't mean reverting back to the "actions" of college life (not that I'd survive that nowadays anyways!). It means having a firm reawakening of those philosophical (and perhaps modestly idealistic) beliefs that found flight in the collegiate environment. It was a time of creativity, of strong beliefs, of being passionate about those beliefs, and perhaps even espousing them in whatever way possible.
The debate over limitations in human performance has been waged for decades. In the endurance sports world, the commonly-held perception is that the cardiovascular system is the primary limiting factor. The belief expressed by many endurance sports coaches is that maximum VO2 and lactate threshold are the primary culprits - and thus, we need to track and scrutinize the appropriate training parameters - namely, heart rate.
But here are some thoughts to refute those claims - to take our focus away from the past and turn it towards the future.
The month of March has some very important attributes tied to it. March was originally the first month of the Roman Calendar - before the winter months of January and February were added. Those who know me realize that I could do without winter at all ... so I think that March is as good a starting point as any.
We now have Daylight Savings Time beginning in March - and as you all know, I definitely have a strong appreciation for sunshine!
March 14 is Albert Einstein's birthday. Given that Einstein was one of the great thinkers of our time, then I certainly appreciate March even more. March 14 is also Pi Day - a day to celebrate the mathematical constant pi (which, I will have you know, is 3.1415926535 ... without looking at Google. Why do I know that? Read the previous posts!). I am still not quite sure why we'd celebrate pi ... unless, of course, I am a circle, and then it makes sense of my world.
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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