Saturday, June 18, 2011

some observations...

  sorry its been a while. i have been busy doing my intern in orthopedics and am now developing a wellness clinic with a chiropractor. while i have learned an amazing amount of information, a few things still leave me scatching my head...and pulling my shirt off for no reason...(note: this is pre-ink)
  one is how we rely on physical therapists as a post -operative source of rehabilitation. i have personally been witness to countless patients who have said their therapy was not effective or, worse, had exacerbated the issue. a great amount of the patients i have seen have suffered various shoulder or knee injuries; many of the rotator cuff repairs are bankhart or slap tears. these are identified by the locaton of the tear per the glenoid and labrum. what has been noticed is that there are different levels of ability and/or knowledge of how to treat a post-op surgical repair. i must preface that statement by saying that this applies to all aspects of life, from doctors to salesmen to prostitutes (not that i know this personally). while i have met some amazingly smart therapists who can actually carry out a continuum of care per doctors orders, others make me literally wonder wtf??? a prime example is someone who is a few months post-op yet who presents a 'frozen shoulder' upon a follow up. this is quite unbelievable to witness. upon the six-week mark in recovery the 'sleeper stretch' would be a huge benefit to recovery, yet i keep witnessing therapists who are doing a pretty lazy job. this is odd because the competition to enter PT school keeps getting crazier, yet the graduates are not really equipped with enough real-world common sense. book smart yes, but thats it. while i may be only an nsca-cpt currently and will obtain cscs status very soon, i sometimes feel much more educated than many others. i wholeheartedly support an increase in the educational requirements for all levels of personal trainers, and im sure that this is why our field has no insurance reimburesement programs. it has been said before and i will say it again: if you are not strong in your anatomy then you are pretty unqualified. am i the best i can be? of course not, but every day i keep learning more.this will help both myself and the client. never be satisified...