Applied Kinesiology While Purchasing a New Mattress

Oh boy did I have an experience that has enlightened me to write about it since I've taken about an eight month hiatus (sorry to my small # of subscribers).

My last living grandparent is a sweet old lady; Granny Ruth has given my fairly new fiance and I a new bed as a wedding present. We've been sleeping on my mattress that I bought for $20 when I was 18. I am going the miss the dip in the middle of ol' beddy that miraculously survived college, but anywho; we went to Denver Mattress to see what was available. WOW, beds can be really comfortable but I couldn't help but be overwhelmed with the paradox of choice. I wanted to leave. We ended up talking to the mattress salesman that obviously failed as a used car salesman.

"For an extra $200 we'll give you pillows specifically matched for the mattress, plus a free chiropractic exam to help determine the most correct mattress." (rolls eyes)

I notice sell-out Dr. Brian Wieder on TV nearby blabbing about, uh, whatever.

We hum-hah and blah blah for a little while with the mattress guy while lieing down on the beds again.

"Here, I've got a test that we've taken the chiropractic profession."

This will be interesting.

"Hold your arm up and resist me pushing on your arm while you lie in this bed."
"Now resist me while you lie in this other bed."

Holy Cow! Can you believe that I was able to provide more resistance on the more expensive bed because my back was more supported. Bullshit.

Little did this used car...errr..mattress saleman know is that my fiance and I already knew about his little party trick. Try this at home. Have someone hold their arm into shoulder flexion.

Push down on their wrists with a closed grip.

Do a voodoo majic dance, give a vile drop of vitamin C, or put a poor sap on a more expensive bed and push on their wrist with an open palm.
Stronger?
It's a neat party trick, but this little trick is often used by quacks to sell their product, and I do dare say this is unethical. Read all about how these ducks took a pseudo-scientific treatment and gave it a scientific name.

Oh well, at least we're getting a new bed. Thanks Grandma!

Now revived...somewhat

Man have I been sick the past couple weeks. I often proudly flaunt that I never get sick. I missed a few days of clinical, I turned in a deliverable for my final project late, and I've neglected my readers of this blog. I apologize and I am now back...well somewhat, still something annoying is hanging around and making me cough. Now that I'm not sleeping every opportunity I get, I'll soon be back for creative PT Rover Ramblings.

BTW, for those of you in the Denver area this weekend; support funding for PT research while getting some high-quality education from Dr. Christopher Powers regarding the 2nd most common diagnosis seen in PT clinics, knee pain. Chris Powers is graciously donating his time to benefit the student organized Pitt-Marquette Challenge lecture series at U. of CO Denver.

Wiihab is a joke

I'll jump the wiihab bashing bandwagon. The utility of using the nintendo wii in the PT clinic has been blogged about many times by the folks at Evidence in Motion and NPA Think Tank. I'm not going to beat a dead horse, but I will point out a couple funny youtube related vids to exemplify the humor of wiihab.

Enjoy!

A Great Moment as a PT (in training)

I had an experience today that has gotten me even more super jazzed to be a PT than I already have been. I have begun working with an individual with C6 incomplete tetraplegia (quadraplegia). He had a crazy freak accident whereby a wooden stair broke underneath him and he fell about 18 feet to the ground. He has been recovering well and his motivation level reminds of a level of intensity as an Olympian. He took his first steps today since his accident. He took about 8 steps in the parallel bars; afterwards the energy and emotion emanating from the patient was amazing. Now I feel that I've gotten a snippet of why physical therapist turnover at Craig Hospital is near nil. I feel great! Can't wait to continue to help others who need a physical therapist to help them achieve their goals!

PT School Memories

PT school has been amazing. I've met some some of the best and most genuine people since I've been a PT student. Additionally I met some of the most witty and intelligent people as well, from fellow classmates to faculty. I often think of some of the best friends I've made during my time at U. CO Denver and how grateful I am to have been graced with their presence. I wonder who I will continue to keep in touch with throughout the next few years and who will fall to side. I look back and remember some very funny times. In particular I remember one very embarrassing, albeit funny, moment where I must have ate too many burritos (I love burritos BTW) and my stomach was not happy with me. I had to sit in the far back of the class to try to seclude myself due to the uncontrollable flatulence; my classmate Liz ended up walking out of the class because she was uncontrollably laughing so hard. Another very funny moment that had our entire class crying with laughter was during a student presentation of a project whereby he had to figure out how to create and market an innovative idea/tool related to physical therapy. We had multiple options for the project be it developing a niche practice, opening a clinic, etc. There was a lot of work into the projects and every classmate did a ton of research and presented their projects very well. Despite how impressed I was with all my classmates projects I couldn't help but have the glassed over eye-balls after a week of student presentations. The last student project was a HIT; he did a lot of work, presented it well, then topped it off with a hilarious promotional video. This is one moment of PT school I will never forget. Enjoy.

Who would like to have dinner with?

I was asked this the other day. The typical answers were running through my head such as the the president of [name a country], Ghandi, my girlfriend Rhea. Then I just blurted out Seth Godin. I was truly introduced to the genius of Seth by a book recommendation of Dr. Childs while I was participating in a 16 week research/clinical internship in Texas. Seth's recent book, The Dip, is a great and easy read that I truly enjoyed. Graduation from PT school is coming up and job opportunities as a PT are unbounded; I re-read The Dip last week and have ultimately decided that my choice in a great evidence based PT school and pursuing a residency fall into Seth's esoteric "dip." I also really enjoy keeping up with Seth's blog and I particularly enjoyed a recent post which may relate to my choice in immediately pursuing a residency.

The forces of mediocrity

Maybe it should be, "the forces for mediocrity"...

There's a myth that all you need to do is outline your vision and prove it's right—then, quite suddenly, people will line up and support you.

In fact, the opposite is true. Remarkable visions and genuine insight are always met with resistance. And when you start to make progress, your efforts are met with even more resistance. Products, services, career paths... whatever it is, the forces for mediocrity will align to stop you, forgiving no errors and never backing down until it's over.

If it were any other way, it would be easy. And if it were any other way, everyone would do it and your work would ultimately be devalued. The yin and yang are clear: without people pushing against your quest to do something worth talking about, it's unlikely it would be worth the journey. Persist.

It reminds me of the monetary arguments against doing the extra work for a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) or being a board certified specialist, because it's true that either doesn't necessarily equal bigger pay. Maybe it's just me, but money doesn't influence me to be mediocre. Being armed with superior clinical reasoning and knowledge for my patients does influence me, though.

Who would you like to have dinner with?

A wheelchair is not an ashtray

Dropped cigarette ignites man in wheelchair. The ground is also not an ashtray, I remember a few major fires in Colorado ultimately being pinned to some butt-heads littering their butts on the ground. Cigarettes are a major nuisance.