APTA CSM 2016 in My Shoes As I unpack and do laundry and try to readjust to real life again, I keep thinking about the themes that ran through all of my conversations this past week at APTA CSM. I feel like it’s really important to reflect on not just the content we learn at conferences of this scale, but also the 30,000 foot view of where our profession is and where we’re heading. Here’s a look at what sticks in my mind: Patients Are People This could not have been any more beautifully illustrated by two brave women who stood in front of a room full of physical therapists to share their very personal stories of the good, the bad, and the ugly they have experienced over the years in their journeys as patients. In the @womens_PT section in a session moderated by Jerry_DurhamPT, Erin (@mrsjacksoda) and Lisa (LISAMACNCHEESE) shared their frustrations with being looked at as a body part or a diagnosis rather than as a whole human being. These women gave simple suggestions that sometimes get lost in the healthcare shuffle, such as, “Listen to your patients” and “Tell your patients and their families the truth” and my favorite “If you don’t know, just don’t make shit up.” We would be well served to remember that interacting with other human beings requires a biopsychosocial model of care. Patients are whole people, with fears and anxieties and families and careers and everything else that plays into their journey through the healthcare system. As we shift as a profession to caring more about population health and early intervention, we need to keep in mind that true health and wellness involve a lot more than just exercise. We need to think about all of the aspects of wellness that affect […]
Read more →People always ask me, “What are you up to now?” In my last update about a year ago, I shared that I was closing the patient care side of my practice to focus on my consulting, writing, speaking and media work. I have had a productive and successful year with my writing for Impact Magazine and Girls Gone Strong, I have spoken at conferences and met many people all over the country who are doing fantastic work, I have had the privilege of serving as an APTA Media Spokesperson, I have assisted five business owners in starting their cash based practice, and I was fortunate enough to better get to know Ryan Klepps and Scott Hebert of Strive Labs. I first met Ryan and Scott at PPS 2013 in New Orleans. They were impressive recent DPT grads who were venturing into the online space with a platform for home exercises and patient management. I followed their progress from a distance until we reconnected at WebPT’s Ascend Conference in September 2015. Listening to their presentation I thought, “Everything they are talking about is what I painstakingly did all on my own to connect and re-connect with my patients!” I immediately needed to know more about the way they had pivoted their business and developed a complete system for Patient Relationship Management. Over a hilarious dinner that will live in infamy, I got to know not just their business, but also their personalities. Both Ryan and Scott are bright, hard-working, humble, and dedicated to our profession. They have built not only a business, but a culture around their company, Strive Labs. As we talked, I knew that I wanted to be part of what they were doing. So, several hilarious dinners and outings later (shout out to Harry Potter World), I am […]
Read more →I recently interviewed Sandy Hilton for the July issue of BossFit Magazine on the topic of sex from a Pelvic Health perspective. You can find that story here (the entire issue is devoted to sex – check it out!) Sandy shared so much good information with me, and since the magazine articles are under 500 words I had to pare it down. I wanted to share the entire interview with you here. Enjoy! Tell us about yourself: I am a Doctor of Physical Therapy and have been practicing since 1988. I am the co-owner of Entropy Physiotherapy and Wellness, serving Chicago to restore hope and movement in those dealing with persistent pain, incontinence or painful sex. I serve as the Director of Programming of the Section on Women’s Health of the American Physical Therapy Association and am a member in several international organizations dedicated to providing top-notch health care. What are some reasons that men and women might find sex to be painful? Over 1 in 7 people experience pelvic pain and roughly 90% of those will have painful sex. There are multiple causes of pelvic pain in men and women. If it hurts in your pelvis, groin, belly, genitals or the hips during or after sex, you should see a physician for a good evaluation! Find a pelvic health specialist in your area, look for Urologists, Urogynecologists or Gynecologists who are experts in pelvic pain and sexual dysfunction. Common causes that we see in the clinic are related to stiffness of the muscles of the pelvic floor (those that you tighten when you do a Kegel), sensitive nerves in the area (from injury, repetitive use like long bike rides, following an infection or even sudden onset with no tracable cause), back pain and gut problems. Diagnosis like Vulvodynia, Dyspareunia, […]
Read more →Interview with Pedro Borrego Last week on Twitter a conversation started about Walk In or Urgent Care Centers for physical therapy, and quickly progressed to this question: The Latest Christopher Bise @ptbise @PranaPT @PTBAlliance @Adam_P_Carson @Jerry_DurhamPT What if the model flipped? Why cant surgeons work for PT owned surgery center? #SolvePT 11:49 AM – 3 Mar 2014 Ann Wendel @PranaPT Mar 3 @ptbise @PTBAlliance @Adam_P_Carson @Jerry_DurhamPT Talk to @pedro_borrego about that – he’s doing it in Spain. We had a great conversation of over 195 comments, which led me to believe it would be well worth interviewing Pedro to find out more about what he is doing. In 1993, Pedro started the first physical therapy clinic in his town in Spain, and has grown it into a business which serves as a revolutionary clinic model for those of us in the US. I have known Pedro through social media and email for about 2 years now, and I am blown away by what he has done. I hope you enjoy the interview! Q: First, Pedro, tell us about the education process in Spain to become a physical therapist. A: Spain has become one of those countries in which physiotherapy education has improved since I went to University: I got my degree in 1992, a three years education in a recently established program in University of Salamanca. At that time the University didn’t offer a Master or Doctorate, so I got a foreign upgrade in General San Martin University (Argentina) and finished my first Masters degree in Healthcare Management. Nowadays this permits to me to teach as professor in the main private Distance University (UDIMA). In 2006 I reached my doctorate degree and I am preparing today a new doctoral thesis to fix the degree about […]
Read more →I have been fortunate enough to get to know Brian Finch, MSPT, CSCS (@AlpineAthlete) over the past year or two through social media. Brian is the Physical Therapy Clinical Manager for Rutland Regional Medical Center in Rutland, Vermont. He is an avid runner and skier with a passion for building community. I asked Brian to talk about how he has been instrumental in building community through Wellness activities in his town. Brain shared the following: I’m incredibly fortunate to live in a New England community that values cultural and educational richness. Our residents are so concerned about this, it’s not uncommon to hear the terms duty or role associated with community events. It’s quite understood that during the summer, the right thing to do is to buy your fruits and vegetables from the farmers’ market. It is also not uncommon for individuals to say things like, “It’s my responsibility to go spend $30.00 or $40.00 at the annual Art in the Park event.” Our community understands how participation is vital if we expect to have a robust cultural and educational environment. Many of my fellow friends and peers are actively mentoring our local high school students much in the same way that we take high school students & DPT students on a regular basis in my workplace. A few years ago, several therapists began to think about community fitness and wellness in much the same light. We decided that it was really our responsibility to start attending events and talking up opportunities to our friends and families. Our local Parks and Recreation Department had a small series of trail runs and road races that would occasionally draw a couple dozen people. If you are not from New England, you may not know that running is the unifying force of […]
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