Fifth Week: Vision

First game of sport medicing went without many hitches. Our premier grade soccer team had a pre-season game last Saturday. I'll talk about the Saturday game of the previous week, in my blogs, to save confusion. I seized the opportunity to 'rub-down' some players lower backs, thighs and legs pre-game. During the game I was able to do some therapeutic massage to a players lower back and gluts and another player's thigh. One athlete had a knock to their ankle from the opposing team which created a giant knot in their calcaneous tendon - massage and stretching did not help, so he sat out the rest of the game with an ice pack. This week, we were taught how to strap the calcaneous tendon! Another player had cramp in his hamstrings - that was an easy fix. The team has talent on the field and I look forward to tracking their progress over the season. The result of the game was one - nil, to us (of course).

In the healthcare profession, physiotherapists are generally identified by their set of competencies and mannerisms set out by the professional code of conduct. But physiotherapists are known as other things, some colloquial and others just inappropriate. I'll list my top 5 (no doubt I'll hear more over my degree and career)...

1. Phlegm Specialists (yes, we'll have a look at the green mucus you coughed up)
2. Granny Draggers' (assisting geriatric patients onto their feet - we don't drag them, haha)
3. Physical Therapists (an American term for physiotherapist)
4. Back Crackers (no, no, no... they're chiropractors - but we can do that too)
5. PT (personal trainer or physical therapist... don't mix these up)

The theme of the week is vision. We have covered many aspects of vision in the previous classes (particularly in neuroanatomy), and this week it was physiology's turn. We now have a good understanding of how reading glasses are prescribed! Like in previous posts, I'm going to direct this theme to something other than the content we learn in class... My 'vision' of physiotherapy: why I want to be a physiotherapist!

1. Lifestyle: depending on where the therapist works, they will usually have a set 9am-5pm job or work on a roster/shifts - which changes every other week (this will probably include night shifts). The job involves physical activities and the lifestyle is usually balanced - after all, physiotherapy is based around treating imbalances (we know a lot about balance).
2. Sustainability: there is a foreseeable job market in physiotherapy. Physiotherapy encompasses a  lot of speciality areas and corresponding work settings. The pay is generally pretty good too!
3. Scope of practice: as said in the above point, there are a lot of speciality areas: community, neurological, musculoskeletal and cardiorespiratory. The student gets a well rounded overview of the body systems.
4. Professionalism: therapists are a credible, accountable, independent and legitimised healthcare professionals. We use evidence based practice and best practice methods to achieve real results. This is a profession where we help others to improve performance, reduce disability and overall increase their perceived quality of life... And the therapist usually observes a substantial period of their progress to recovery.
5. Spirituality: For me, spirituality is about adhering to and developing your philosophy in life. As a physio you will be able to help and inspire people to lead active, balanced, healthy, fulfilling lives. Physiotherapy influences emotional, cognitive, social aspects as well as physical - each of which is pivotal to developing your spirituality.

While I'm doing lists, here are my top three TV medical dramas!! Although they are not based on physiotherapy, they are still entertaining, relevant to health professionals and a good way to pass time. (It also relates to the theme, vision - enjoy watching these!). As you may have guessed, it has been a quiet week at university...! When watching House, check out how he walks with his walking-stick - he doesn't use it 'properly' (it's in the wrong hand)!!

The highlight of the week was being challenged to press-ups and sit-ups in a Phty254 lab covering active and passive insufficiency. This was completely off task, but good fun (and we got all of our work done). I won. Admittedly, my body composition was advantageous, but she gave me a run for my money. The lab demonstrator made sure we knew what muscles were working and by what action (wasn't he good, haha).

Above I mentioned that we are known as phlegm specialists. This week, I was specialising in phlegm of my own. Yes, I have a cold. It is inevitable that germs will spread at university, and my immune system finally shifted into overdrive to combat some nasty bug I had not previously acquired. Bring on the weekend to recover!!