P4R4W7: 100th Blog Post

My blog has reached a milestone, it's my 100th blog post.

Celebrations? I think I'll take the week off next week... ha!

It was my last week of my Community Physiotherapy Placement at Sports Therapy and I was busy setting myself up to pass the placement - prepping for clients, preparing an in-service presentation and finishing off my written project (with additional powerpoint + script for the next PSW week).

My Tuesday session with Michael was, as always, insightful. Apparently skeletal models made out of real human bones could be brought and were used by medical, physiotherapy and osteopathic students (historically). Michael happened to own a set of joints - I didn't think I'd see any more real tissue models since anatomy in second year. We used these joints in a between-patient time to examine the foot, neck and elbow. A few more manips for the foot were taught, one in particular had the patient in prone lying, with the foot placed and pronated flat on the plinth... the practitioner uses a manip similar to the screw technique for thoracic spine, the manip is to the calcaneous and talus to gap the sinus tarsi / subtalar jt. The elbow was another interesting jt to manip... here's a Youtube video that is similar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FKNdj0UmTk

Book & dvd on Monaghan's techniques!!

Sessions with Michael were most valuable. He offered a 'less is more' approach, with great handling skills, consideration of alternative positioning for older patients and irritable conditions, a fine-tuned biomechanical approach with techniques utilising a sensing hand for joint interplay, and of course osteopathic manipulations! I am very privileged to have met and had some hours with him over this placement. I think he should update his book / DVD to include his techniques for the peripheral joints so that his wisdom isn't lost.

My placement at Sports Therapy has been equally rewarding. I feel that I have begun to developed a better, more relaxed approach of chat with my clients. My supervisor has challenged my thinking on political correctness within physiotherapy practice, which isn't necessarily a bad thing - it's a realistic view on physiotherapy practice. It's fair to say I have almost had a laugh a minute there.

World Physiotherapy Day on the 8th of September!!

I had my presentation on cupping therapy on Friday and it was a little bit rushed, but I think the physiotherapists there already knew a lot about cupping anyway, so they got the brief version. I was able to show some fire cupping, that's all that mattered in the end, haha! I also got my project submitted to my educator on time and within the word limit. I've got a formal presentation to give on cupping in the next PSW week. I might dedicate some of the break to write a post about cupping therapy specifically.

On Friday I baked brownies (again... you'd think that was all I knew how to bake... you're not far wrong there!) I also whipped up some bacon and onion cheese rolls (a Southland delicacy) for my supervisor who is shifting to Invercargill. A client mentioned that cheese rolls and Speights beer will soon become the norm for his breakfast. I wish my supervisor Phil all the best in the deep south.

And that is the end of my community placement. Time for a week break (after I finish my clinical portfolio for this placement haha! Due before Monday).