The Luck of the Irish

Hey there, everyone and happy St. Patrick’s Day! I can’t believe Spring break is actually over now :-(; I was just starting to get used to staying up watching the Office all night. But that’s okay because I’m ready to get back to business and man, do I have some interesting stuff to share with you all today. So, as usual, go ahead and grab a snack and buckle up this week six blog post; I hope you enjoy!

Where to begin… ah, where to begin? Well for starters, we added yet ANOTHER member to our team, Danny. Now, I know what you’re thinking: Why is it that every week there’s always someone new or someone leaving (or in some cases, both)? To be honest guys, I’m not exactly sure, but I’m hoping we can at last have some sort consistency as we creep closer and closer towards the end of my project. So again, I’m really sorry for any confusion and thanks for bearing with me thus far :-). But without further ado, let me talk a little bit about our new addition. Danny is on one of his clinical rotations, hailing from the same PT school as Vincent actually (convenient, right?). In just his short time here, he’s already been able to make an impact within the clinic through his simple jokes and reassuring smiles. In all, welcome aboard Danny! I’m really excited to learn even more about the depths physical therapy through a different lens.

 
Now moving on, does everyone remember EJ Gaines from last week’s post? If you need a refresher, he’s an NFL cornerback for the LA Rams coming in for offseason training and therapy. He came in Wednesday and not to brag or anything, buuuttttt… I wrestled him. Okay, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but hear me out on this. It was essentially a balancing exercise where EJ would have each of feet on a bosu. From there, I would use my hands to try and shove him off the bosus while he would aim to deflect my arms away and maintain his balance. I’ll admit I approached this drill with slight trepidation that I might get snapped in half by a guy who gets paid to tackle people. However, I managed to escape the drill alive, only bearing a couple scars on my arm; nothing too serious really. I even managed to gain some respect from EJ as we would fist-bump after every set. After that happened, I told myself I would never wash my hands again, but of course with the stomach flu and nasty bacteria spreading about, I had to :-(. I also actually felt a little treacherous towards the Arizona Cardinals in training with an LA Rams player; I just hope EJ doesn’t go berserk and get like 20 interceptions against us next year. Regardless, I still feel the Cardinals can manage to pull together a win :-).

   

And finally, let me give you an update on the surveys. I originally planned for a sample size of 20 patients to survey week in and week out to analyze their progress and compliance. However, I noticed that some of the patients don’t return every week because they may be sick or on vacation, etc. As a result, I’ll just have to make do with the sample I already have and possibly incorporate a more detailed analysis of the patients I do have weekly in order to compensate for the decreased sample size. So far, I’ve managed to jot down a set of notes for each patient which basically reflect how they’re functioning in the office and if any progress has been made since prior sessions. Hopefully, as the weeks go by, I’ll be able to establish a clear correlation between compliance and improvement.

Aaaand that should just about do it for this week’s post. Thank you to all who were able to read this far and I can’t wait to post again next week. Have a great weekend and make sure you’re wearing green today so you don’t get pinched!