Injury Prevention Archives - Damien Howell PT

Walk this way – Run this way

What way should we walk? What way should we run? Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder wrote the script for the movie “Young Frankenstein” in which the character Igor the hunchback shows Dr. Frankenstein “this way”, and hands him his cane, expecting Dr. Frankenstein to mimic his hunched, contorted shuffle, which Dr. Frankenstein cordially does. This…

Telehealth PT Benefits – Statutory Barriers Across State Lines

With the weakening of the covid 19 pandemic, I expect the utilization of Physical Therapy services by telehealth will decline. However, the necessity of learning to provide and receive Physical Therapy services via telehealth uncovered benefits of this service model including: Eliminating time spent traveling to and from appointments and time spent waiting for care…

Sensory preference & learning optimal movement

There are many cognitive strategies to cue, prompt, and provide feedback to improve movement. Theory of focus of attention The dominant theory proposed by Gabriele Wulf and colleagues is providing cueing, prompting, or feedback to facilitate learning to move in a more optimal way is using an external focus of attention is more effective and…

Catch 22 – Underutilization of 2D Slow-Motion Video Analysis

Why is there low utilization of 2D slow motion video analysis of movement by Physical Therapists? There are many advantages for using 2D slow-motion video analysis for management of movement disorders including increased accuracy of diagnosing movement impairments; improved communication with patients and healthcare team; increased engagement of the patient; and improved understanding of movement…

Optimizing human movement requires clarity of description of movement

To know where you are going you must first know where you are. To optimize human movement, analysis of human movement is required. To identify optimal human movement clear qualitative and quantitative descriptions are needed. When describing human movement confusion occurs when we fail to clearly identify a frame of reference and reference point. A…

Whole vs part method of learning to walk/run a new way: deviant to less deviant

When learning a new physical skill an individual, therapist, or coach can choose to practice a new skill in whole or part. Motor skills learning can be practicing the whole movement or part of the movement. In whole practice acquiring a skill is by practicing the movement in its entirety, whereas the part that practices…

Exercise prescription – Art & Science

Exercise while not a drug can behave like one. Exercise can help in the management of chronic diseases and offer pain relief for individuals suffering from musculoskeletal pain syndromes. Like prescribing drugs, the concept of dosage applies to exercise prescription. A dose-response to exercise is not unlike drugs however the minimum dose, dose-response, and maximum…

Adding observation of deceleration forces to diagnosis & treatment of movement system impairment syndromes & musculoskeletal pain syndromes

Shirley Sahrmann and colleagues share an elegant clinical reasoning process model to diagnose and treat musculoskeletal pain syndromes and movement system problems. The movement system is physiological organ systems that interact to produce movement of the body and its parts. The basis is alignment in a deviant position and repeated deviant movements in a…

What do you do when Dr. Google isn’t cutting it?

Searching for information online for personal health and medical issues has become commonplace. Estimates are more than 1/3 of persons in the U.S. use the internet for information on their symptoms. More than 60% of US adults have searched online for information during the past year according to the Pew Research Center. There is a…

Gait deviations clustering gait deviations – injury – new data

In a previous blog article, I discussed the question “Is there a gait deviation or cluster of gait deviations which is common across musculoskeletal pain syndromes?” The consensus is currently there is no definitive evidence suggesting one gait deviation or cluster of gait deviations occurs more frequently or is more important than another. More research…