Misc Archives - Damien Howell PT

Hormone replacement therapy tendon repair post-menopause

The Dunning-Kruger effect is a cognitive bias in which individuals with limited competence in a particular domain overestimate their abilities. It is when we lack competence that we are most likely to be brimming with overconfidence. The following is a description of how it applies to me. I know everything Early in my career as…

Mom’s words of wisdom make sense

Mother’s Day is a fun time to review some old wives’ tales that abound in the health and wellness arena. My mom used to say, “the difference between a man and a boy is that a man walks around a puddle and a boy plods right through them.” At the beginning of a walk or…

What is harder than learning? Unlearning

This image from Roger von Oech’s “A whack on the side of the head” 1983 has intrigued me for years. The idea that we get rid of ideas or concepts is thought-provoking. How do we know when to reject ideas? What is the thought process we use to unlearn something? My understanding of learning new…

How to better engage with healthcare provider using telehealth care

Telemedicine electronic medical record patient portals and email provide opportunities for improved communication between patients and healthcare professionals. As a patient: As a patient with a chronic condition rheumatoid arthritis, I have found using an email patient portal to communicate with my healthcare providers is highly effective and efficient. Prior to my scheduled appointment, I…

On-line mentoring reflective learning

John Dewy wrote, “the experience alone does not necessarily lead to learning; it is the reflection that makes sense of the experience to us and hence makes the experience meaningful for us”. Experience does not equal learning. We do not learn from experience we learn from reflection on experience. Experience does not equal knowledge. Reflection…

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…

Mountain Athlete: 2-Dimensional Video Slow-Motion Analysis

I have been asked to present a continuing education webinar to members of the National Strength and Conditioning Association. The theme of the program is Human Performance the “Mountain Athlete” What is a “Mountain Athlete”? Athletic activities that occur in the mountains are skiing, climbing, Spartan racing, adventure racing, trekking, adventure racing, mountain biking, and…

Physical Therapy Telehealth: It works well for some, not for others

The COVID 19 pandemic crisis has many challenges for the standard everyday health care and medicine. The pandemic resulted in a sudden increase of telehealth services. There are reports there has been an 18% increase in the number of healthcare providers providing telehealth services in response because of the pandemic. Healthcare providers and patients are…

As a patient, how do I get my healthcare provider more engaged in my care plan?

The goal of any relationship between a healthcare provider and patient is that both parties feel they are invested in favorable health outcomes. How they get there is the question. The underlying assumption is that a high degree of engagement from the provider and the patient will result in better outcomes, costs less, and may…

Healthcare Whisperer versus Con Artist

The popular idiom of a “whisperer” is used to describe an individual who has special skills to interact with humans or animals to alter behavior and achieve outcomes that others cannot. What are the characteristics of a whisperer? A whisperer: Has high level of empathy Has specialized skills Focuses is understanding Uses body language communication…