Friday, November 4, 2016
While we can't fix your tight pants, we can fix your frozen shoulder!
This video explains how we can use an ultrasound-guided injection to help fix adhesive capsulitis, also known as a frozen shoulder
Tuesday, November 1, 2016
Conquer the Halloween Sugar HANGOVER
Raise your hand if you ate too much Halloween candy last night and woke up today feeling sluggish & full of regret.
Ok, I can't see you, but I know you're out there! Here are easy tips to conquer the post-Halloween hangover
Drop that candy bar! (or bag, lollie, etc.)
Eating sugar will make you crave more sugar. Halloween is a holiday, not a holi-week or a holi-month. Don't allow your one-day indulgence to become a new habit. You have 100% control of what you put into your body! Make healthy choices today and in the upcoming weeks.Tip- if you are craving sugar, reach for a piece of raw fruit.
Eat whole foods
Adopt a clean eating diet for the next few days (and preferably longer!). Ditch the processed foods and pick up some real, nutritious foods! A mix of high-fiber vegetables and lean protein will help your body reset after the sugar storm.
Drink more water
Adequate water intake is essential for the body's function, but it's especially important after a day of indulgence. Water will help your body process those treats and absorb the healthy nutrients you put back in!
Increase your exercise
Rev-up your metabolism and sweat out toxins with a high-intensity workout. You'll feel better, have more energy and improve your mood, too!
Get some zzz's
Chances are Halloween festivities and trick-or-treating cut into your sleep time. Make a point to get to bed early tonight and allow your body proper recovery time.
Friday, July 22, 2016
The MA to DPT Transformation
I’ve been at Lake Washington Sports and Spine since April 2015, and have loved every minute of working here. So it is bittersweet that I will be leaving in late July to start physical therapy school near Phoenix, Arizona. (Know of any hotspots? I have zero experience with Phoenix.) I have learned so much working as Dr. Chimes’s medical assistant that I am at a loss to put it succinctly into words. However, I can at least try and share some tidbits I have learned through my time at LWSS. The nice thing is that most of these lessons have applications outside the healthcare field. Without further ado, here are a few things I’ve learned, in no particular order of importance. Maybe I’ll rank them later in honor of Dr. Chimes.
-
Become an
expert.
In other words, I want to learn as much as
possible regarding physical therapy, the field/specialty I have chosen to
pursue. I will never be satisfied, as there is always something new to learn.
The biggest mistake I can make is to assume that I know all that there is to
know about a given subject. Already I’ve learned about various subspecialties
in physical therapy I had no idea existed prior to working at LWSS. I’ll never be
an expert in all the specialties, but at least I can be aware of the strengths
and weaknesses in order to become a well-rounded, well-informed physical
therapist.
-
Admit my
knowledge gaps.
This is related to the above point, but an
entirely different idea in and of itself. For example, although Dr. Chimes has some
experience in all medical fields, he understands and admits that he has
definite knowledge gaps. It has been years since he learned about cardiology or
hematology, and to further compound the problem, these fields have changed so
much in the intervening years. This leaves him in the position that he’s not
even sure what he doesn’t know. Did past treatments turn out to cause more harm
than good? Are there new diseases that he doesn’t know about? So when patients
ask about issues outside of his area of expertise, he gives a clear disclaimer
that it is not within his expertise and then refers to another provider who
would know better.
What Dr. Chimes is trying to avoid is the
Dunning-Kruger effect, which is summed up fairly well by one of the authors during
an interview with the New York Times: “… the skills you use to produce the
right answer are exactly the same skills you use to evaluate the answer.” In
other words, without knowing the skills yourself, you cannot determine whether
someone is skilled or not. It then follows, how can you possibly come to an
answer without knowing what question to ask? This is a phenomenon I had never
heard of prior to working here, but it certainly has shaped how I will treat
patients in my future career. I will hopefully get my patients to 100% by
focusing on what I know, and referring to, and working with, other healthcare
professionals with patients who are beyond my scope of expertise.
-
Know which
patients will benefit from my expertise as a physical therapist.
And by extension, and possibly more
importantly, when physical therapy is NOT appropriate for a patient. Being able
to see patients from the perspective of a Physiatrist, where accurate diagnosis
is the name of the game, will help me tremendously as a physical therapist. It
is now clearer than ever that I will need to keep an open mind and consider
alternate diagnoses if the initial treatment modalities I utilize on my
patients do not bring any benefit.
-
Utilize a
differential diagnosis process.
Low back pain is one of the most common
reasons people go to the doctor. However, there are a multitude of causes for
low back pain, and the symptoms often overlap. To compound matters, treatments
for one cause are ineffectual for another, or may even make symptoms worse.
What I’ve learned from my time here is to tease out the unique features of a
patient’s low back pain in order to come to a correct diagnosis. Focusing on
symptoms that apply to several possible diagnoses will not help me determine
the root cause of a patient’s pain.
-
Be as
transparent as possible with my communication.
We have several different iterations of
this idea within the office, ranging from a tidy motto to a detailed flowchart/graph.
It is never beneficial to be vague with my communication style or vocabulary when
talking to another person. Furthermore, not only do I need to be clear with my
communication, I need to confirm that the person I am talking to is ready to
digest what I’m about to say. Having an disengaged audience can, at best, lead
to repetition, and at worst, lead to a complete mishearing of what I have to
say.
The above are just a few of the things I've learned while working at Lake Washington Sports and Spine. The effects of these lessons may not even be felt or become apparent for years down the line, but I know that they will only help me in my future as a physical therapist. I cannot begin to express how grateful I am for my time here.
Friday, July 1, 2016
Wynnie's 4 Hikes for the 4th of July
Searching for ways to stay active this weekend? Look no further!Wynnie (weekday office dog, weekend adventurer!) has four fantastic hike recommendations just for you. Click on the links below for hiking guides & trip reports via Washington Trails Association (WTA).
Monday, June 27, 2016
ClassPass - a passport to a healthier you!
These days,
there seems to be a new workout craze or boutique fitness studio on every
block. After my initial excitement about all of the fun things I could try, I
became overwhelmed by trying to figure out how I could possibly afford to go to
all of the studios I was interested in.
Unless you are rolling in the Benjamins, purchasing a membership to
FlyWheel, Pure Barre, Crossfit and a luxury gym will break the bank (unless you
stop eating, seeing your friends and paying your bills, but that’s a topic for
another blog). So how do we mere
plebeians manage to participate in these fitness trends? Enter: ClassPass.
For those
who are unfamiliar with ClassPass, it is a company that provides access to an
extensive network of fitness studios for a simple monthly subscription. For example, in Seattle, there are over 200
studios belonging to ClassPass and the subscription is
currently around $100 (there is speculation
and reason to believe that this cost may increase over the next few months). What makes this intriguing is that instead of
having to purchase memberships to each individual studio, you gain access to what feels like an endless list of options all while paying just a
little more than a typical gym membership.
I initially
heard about ClassPass from my friend in San Francisco who was taking obscure
classes like paddleboard yoga and aerial silk training (she hung from a piece
of cloth on the ceiling - neat!). I
thought to myself, “that sounds amazing, but I would never buy a membership to classes like that”. Once she explained how the ClassPass
subscription works, I knew it was the right fit for me. I wanted to try all the new fitness trends
without having to choose just one single
studio/type of workout.
Since
signing up with ClassPass I’ve tried FlyWheel (essentially a party on
stationary bikes), Pure Barre (hard in a way I never anticipated), Tabata (HIIT
training to the extreme), Bootcamp (I was sore for days) and a couple Zumba
classes (the old dancer in me loves to shake and shimmy)! Sure, some classes I enjoyed more than others
but that’s exactly what ClassPass is
for! Which instructor keeps me
motivated? Which class makes me want to
don my workout gear and get moving? I always look forward to scrolling through
the app and choosing how I will get my butt kicked on a particular day.
Now, you may
be thinking “Elianna, this just sounds too good to be true. Unlimited classes??
Less than $100 a month?? How can this be?!”
Well, although I still believe that this set-up is pretty neat, there
are a couple caveats that should be mentioned.
First, you can only go to one studio three times a month and that
includes all of their locations. So, for example, if I decide that I like
FlyWheel classes, I can’t go to the Bellevue location three times and then the
South Lake Union location three times.
This also holds true even if I’m not taking the same type of class (i.e.
if one studio offers spin, Zumba and yoga). It’s three times per studio, across
all locations.
The second, latest
caveat to keep in mind is that ClassPass recently increased their prices in New
York City (where the company originated) to $190. Suddenly, the once almost shockingly
affordable membership doesn’t feel like such a steal. ClassPass does
offer a more economical price point if you only attend 10 classes per month.
That said, these price hikes haven’t hit Seattle yet and until that day comes,
I will happily get my sweat on for under $100 a month.
Like any
product, ClassPass has its pros and cons, and like any middleman company, it has
the challenge of making both studios and individual clients happy. Initially, the low cost for unlimited classes was an exercise enthusiast's dream, yet studio owners were understandably frustrated by the lack of commitment from potential members. I assume that the price increase will lead to studios receiving more money per class participant. But that being said, I am not a financial adviser for ClassPass and have no idea where their money is allocated.
I also recognize and appreciate that this model is not for everybody. I have friends who like going to their one class, knowing it will be available to them week after week at the same time on the same day. My response is, "Hey, whatever works!" For me, however, ClassPass has filled a sizable void in my workout regime. With my tendency towards exercise boredom, my fear of making choices by selecting one studio, and my inability to afford memberships at every studio, ClassPass is my fitness lifeline. There certainly may be a day when all of this changes and my workout routine shifts in a completely different direction (and being somebody who suffers from chronic workout boredom, I may welcome this with open arms). Yet, until that day comes, you will find me shaking my tuchus to some Latin American jams, flying across imaginary terrains on my trusty spin bike or discovering some new workout to keep me motivated. Now, the only thing left is for YOU to join me. Want $20 off your first month? Click this link!http://class.ps/d11-0 Happy exercising!
I also recognize and appreciate that this model is not for everybody. I have friends who like going to their one class, knowing it will be available to them week after week at the same time on the same day. My response is, "Hey, whatever works!" For me, however, ClassPass has filled a sizable void in my workout regime. With my tendency towards exercise boredom, my fear of making choices by selecting one studio, and my inability to afford memberships at every studio, ClassPass is my fitness lifeline. There certainly may be a day when all of this changes and my workout routine shifts in a completely different direction (and being somebody who suffers from chronic workout boredom, I may welcome this with open arms). Yet, until that day comes, you will find me shaking my tuchus to some Latin American jams, flying across imaginary terrains on my trusty spin bike or discovering some new workout to keep me motivated. Now, the only thing left is for YOU to join me. Want $20 off your first month? Click this link!http://class.ps/d11-0 Happy exercising!
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