5/31/17 – Wednesday’s Word of Encouragement

Project 8 Health Update

So, while my SSPT Fam (Smart Success PT) was in Clearwater, FL having the time of their lives and absorbing knowledge like sponges from our amazing mentors, I was able to spend some time with family and friends. I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend!! I just wanted to update everyone on my health lifestyle changes I have made. In my previous blog from April 25^th, I posted about Project 8 and I told you guys I would update you! Well, though this weekend was full of “off plan” eating, here is your update…. Click the link to check out my measurements below!!!

 Project 8 Measurements

I have lost a total of 12lbs. and 47 inches throughout my body. I have committed to working out 3-5 days/week and playing softball tournaments on the weekends when scheduled. I have joined Camp Gladiator on MWF and LOVE it! Doing the things you love to do makes exercise SO much easier. Eating clean has been my biggest challenge. It is difficult when your friends or family want to go out to eat, but there is usually something you can eat that is “on plan”. There are times I have cheated, but the next day I quickly get back “on plan”. Sometimes you have to reward yourself and have something “off plan” so you don’t lose your mind! I have learned what portion sizes should be and that moderation is the important thing. For example, before when I ate ice cream, I would devour an entire pint of Blue Bell in one sitting. I have cut out dairy (for the most part), but I gave in and bought a bite of Halo Top ice cream. I opened it, ate 3 bites, then put it back in the freezer. Another example, this weekend, I was at a BBQ and I wanted some Doritos (YUM!). Instead of loading my plate up with them (like I would have previously), I grabbed about 5 chips and that was it. I can honestly say that moderation has been the most difficult for me. I felt that I lacked self-control to stop eating, but now, it is easier. Not easy, but easier.

I will be posting before, during, and after pictures once I have completed the 8-week challenge. This is difficult for me, as my body image and self-confidence is not where it should be. However, with that being said, I feel that my journey and my story can help others achieve their goals and encourage them to make a lifestyle change and that is my ultimate goal.

Stay Strong. Stay Committed. Reach Your Goals.

5/24/17 – Wednesday’s Word of Encouragement

Softball is Life

This past weekend I played in an all-women’s slow pitch softball tournament in Erath, LA (it is close to Lafayette). After 5 total games, hotel problems, rain delays, field lighting issues, and only 10 players, we got 3^rd place! We played 2 games Saturday, losing the 2^nd game by 1 run with a 7 run last inning (4 of those runs were homeruns – one by yours truly). Then we woke up early Sunday morning ready to play all day to win it all. We were supposed to play at 9a, but when we got to the field, there was a 2-hour delay. The night before, a transformer blew causing the lights to go off and they were having to make up the previous night games. So, we sat around and waited and ended up playing at 11a. I am originally from Dallas, TX and have not spent much time in south Louisiana, but Lord have MERCY it was hot and HU-MID!!!! I have never sweat so much in my life sitting in the shade. I sometimes complain about how humid Shreveport is compared to Dallas, but Erath made Dallas feel like Arizona (dry heat)! Quite frankly, the weekend was an unorganized mess, but what matters is that we had a ton of fun and played until our gas tanks were empty. It has been a long time since I have played 5 games in 1 weekend and since we only had 10 women and 10 play on the field, no one got a break. I am STILL sore. I even took an Epsom salt bath and I don’t EVER take baths.

We finished the tournament up Sunday about 4pm and were about to head home. I wanted to change clothes first since I was GROSS. I took my change of clothes into the bathroom along with my prescription glasses so I could take my contacts out for the 3.5-hour ride home. I set my glasses on top of the baby changing station and changed clothes. I gathered my dirty clothes, washed my hands and left, forgetting my glasses. However, I did not realize this until we were on our way home, 20 min from the park, and I was carpooling and did not want to make them turn around. So, a few hours later, I called the director, hoping they could find my glasses and he is mailing them asap. For now, I am wearing my contacts 10+ hrs/day and hating it! Not to mention, I am on my last pair of dailies! I rarely wear contacts because my eyes are so dry and the contacts become very uncomfortable and pop out. So hopefully, my glasses get here soon, because if you haven’t met me I have TERRIBLE vision. Like can’t even remotely read the big “E”! But, like I said, I had so much fun, got a great workout in, met some great people, burned about 3,000 calories and ran about 9 miles in 2 days, got 3^rd place, got some cash, and a cool t-shirt! I am so thankful that God has given me the talent I have and the opportunity to continue to play the sport I love so much.

Is there really anything physical therapy can do for my problem?

Yesterday I went to the dentist to get my yearly cleaning and got the opportunity to advocate for our profession. The dental hygienist was really nice and we talked (as much as I could) in between x-rays and the cleaning. I told her I was in my last year of PT school and she told me that she has been dealing with spondylolisthesis for many years now and has been seeing her MD for the problem. Of course, my first question was “have you tried physical therapy?” Her answer saddened me, but honestly did not shock me. Her response, “My insurance requires me to do 4 weeks of PT to be approved for an MRI. The MD wanted an MRI of my back so he told me to go to PT, ‘even though it won’t work’. So, I went and I felt a little bit better, but I just really want the MRI to see what is going on.” Then, there it came, the million-dollar question “Is there really anything a PT can do for my problem or should I go see a chiropractor?”

Angels were singing in my head and I was so pumped up to educate her on how PT could help her (luckily, she was done cleaning my teeth, so my mouth was free). I began to educate her on how her posture plays a huge role in her low back pain (LBP), especially with her job responsibilities. I also explained to her how important core stabilization was in keeping her body aligned and reducing her pain. I told to her what muscles are involved in core stabilization, what they do, and why they are important, and was able to show her how to perform a core contraction.

Since she has a history of spondy, I know her MRI will show abnormalities, but I did inform her that 80-90% of the population has something abnormal on their MRI, but are asymptomatic. Then I addressed the chiropractor statement. I let her know I am not against chiropractors, but I explained to her how PTs and chiropractors differ in that PTs can perform the same manipulations as a chiropractor, however, we give the patient exercises to strengthen the muscles around that joint to help keep their body aligned, while chiropractors perform manipulations. I ended the conversation with how I wish that all medical professionals could work together for the best interest of the patient, WHATEVER that may be. I encouraged her to seek out PT even if she was going to need surgery because research has shown that patients have better outcomes with completing PT pre- and post-surgery rather than just post-surgery. I gave her the name of a highly reputable PT in the area and let her know she was more than welcome to contact me if she had any questions.

Y’all, education is so important. Take the time to educate you patients, family, friends, and the community (even your dental hygienist) of what is going on with their bodies, what adjustments can be made to their daily lives, what PT is, and how PT can benefit them. I cannot wait to continue to impact people’s lives and EDUCATE the community!!!

5/17/17 – Wednesday’s Word of Encouragement

5/10/17 – Wednesday’s Word of Encouragement

My Trip to Tampa to visit THE Greg Todd!

Today I am going to talk to you about my trip to Tampa. I went to Tampa to meet with one of my mentors, Greg Todd to check out his clinic and learn a little bit from him and his staff. The first thing that I noticed when I walked into the clinic was that it was very high energy, everyone was so welcoming, and you could tell everyone loved being in that environment, patients and PTs. I just knew that every person working there loved coming into work every day. It was great to see patients coming in and out for treatment. Greg is really big on wellness programs and we actually had a patient stop us in the hallway while I was there. She thanked him for having a wellness program and somewhere she can go other than the gym “because she hates the gym”. It was great to see 1^st hand how he treats his patients and how he is helping people reach their goals.

 

The biggest thing I took away from the clinic is that it is all about patient education!! It is so important to educate the patient on what exactly is going on inside their body, what structures are affected, and healing time for each structure. Letting the patient know that you know your stuff starts the relationship off right and starts to build that trust between therapist and patient. I got to experience Greg and another PT at his clinic educate their patients on their diagnosis and what structures were affected. By the time the patient left the clinic, the patient knew exactly what was wrong with them, the approximate healing time needed to help them, and what their plan of care would entail. As the patients left, you could tell that they were very confident that they were going to be taken care of at this clinic.

We also discussed professional development and how to improve my marketing skills even while I am still a student. For me, social media is really overwhelming and stressful. We discussed how important it is that I learn BlueJay now, even though I am still a student, to familiarize myself with their site and work on patient education with complete anatomy. I could even start using it for wellness programs! We discussed how important it is for me to be dedicating my time and making it a priority to really develop my skills, work on marketing myself and getting my name out there to be able to create consistency. In the future, a patient may google me and I want videos, blog posts, and testimonials to pop-up for them to listen to/read to really get to know me and see the real me and my consistency.

This trip really gave me the confidence boost I needed. I almost didn’t feel like I was capable of handling everything in regards to social media. Greg did a great job of doing a live video of our conversation in a private group I am in to help break the ice and get me a little more comfortable with the camera. It also helped me re-focus on my goals and look long-term where I want to be un my personal life and in my career. Even though I had a hell of a time getting to Tampa, I learned so much the day I got to spend at Renewal Rehab! It was well worth the time and money spent….. plus I ate a TON of amazingly fresh seafood ( since I don’t get that often being in north Louisiana) and I got to hang out at the beautiful beach (and got sunburned)!

Thank you Greg Todd and Renewal Rehab for letting me come visit! I had a blast!!

 

5/3/17 – Wednesday’s Word of Encouragement

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is make perfect in weakness.”

– 2 Corinthians 12:9

Tampa Baby!

So I want to tell y’all a little bit about how my day has been and why I am in Florida. It started off by getting up at 6am to get ready to head to the airport. My flight was supposed to leave at 9:15a. I get to the airport, get through security and head to the gate. I sit down and wait. We board the flight (which was not full – thank the Lord) taxi out and get in the air about 9:30ish. Take off. Everything is fine. We get away from the airport about 10 min. and I feel the plane significantly slow down and start to descend. Internally I kind of start freaking out. “This is your Captain speaking. We are having trouble with the autopilot. It is not working. We feel like the safest thing to do is to return to DFW and have a mechanic look at it.” The plane turns around and we fly 10 min back to DFW. We land about 9:55, get to the gate, sit there for 15 min and the Captain comes back over the loud speaker, “I am really sorry about the inconvenience. Maintenance is at another job and said they will head over as soon as they are done.” By this point everyone is getting annoyed and realizing they will be missing their connecting flights in Tampa. I was slightly perturbed because I don’t like being in a confined space next to strangers for a long period of time (but who really does?!). About 30-45 min. later, maintenance has decided it’s not a quick fix, so everyone gathers their belongings, they unload our luggage from below the plane and tell us we will be boarding another plane in the same terminal, but 25 gates away. So, we walk down to the new gate and are given complementary snacks and drinks, but have to wait another 30 min. for our plane to be brought over from the hanger. We loaded up and made an uneventful take-off and landing into Tampa. I grabbed my luggage and got my rental car. I typed my hotel address into my phone, but I had no signal. NONE. I had to drive 2 min outside the airport to get signal to figure out where I was going! I finally made it to my destination. The hotel is descent and right on the beach. Who could complain!?

Tomorrow, I head to Wesley Chapel, FL to take a look at my mentor’s clinic, see his processes, and see how he ROCKS an evaluation. I am so excited to learn from one of the best and to significantly grow my knowledge about physical therapy as a science and as a business. I will post more information on what I get out of this visit next Tuesday, May 9. Time to hit the beach!