Sports and Pain and Coffee

First day of work!

I have survived my first week as an intern at the Sports and Pain Clinic of Wellington! The people are nice, the work is interesting and I am not yet regretting my decision!

Strong start.

All I have been doing so far is observing the other physiotherapists as the diagnose, treat and prescribe for their patients throughout the day, but I've found it all very fascinating.

This is essentially how it works:

1) The Diagnosis

Each new client enters presenting some form of pain, and the physios will test and analyze their movement to determine the root of the problem.

Interesting cases of the week:

A paddle-boarding woman presented with pain and tingling in her fingers that was then discovered to be a result of tightness in the upper traps which are pinching the C7 nerve root that supplies sensation to the hand.

An avid hiker presented with a constant soreness in his quad that was actually due to a tight glute muscles (firing in response to a perviously torn labrum) that caused the pelvis to tilt posteriorly and consequently pull on the quadricep muscles that attach to it.

A rugby player presented within pain in his knee that is due to tightness in his lateral thigh muscles resulting from a gait that puts all load on the outside of the foot. The tight muscles then rotated the patella laterally, causing discomfort.

I would like to take this moment to thank the universe that I have already taken all of my physiology and anatomy, otherwise I would understand about 12% of what goes on in this clinic. That being said though, I DO understand some of what goes on here, and I am enjoying pretending to solve the puzzle of each client for myself, and then checking my answers with the conclusion that the physio comes to.

2) The Treatment

The physiotherapists at the Sports and Pain clinic utilize several unique treatment methods, including massage, manual mobilization, shockwave therapy and dry needling.

The needling was a new one for me.

The idea is to break up the knots (build up of minerals) in the muscle by needling into the sore area, consequently also kickstarting the healing process and increasing blood flow to the spot. It seems to be very effective, but it definitely takes some getting used to.

3) The Prescription

The patients are then prescribed a series of stretches and/or exercises aimed to decrease pain and improve function in the area of discomfort. This could also include ideas on how to improve posture or gait if that is part of the issue. In this area, my personal training background does allow me to offer some new ideas for stretches and strengthening exercises, so I can at least feel useful.

I also got to observe the sports medicine doctor on site, who takes over patients that seem to have issues that go beyond muscular imbalances. He uses MRI scans, X-ray results and movement screens to determine the real problem then uses ultrasound imaging to guide anti-inflammatory injections into structures such bursae or ligaments, suspected to be causing the enduring pain despite correct muscular support.

I honestly almost passed out the first time I saw it.

Regardless, I am really enjoying my time here. I have no doubt that I will learn more about the my field and the human body in my three months here than I learned in three years at university (To my parents: I know this is not what you want to hear... a college education is still very important and will open so many doors for me blah blah). I am enjoying learning more about the culture and people of Wellington through the variety of patients that come through, and everyone I work with understands the drive to stay active and explore their beautiful country, so time off is not a problem.

And I will be needing a lot of time off.

In conclusion- my set up here is "sweet as".

Now this working woman has some "tramps" to plan and trips to book with all of the money she will not be making here- never say life can't be an adventure!