Mellow? Not me!

I've mentioned before that I get a lot of ideas for this space from my pastor.   I also occasionally get one from the lady that cuts my hair. 

Last week, she mentioned that I had grown "mellow" in my column.   I didn't really see that one coming.  Mellow?  Me?  

Well, she knows me pretty well.  Heck, she's been cutting my hair for almost 30 years.   I tell her all the time that it's up to her to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.   I don't really think she does that but I can at least blame the gray on her regular intervention (not really).

Anyway, she said that yes, I had mellowed, but that was a good thing.  People of a certain age (my age and older), have choices:  they can become grumpy old men or they can be happy little grandfathers.

OK.  I can live with that.  

Still, I want there to be a little edge to what I preach.  I want to challenge folks to make better choices; in life, in health, and in how they relate to other people.

I want you to take responsibility for your actions.   I want to discourage you from blaming someone else for the mistakes that you made.  

I still haven't gotten over someone else being responsible for you spilling hot coffee in your lap.   And that I have to take my shoes off when I go through airport security simply because one person tried to set off a shoe bomb (although I will never argue with anything those folks do to make flying safer--it's just that one seems almost humorous--millions of people have to take their shoes off because of one crazy guy)?

I want to end hunger, homelessness, and child abuse.   I don't even like to use the term "wife-beater" to describe that sleeveless t-shirt because that phrase is so abhorrent to me.  

I want to end obesity, particularly in our children and if no one is smoking, well, that would be just fine with me.  I think everyone should practice preventive health care because it is the best tool we have for solving the health care crisis.  

I want us to raise our children to be wonderful, loving, responsible adults and in turn help shape our grandchildren in the same way.  I think I have some ideas how to do that and I occasionally share those ideas with you.

In the past couple of years, I've even let politics creep into this space, despite being told by folks much wiser than me to never go there.   I just want us to all get along and that seems especially important (and glaringly absent) in the political arena.   We seem to penalize those that reach across the aisle to communicate and corroborate in order to get things done.   I'm sorry but that is exactly how the government gets things done.

Politics have become so incredibly partisan partly because we have become so incredibly partisan.  There's too much "if you disagree with me, then you're wrong."   There's not only two sides to every issue but there is often "more than one way to skin a cat" (whoops--is that a cliché?---sorry).

I do want to be an instrument for change but not at the price of being just plain ol' unpleasant to be around.  I guess you can be grumpy or you can be happy.  It's mostly a choice. 

Mellow?  Nah...more like an iceberg, where there's a whole lot more that you don't see than what you see.

Getting all the cliche's out of my system

I actually find cliché's interesting.  I gather cliché's throughout the year but try and keep them out of my column.   But then they start tumbling out of me like a spring waterfall. 

So here you have my sort-of-annual "cliché" column.  Maybe it's an attempt to purge them from my system.

A penny saved is a penny earned.   My dad used to say "pass a penny, pick it up, all the day you'll have good luck."  I don't think that's a cliché but today it seems that a penny is so devalued that it hardly seems the effort.  

I think the practice of saving money, whether it be a penny or a dollar, is good fiscal policy.   Something we should all do.  Are you teaching your kids the importance of saving?

And I must add that through the years I've seen lots of folks with back problems that started with bending over to pick up something, maybe even a penny on the ground.   My advice is that you need to use good body mechanics (bend your legs, flatten your back) regardless of what you're lifting.

"Take it one game at a time."  We hear this one from coaches all the time.  Basically it's sound advice that we should never take any opponent for granted.  But most successful coaches look at the entire season and "looking at the big picture" works.  Like in basketball.  You can oh-fer during the regular season but catch fire in the playoffs and win championships.

"The truth hurts."  Does it?  Really?  I guess it can but in the long run, it sure doesn't seem to work out.  I think it was my mom that always used to say "be sure your sins will find you out."  Lies tend to compound themselves.  You tell one then you have to tell another to cover it up.  "Honesty is the best policy" really applies.  But "if the truth hurts, maybe it should."

"You can't judge a book by its cover."  This one is meant to tell you that you can't let appearances tell you the nature of someone's character--who they really are.   I don't know...I'm a firm believer that first impressions are important.   Maybe the secret is to always make a good first impression.

"The early bird gets the worm."  It might depend on what worm you really want.   Nightcrawlers might only come out at night.   I definitely prefer to get up and get my day started but I'm sure not after worms.  Maybe "early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise."  The only problem is that I've never been one to go to bed early either. 

"Better to be late than never."   I tend to be early for everything.   I don't tolerate being late at all.  I get to airports 2 hours when they recommend an hour.   But never?  OK, maybe late is better than that.

"You can't save someone from themselves."   Yeah, but you should try.

"You can't be too rich or too skinny."   I always wanted to try that too rich part but it isn't likely to happen.  I could win the lottery but I suspect you have to buy a ticket to win it and I don't really go there.  

As for being too skinny, well yes you can.   Eating disorders are real and they are dangerous.   Obesity may kill you slowly but skinny can kill you quick.  Maybe I just created my own cliché.

"Life isn't fair."   Oh I think life is plenty fair.   I wouldn't want to live a life where I got what I deserved. Sometimes you get what you need, not what you want (wouldn't that make a good song?).

 "Wherever you are,  be there."  I can do that.   And not even be existential about it.

Old Dog/New Tricks

You've probably heard the old adage "you can't teach an old dog new tricks."  Well, I'm definitely the old dog (or on the verge of being one) and I would hate to think I'm finished learning new tricks.

I'm much more likely to buy into the idea that "if you're not moving forward, you're getting behind."  I still haven't learned to fly an airplane or speak a foreign language but there's always tomorrow.  

I just got back from a really intense, really great learning experience.  In my twin worlds of physical therapy and athletic training, we call it continuing education and it is important.

Because if you aren't paying attention to new information, current research, and emerging concepts, you will indeed get behind in a hurry.

When I graduated from physical therapy school in what my kids see as the Dark Ages (yes, it was a long time ago but we weren't using charcoal on a slate, for crying out loud), we were treating most back problems with passive modalities like heat and ultrasound and a set of exercises called "Williams Flexion Exercises."

We now know that stuff doesn't really work for most back problems.  Research has long since taught us that ice is almost always preferable to heat and I'm here to tell you that if your back care doesn't focus on a wide range of exercises you might ought to look elsewhere for your care.

Anyway, ongoing research keeps us looking critically at the way we are doing things.  What we know with certainty today may be improved on or disproved tomorrow.  So you gotta pay attention. That's why this meeting I attended was so good (OK, it was in a pretty spot too, but that's beside the point).

Basically, thirty  of us, almost all both physical therapists and athletic trainers and from all around the world, meet every summer to argue and discuss for two days.  The critical process and open forum prompt innovative thinking from which new ideas emerge.  

So what does that mean to you?  Hopefully those ideas yield useful evaluation and treatment concepts that change for the better the way we do rehabilitation.  I know that I will be sharing many of those ideas with my colleagues in the clinic.  I can also tell you that flat feet can be a factor in everything from plantar fasciitis to shin splints to kneecap (patellar) problems to ACL tears.

That hamstring injuries are hard to get over (but you may know that already) and  that we need to be patient and thorough with them because they tend to return.  We also have improved treatment concepts that should help considerably.

And that far too many female athletes are missing important nutrients in their diet.  If there is a major food group that you are excluding from what you eat, you may be jeopardizing your health.

Yep, I'm proof positive that old dogs can learn new tricks.  And if they can't...well, they might as well stay under the porch.

Homelessness in your backyard

I was in Washington, DC recently and, as is my habit, was up early and in the exercise room.  This 2nd floor room was quite spacious with a huge bank of windows overlooking the downtown street below. 

Our nation's capitol is a wonderful place to visit, with monuments and museums and things to see that will boggle the mind.   I am in DC on a regular basis and have been for 30 years but I never fail to be moved by it all.  There are some things I always try and do, like visit the Lincoln Memorial, where the former President looks down on all--his stony visage makes you want to be a better person.

On this trip, my sightseeing was limited to a short visit to the National Gallery of Art, but I am always in awe of the majesty of DC.   I may be old and traveled, but walking out the front door of my hotel, looking right and seeing the brightly lit U.S. Capitol Building still elicits chill bumps. 

Anyway, from my bicycle perch, it didn't take me long to notice the pedestrians passing by on the street below.  Separated but close enough to notice details, it was a perfect place for a people-watcher like me.

I didn't tell you about that?  Oh yeah...I'm a habitual people-watcher.   Walk by with a limp and I'm trying to figure out what is wrong.   And after 34 years in this business, I usually will have you pegged.  

But on this morning, I wasn't looking at limps or smiles--I was looking at layers of clothing and shopping carts, because the pedestrians below were mostly the homeless.

The first to go by was a lady who looked 70 but was likely much younger.   It appeared that she was wearing many layers of clothing and I suspect it was most of the clothes that she owns.   Pulling a typical airport carry-on bag, I at first thought it was someone heading for a plane ride.  But she was pushing another homemade-looking contraption that had an assortment of possessions that I suspect was the rest of everything that she owned.

Then I started noticing a steady stream of people that I'm pretty sure were homeless.  Young, old.  White, black.   Men and women.   Most were pushing or pulling some kind cart with a wide variety of possessions inside and demonstrating a slow, shuffling gait, as with someone that didn't really have any place to go.  A vacant stare and in need of a bath.

So then I started paying attention.   I passed by one man sitting in a wheelchair on a city street asking for spare change.    A woman sleeping on the steps of a building nearby.  They seemed to be everywhere you looked.

So I looked for statistics and I find that DC might have the highest rate of homelessness in America.   There may be 12,000 homeless people in DC.   And maybe 40% of them are veterans.

Then I remembered the homeless survey that was conducted right here, in Blount County, not too long ago and I realized that this is a problem that is everywhere.

This isn't a problem confined to big cities.  It's here and it's us.  So what are we supposed to do?