The first week of senior project is complete! I have had a rather enriching, interesting and enjoyable week. The focus thus far has been on the anatomy of the shoulder joint. I have learned the major bones, muscles, ligaments and tendons thus far. The rotator cuff has also been looked at thoroughly. Diane has quite a few patients with shoulder issues, more specifically rotator cuff issues. The knowledge that I have gained has allowed me to visualize the injuries that Diane's patients have, understand how specific exercises target those injuries and work to improve them. Moving away from the physical therapy aspect of my project I have been able to really dive into the topic of sports nutrition. I have spent a majority of my down time researching the topic and talking with coaches, other athletes and everyday members of the community on the subject. I've been able to gather so far that many members of the proctor community tend to eat fairly well, although there are also a lot of members that fail to do so. However, the most common thing is that people do not stay hydrated enough to perform at optimum performance levels. I found this rather surprising due to the amount of talks and information that we have been given as a community about the importance of staying hydrated in my three years here at proctor. I've also learned how to manage what I eat better and how timing is extremely important for when you eat and how it effects your energy levels. I'm looking forward to start exploring the anatomy of the knee and ankle joints next week, as well as, continue to research and practice the sports nutrition aspect of my project.
So far I have really enjoyed some aspects of what I am doing and not really enjoyed other aspects. I truly find anatomy fascinating and interesting, however, I can say with confidence that I will not be going into any sort of real medical field anytime soon. I have enjoyed the experience of interacting with patients and being on the other side of the physical therapy process. I really liked the challenge of keeping a nutrition log; I challenge everyone in the community to attempt that. The ability to stay on top of the task and remember to write down everything you eat is challenging. Even if you are simply writing down the basic ingredients in a meal it still drives you to step back and look at what you just put in your body. I imagine that many people would feel bad about what they just fed themselves if they had to write it down after the fact.
Everything I have been asked to do so far has had a purpose behind it and really has not caught me by surprise. I have had my own patient a few times which has been fun. I've been Toni Blach's personal physical therapist since I experienced a similar injury to him and know the recovery process rather well. This has taken a load off of Diane and allowed her to focus on her other patients as well. There weren't really any surprises or things that jumped out at me this week, except for the fact that the shoulder has many more muscles than I had thought in the first place.
Overall I've benefitted greatly from this first week. I have really been able to slow down and realize what I am eating, the amount of what I am eating and when I am eating it. I really noticed the benefits of eating smaller meals throughout the day, about 2-3 hours apart after the first 3 days (I started keeping my log on Sunday) during my cycling race on Wednesday. I ended up placing 4th in one of the longer races of the year and felt like I had energy afterwards to spare. I've also really benefitted from the ability to follow a looser schedule that is fluid throughout the week. This has kept me aware of the time, where I'm at and kept me on top of things throughout the week. I imagine college life to be fairly similar to this schedule wise and it makes me even more excited for next year than I already am.
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