Wow. A ‘working month’ has gone already and it’s been an insane 6 weeks or so.
Again, I’m trying to go in to everything I do with an open mind and with little, to no expectations.
I was nervous coming into this placement, having been recommended by my personal tutor, I didn’t want to let anyone down. Also, having made some decisions that would literally change the course of my upcoming year, I didn’t want to let myself down either.
Day one, having missed out on meeting my digs family earlier on in the month, I was also nervous about meeting them too. All I knew was the area that they lived in, that they had kids and a dog. Not that I hate kids, I don’t, but I was really hoping that they weren’t tiny, I like my sleep and having grown up with my nieces and nephews I know the ungodly hours that they can wake up with the energy of a duracell bunny. 7am wake up calls, pretty much everyday would not bode well if that was the case. Also, I was told that the dog would be quite vocal, having been a rescue dog, and it could take some time to get used to me. So, screaming kids and a yappy dog, didn’t seem highly encouraging but open mind and no expectations.
Thankfully, my fears were put to rest straight away having met my surrogate family. Just so welcoming, open amd funny, I wouldn’t change my family for the world but if I had to choose one I would have definitely of chosen them and if you were wondering, me and Rex (the dog) get on like a house on fire.
My first working week has been an eye opener. When you’re in University you think its the be all and end all of everything. Get into class on time, push to understand everything (most things), revise, hit the deadlines, meet the criteria, and succeed. And in one sense it definitely is (still going for a first!) but my first week here has shown that actually, getting hands on experience with people, happy for you to make mistakes, is just as important into becoming a well rounded therapist.
In no way am I saying that its not pressured because it is but the pressure is different. Straight off the bat we were told that we wouldn’t be put into any situation we didn’t feel comfortable and they didn’t expect us to know everything. That sentence instantly lifted the weight off my shoulders, I think I was still in Uni mode expecting an exam at the end. It hasn’t been like that, if anything its all the good bits of University with all the stressful horrible bits taken out. It’s basically practical sessions, all day, everyday without the exams (kind of).
The week has been pretty awesome, if nothing else it has confirmed 100% without fail, this is the job I want to do. To go in first day and hear about a player who has had a lateral tenodesis for ACL rupture you know you’re going to learn a hell of a lot. I’m also really pleased that we’ve been encouraged to practice our examination and assessment skills. Daunting at first, baring in mind up until now our clients have been our peers, who, more often than not, were not injured. Having been presented with a troublesome hip, I laughed to myself for a second remembering everyone’s least favoured lower limb joint, it just had to be mine in the first week. I think I did pretty well, I definitely need to brush up on my muscle and special tests but all things considered, not bad.
Rehabilitation I feel is my achillies heel. I want so much to be able to feel confident on this and make every session fun and creative, so feeling a bit down about the whole thing, I’m probably over thinking it but I’m just not getting it. Sometimes I’ll have the exercises given to me, sometimes not but either way I don’t feel that I’m either executing it well enough or it’s just boring. There’s no book that has all the answers and where ever I look for them I’m told its purely down to experience and knowing what you want to acheive in the movement and how that particular structure/muscle works. It’s definitely a work in progress and I will strive to find ways to improve that aspect of my tool box.
Week two is still fast paced, it started however with a task to find four research papers which all proved quite interesting. Leg length discrepancy and its common causes, Hot vs. Cold treatments, Sand, training and rehabilitation and adductor squeeze (normalitive test values). The ones that stood out for me were the Hot vs. Cold treatments and the sand, training and rehabilitation, if I could choose my dissertation title again I probably would have gone with somethung like the latter. The outcome of our findings were that for the temperature modalities hot treatment was better than cold treatment immediately after exercise for recovery, the heat immediate group recovered by the second day compared to the cold immediate group still down on their scores by the third day. However, cold treatment was found to be better than hot 24 hours after exercise showing a faster recovery than the group of heat.
In the sand research, it was found that the surface could be a useful alternative tool for training, injury prevention and recovery process. And should also be considered for a reduction in risk. A rehabilitation module on just this would have sparked my interest a bit more I think or maybe it was just that it was too short and I couldn’t get in to it but again, rehab as a whole is a goal of mine to get the hang of and things like this do nothing but help.
New experiences and techniques were stand out moments of this week. First up was the Functional Movement Screen (FMS), this type of 0f screening tool is used to identify restrictions or imbalances in seven fundamental movement patterns that are key to functional movement quality in individuals with no current complaint of pain or known musculoskeletal injury. These movement patterns are designed to provide a platform whereby you can observe a performance of basic loco motor, manipulative and stabilising movements by placing an individual in extreme positions where weaknesses become identifiable. The FMS process is only performed at the start of the season and then used by the Strength and Conditioning (S&C) teams to create individual programmes.
We were just informed last night that we will be going to see one of the players in a Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment (HBOT) not quite sure what that means as yet but I’m looking forward to it.
So we’re are off to Midlands Diving Chamber one of only a few in the country that deal with sports specific related treatments. HBOT is, as it says, a treatment, which uses oxygen to promote healing. In a chamber, with an atmospheric pressure higher than that of sea level, the patients breathe in 100% oxygen. Thinking of the injured area, there may be a blood flow restriction due to surgery, illness or the injury itself resulting in red blood cells blocking the blood vessels which in turn is unable to transfer oxygen to the cells on the other side of the occlusion (blockage). HBOT also forces more oxygen into the tissue, encouraging the formation of new blood vessels. As these new blood vessels develop, the red blood cells start to flow, delivering even more oxygen to the affected area. This creates the best environment for the body’s natural healing processes to repair damaged tissue. HBOT is said to have the potential to effectively resolve tissue, cells and organ function as well as reducing rehabilitation time. We got the chance to go into the chamber, and experience the decompression which was interesting but it would be naive of me to say the few minutes we spent in made use experts, so we interviewed the player and got his feedback on his experience.
Natalie Crosby: What were your first thoughts on HBOT?
DCFC Player: “I had heard about it before when Rooney underwent treatment and I mentioned it to the doctor here. [My physiotherapist] was also on board having used it before. In my mind, it could only help and I knew of no negative reasons not to try it. I was open minded and had no hesitation in giving it a go.”
NC: How did you feel after your first treatment?
DCFC Player: “Nothing much happened after the first session but after the first week the infection was better, less lumpy and the redness had died down. After 6 to 7 sessions the infection had gone. And that’s what the treatment was initially used for so I’m pleased with that.”
“The x-ray will confirm whether it’s helped [with the bone healing] too.”
NC: Why have you decided to continue with the treatment?
DCFC Player: “There is no evidence to say that it does harm. When they said about the oxygen saturation and blood cells recovery, it makes sense. Also it started to look better and has become a habit.”
NC: What would you say to anyone thinking of having the treatments?
DCFC Player: “
I would recommend it. Don’t expect anything to happen after one session, do a minimum of 3 to 4 sessions to get a positive reaction. Stick with it! If you’re willing to keep going you will reap the benefits. Patience helps and make sure you take a book in with you.”
NC: If you sustained another injury would you use it again?
DCFC Player: “Yes. After the plate gets removed I would asked to go in again to speed up my recovery.”
Week three and we have just spent the last few days pooping our pants about the presentation we have to give on HBOT but I think, well at least, I feel happier about where we are.
I’m pressing on with my rehab, I have totally gotten the hang of bike CV. I definitely feel comfortable with that, as well as, pool CV having watched and created a few sessions, plus learning to use the underwater treadmill. If I can do that with gym stuff I will be happy.
E & A, I’m still working at the little bits that will make the difference. Again, once I have two minutes to myself I need to get the book on mobilisations back and research the ones that I’ve learned while being here.
I have also spent some time with the soft-tissue therapists and what an eye opener that has been. He’s brilliant, so enthusiastic and just truly keen to impart his knowledge on us. We were talking about myofascial release techniques and how they are much more than massage in soft-tissue. He’s given me a few journals to read which I will fill you in on once I’ve got through them, slightly looking forward to that, sad I know.
Week four, started very slowly doing the not so glamorous side of working in a professional medical team. Filing medical notes, storing medical notes, shredding medical notes but a side of the job that is as important as any other but it ended in the part of the job I know I will love.
Having recovered from a previous upper limb injury one of the players were reinjured from an innocuous challenge. We are all hoping for the best out of the situation. He walked off the pitch and that was a start.
Long story short, having looked at the results he had probably one of the worst outcomes imaginable.
An ACL rupture, MCL tear, lateral meniscus tear and a grade one PCL tear. To say the least this was not what anyone wanted, first point of call was to get the swelling down. Maybe on reflection, no pain post knee injury could be the indicator that signals a complete rupture. When the ligament is severed, the nerve endings that record pain would be severed too.
After hearing the news he was feeling and being optimistic and it was my job to keep him that way, as well as, to get him to meet his markers for a potential operation in two weeks from now.
I’ve been working with him for a couple of days and feel I’m learning more about myself as a therapist. In the attempt not offend I’m not firm enough with the guys, it’s a difficult thing to get right, you don’t want to be best friends with them and be a pushover but at the same time you don’t want to be Sergeant Major. It’s hard but I have this in mind most of the time, little steps, mutual respect and setting out my stall. We can have fun but keep doing what I’m asking at a tempo that is consistent and realistic. A work in progress. p.s Don’t work hungry!!
Having worked with the players for quite a few days now, we have eight days until he gets rechecked for surgery, he has to hit 110° of flexion in 0° of extension. My thoughts have been to increase contrast time (one-minute hot, three minutes cold from one and two minutes respectively). We’ve also started using a swiss ball on knee bends to encourage extension. Making sure that the knee stays in alignment (guiding where necessary) it seems to be a visual cue that he uses to engage in actively extending his knee, which is a bonus!
Everything this working month seems to be going well, there are definitely things that need to be practised and revised and practised again but I feel at home, which is good, I know longer feel like a lost puppy following people around. I’m trying to be proactive in the work that I do solely and receptive in the work that I watch and am watched in and continue to learn.
Let’s hope my player makes his markers for surgery, I’ll be very proud of my involvement in that if he does but let’s see how it goes.
One working month done and I have appreciate every minute. COYR!
http://www.functionalmovement.comhttp://oxygenhealing.co.uk
At the end, we took a picture with them all and said our goodbyes. Lunch! I don’t think I’ve ever wanted, never to eat, well that’s a lie my partners family fed me until I was about to burst in Spain, forget being polite I had to tell them to stop feeding me and I am on the verge of that again. I do not eat scheduled meals at home, so its really difficult being told when to eat. My portion sizes have gotten progressively smaller as the days and meals have gone on, which is no bad thing!
To be honest the mood changed once again, for the better this time, when the ceremony
The boys started as they finished in the last game, quick and creative, and the RU boys were caught off guard by the ‘Rory Delap’ type throw in from the right. Straight in, flat and fast, it missed their first man and found its way straight off the head of our attack and in. 1 -0 UEL. The crowd were in awe of that feat but the home team seemed to look hard done by. A few good passages of play by RU but at the first chance to counter UEL took it and were given another chance to get a throw-in into the box, this time from the left hand side. The crowd was ready to cheer on the throw, RU knew the danger now but it was like déjà vu. Small run up, straight in, flat and fast, it missed their first man and found its way straight off the head of our attack and in. 2 -0 UEL. 2 throw-ins, 2 goals, 2 assists, pretty impressive. The game petered out slightly but was bought back to life when the referee awarded RU a penalty, I can’t say it was dubious as I didn’t see it but the reaction from the crowd made it seem that it might have been slightly harsh. The captain steps up to take it and I can hardly watch but its low and to the right and missed by some way.
I am in bits but I suppose our first group night out shouldn’t be missed, I’ll be the one at the back hobbling though. Thankfully it wasn’t too much of a walk to the bar, don’
We set off down Tianchen West road, along side the water cube towards the Bei Ding Niangniang temple. Niangniang Temple was built in the Ming Dynasty, Xuande period (1426A.D-1435A.D) and was rebuilt under the order of Emperor Qianlong (1735A.D.-1796A.D.). Several gods were said to have been enthroned here, Goddess Bixia, Eye and Goddess, Posterity to name a few. The whole temple occupied an area of 10,000 square meters. Along with the central axis of the temple were the Gate, Hall of Heavenly Kings, Hall of Niangniang, Hall of Dongyue God, and Hall of Jade Emperor.
If you’ve ever been to Piccadilly Circus when there’s a parade or event on or Notting Hill carnival when its in full swing, it felt very much like that, a mass of people, shopping, eating, socialising and of course manoeuvring their motorbikes through the crowd, as you do. It didn’t take that long to get through the hustle and bustle of what seemed like a very busy Thursday night. We broke rank from the crowd along a side road to make our way back to the venue; the kids were playing chase and the old ladies sat outside their houses fanning themselves in the sun. They all looked at us quizzically, I was starting to get used to it again, and I found smiling and waving cut the curiosity and novelty of it all, quite considerably.
The bicycle girls came next, riding in circles on the stage, balancing and holding positions on their bikes. I think at one point I counted 10 girls on one bike, some on the handlebars, on the seat, on someone else’s shoulders, and then while the bike was still going some of the girls would dive through the bike frame, crazy but genius. And to finish, the girls with the diablo’s, now I don’t know about you but I had one of these when I was a child. They look like a large egg timer, which comes with a rope that you hold it with through the middle and you spin it by moving the rope either side and the you can throw it in the air or just spin it on the rope or something more skilled if you persisted with it more than a day. They were throwing it in the air to each other, juggling them, throwing and doing roly poly’s or flips then catching them one after the other, after the other, mind blowing really, unless you’ve tried it you have no idea how hard it is to control one of those things. A well deserved, massive, round of applause to all of them from start to finish, I didn’t know what to expect but that was above and beyond.
As you could imagine the game wasn’t great, no true run off the ball made it difficult to create any sort of flow and the referee was happy to blow his whistle at any given moment. We started well and seemed to read the ball slightly better than BSU boys, although both teams were giving away fouls just from misreading the speed of the ball or lack there of. But they found there feet, both teams were finding range, UEL down the right hand side, a few crosses being blocked or caught by the keeper and BSU from distance, as the keeper came out to play sweeper, nothing too close but a few scares none the less, which one would give first? The pressure was on BSU, a slight lapse in concentration made space at the edge of the box for a fierce shot into the bottom left hand corner of the goal and it was in 1-0 UEL. As UEL continued to press, their persistence paid off again, down the right hand side this time and into the box, too risky for the keeper to come and collect and it was in the net. A well deserved second goal for the UEL boys, which they took into the break.
Ground hog day. They started off passing the ball well, well drilled in defence and quick up front. It didn’t take them long to find their first goal from just inside the box, not helped by the dodgy linesmen to my left, clearly offside but allowed anyway. We were at least pushing them this time and pulled off a few counter attacks but the ball was heavy and you could tell in our shots we hadn’t accustomed to it yet. No time to settle and they are on us again and we hold our line perfectly, no flag, I couldn’t believe it, we nailed it in the previous game and we were on form again today but that bloody linesman was having none of it. And like that we were 2-0 down. We were laying in to the linesman, maybe we got distracted and just stopped holding the line but before we knew it, we were 4-0 and it was half-time. My game was over I couldn’t run anymore I’d pulled my thigh and I tried to run it off but it just wasn’t happening, I didn’t want to let the girls down but I had no choice.
After the match, I am totally knackered and still very much injured; the guys had organised to go out to karaoke but right now all I want is ice and my bed. I will probably feel like I’ve miss out when I hear the stories in the morning but I really can not move, so off to bed again, I can’t wait.
At the centre of the square sits the towering Monument to the People’s Heroes, it was
Then as all good parties do the dances come out, we started with Candy they countered with electro rock and pop and then we showed them the running man. All in good fun, everyone was having a good time and we were mingling and taking pictures, it was a lot of fun. I, however, was mindful of the fact that my clothes were everywhere and we needed to be up and out tomorrow for 7:30am. I snuck out and made my way back to the room. My experience in China was coming to an end and I don’t mind saying, I’ll miss this place, the people and my team, I’m going to have to go a long way to beat this one.
So the day has finally arrived and we are off to Beijing, China. Having gone through several (hundreds) of meetings, it was nice to be at the beginning of the tour. However, for any of you who may have read my post about Boston (Boston, blew my, Red Sox off!), you will know that we had a controversial day where I said ‘He who should not be named – Day five – We promised it will never be spoken of’ well this trip definitely started off with one of those. All I will say is that it put a temporary dampener on the trip but we will do our best, as a team, to make everyone, proud of us.
Once we were successfully through immigration and out of the airport we were warmly welcomed by Thomas (Romeo) and Ms. Dong Mei (Deputy Director, Foreign Affairs Office) and escorted by coach to BSU. After having lunch and dropping off our bags, we headed straight out to our first tourist spot, the Summer Palace.
We spent a few hours exploring the palace and its surroundings, Longevity Hill and Lunming Lake were the main attractions but we also stumbled across the long gallery, the hall of Benevolence and Longevity and the hall of upmost blessings. Towards the end ‘Romeo’ was kind enough to offer us a gift.
Made of stone, brick, tamped earth, wood, and other materials The Great Wall of China is actually a series of walls. Winding along the mountain ridges north of the capital city, these were formed to protect the Chinese empires against the raids and invasions of the various nomadic groups, as well as to protect the land. The origins of this UNESCO World Heritage site dates back to early 400 BC, the most famous part of the wall built by Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China. Little of that wall remains. Since then, the Great Wall has on and off been rebuilt, maintained, and enhanced; the majority of the existing wall is from the Ming Dynasty.
It didn’t take that long to drive there from our hotel, which is on the BSU campus. Another hot day for a hike, and as soon as we got out of the coaches we were pretty much surrounded by people wanting to take photos with us. Once one starts they all want to take a picture. I have to say, I get really bored of it very quickly, I got my fair share when I was in South East Asia and I hated it, I find it weird and sometimes it can be disrespectful but apart from one incident so far it has been harmless. The fact that when they were taking photos with a smaller group and someone shouted ‘Justin Bieber’ they went running and screaming towards them, which was hilarious, just shows their innocence.
I have to say I have never made such a brilliant decision as I did today, poor Thomas, translating seems like so much hard work and today he earned every penny (RMB). It had been planned for us to go swimming and/or to the water park in the water cube. I decided against it after 
Thomas told us we would only get an hour or so of time before it closed and it just didn’t seem worth it. However, some of the guys did, fair play, but they were going to just go swimming. It hadn’t registered until slightly later on that to just go swimming it was required that everyone wears a swimming hat. The couple selling them outside had tried to tell us but it wasn’t until they pointed it out in the T&C’s that we took notice.
today is a visit to meet BSU president, Chi Jian and his delegation. It was slightly different to what I had expected, I thought it would be handshakes and chit chat between the staff members, some questions and answers and that’s it. Instead, we were sat down in a semi-circle on formal single sofas around the room, with our central focus on the president, his delegates and the University of East London (UEL) staff members; it looked like something out of a James Bond film. A cameraman was situated in the corner of the room and several photographers posed in prime positions, ready at the click of a button. I can only imagine, but it felt like some sort of Euros team press conference. Our translator welcomed everybody and then we all stood to greet the president. Gifts were exchanged and then, through translation, a dialogue occurred between the BSU President and David Cosford, Director of Sport at UEL.
It was slightly surreal for me and most likely some of the others as I’ve never been part of anything like this, on this scale. An experience, it definitely is.
With the amount of sporting facilities they offer I am not surprised, to name but a few, table tennis and indoor tennis centre, Gymnastics hall and trampolining centre, football pitches, basketball courts, swimming pools, honestly the list is endless. BSU continues to participate in international cooperation’s to ensure that the academic status and international reputation continues to advance. With the entire faculty and student body on board, BSU are striding toward the objective of becoming a “world class sport university”.
The boy’s first match was against the best Men’s university team in China, Peking University. As with everything else, so far on the trip, every was done with purpose, once the boys had warmed up, the boys lined up in single fill at the side of pitch and were walked out by the officials (honestly so Euro’s 2016 it’s unreal). After the pictures were taken, the mandatory shaking of hands took place. Captains to the middle of the pitch to swap pennants, coin toss and the traditional University shout to get going. It started well as the boys went 1-0 up but with a controversial free kick awarded to the home team it was 1-1 at half time. To be fair to the player it was a well-placed set piece. Second half and the UEL boys were doing well, they were on top and having hit the post it was going to go one of two ways, a last minute goal to the home team that saw them lose or one of the copious amounts of chances they were creating would go in. And with 15 minutes gone in the second half, the dead lock was broken, a brilliant through ball out wide to the right, cut in, and a pass in the box for an eventual tap in, 2-1 to UEL and the lead is restored.
We were up next, I really enjoyed the whole ceremonial process it’s the closest I’ll ever get to playing for my country and I was really proud to be stood next to the group of girls in the squad. It started well but it became very clear, very quickly that this was not just some University team. They passed the ball well, were well drilled in defence and quick up front. It didn’t take them long to find their first goal from just outside the box. I’m not sure what any of us expected in terms of the standard but I was quite surprised actually because on our day we can push most teams and it just wasn’t happening. By half time it was 4-0 and we were not coping well with the heat at all and to add insult to injury they bought out a whole new team on for the second half.
Having had that slight lie in this morning has made us all a bit lethargic and now we are running late for our martial arts class with Mr Zhou Yaohu, 7th dan black belt in the martial art of Wushu and a former world champion.
We had a brief rest before we went back into it, we also just found out that it was a 2 hour class opposed to an hour, I am so happy I booked in for a massage this afternoon. Right, kicks. Front Kick, flex (bend) at the hip, bent knee, strike out from the knee and hit with the heel. It’s as hard as it sounds. Blocking kicks, hold on to the foot, lift and then push back towards them. Of course he let us have a go in pairs and it was carnage, people were on the floor in fits of giggles, it was such great fun and it was so temping to take away the other leg but I resisted.
After much debate between karaoke and a local basketball game it was decided that we would go and watch the basketball. I think most of us were under the impression that it would be an indoor, covered, seated event and we were slightly disappointed that the game was outside and uncovered. We did however put that aside and get involved like only UEL could, supporting the BSU team with excitement and load voices. Snow was our MVP of choice, which may have had something to do with the fact that his name was the only one in English but that aside, he did put up a fair few points.
about what had occurred I was totally oblivious.
Natalie Crosby 