Uni campus session: 22.03.16

This week has been so hectic for me so I haven't been able to blog about the campus session until now! Last Tuesday I had a very productive day with the other BAPP students from various modules and it was lovely to finally meet everyone in person.
We started off the session with a few 'mind games' that Paula had laid out for us.
Firstly, Paula asked us to jot down anything that came to our head and we were given 1 minute to complete the 20 empty boxes. I didn't know what to think at first but I thought about what I did that weekend, and as I was on a hen do in Belfast I completed the spaces with anything that popped into my head:

I guess this was to activate our brains!

 

Then we were asked to draw a sketch of the person sitting next to us in one minute: 

  

I found this easy to do and the point of the task was to see how we 'perceive' others and create an idea about them in our heads before we put pen to paper.  

Lastly we talked about Ideas. We were all asked to think about an idea, and use images to translate that idea. I used Transformation:

 

 

I tried to depict the transformation of a caterpillar turning into a butterfly, however by looking at other's drawings in the group I realised mine was a bit obvious and maybe less imagery, and more abstract doodles would of been more appropriate to portray my idea.

 

 

 

We then looked into the idea of an 'Appreciative Inquiry':

" Appreciative inquiry is a model that seeks to engage stakeholders in self determined change, and has been used with teams, organisations and, in the case of Nepal, societies. " (Wikipedia)

 We applied the four stages of appreciative inquiry (Edwin c.Thomas) to construct a plan for distance learning on the BAPP course. The 4d cycle consisted of discovery, dream, design and destiny:

 I discovered through this plan that it is vital to note the positive and the negatives to the situation; it highlights two points of view which will be apparent to me when I undertake my professional inquiry. In addition, it was intriguing to hear other's perspectives on the BAPP course so far and it made me feel at ease knowing that we are all in the same boat!
Lastly, we split up into our module groups where I had a little chat with Lily and Charnelle who are also on module 2. We discussed our inquiry plans and also our thoughts and ideas on where to go with our inquiry plan next. I really felt that the campus session with others on the course and Paula was invaluable to me and I definitely work better bouncing off other's ideas within discussions. I look forward to coming up again in a few weeks time for a study day.

Katrina x

References

 

Appreciative Inquiry: A Positive Approach to Change  (Edwin, C.Thomas).

 





Literature review

HYDROTHERAPY
Review on the effectiveness of it's application in physiotherapy and occupational therapy.

by Dr. Craig W.Martin, Senior Medical Advisor Kukuh Noertjojo, Health Care Analyst.
(May 2004)

I came across this review online and I was intrigued to find out what the benefits were for patients in this rehabilitation process. My new job role is in Orthopaedics and hydrotherapy, so more knowledge into this role will be extremely valuable to me.

The beginning of the review states that many practitioners believe that water has many curative properties that are not harmful or toxic. Current rehabilitation professionals define hydrotherapy as a pool therapy program specifically designed for an individual in an attempt to improve neuromuscular and skeletal function.

The therapy is conducted and supervised by appropriately qualified personnel ( physiotherapists and therapy assistants), ideally in a purpose-built hydrotherapy pool. The use of hydrotherapy as a rehabilitation tool was first described by Hippocrates (c.450-375 BC) and is now commonly used by physiotherapists and occupational therapists.

It lists how hydrotherapy is applied in numerous rehabilitation programs for:

• Improving muscular and cardiopulmonary endurance in the elderly
• Pulmonary rehabilitation in patients with severe asthma
• Ventilated patients with Guillan-Barre Syndrome
• Sports injuries
• Osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis
• Various dermatological conditions
• Rett syndrome
• Chronic heart failure
• Reducing spasticity in severe traumatic brain injury patients
• Burns and wound healing
• Ankylosing spondylitis
• Fibromyalgia
• Lower back pain
• Rehabilitation post anterior cruciate ligament surgery
• Colles' fracture and total femur replacement
• Pressure ulcer
• Children with complex regional pain syndrome
• Rehabilitation of patients with supraspinatus muscle tears
• Rehabilitation of patients with spinal muscular atrophy
• Rehabilitation of ankle sprains grade 1 and 2
• Improving functional mobility in patients with incomplete c-6 spinal cord lesion
• Venous stasis/insufficiency, including haemorrhoids
• Common colds
• Urolithiasis
• Various psychiatric conditions, including hysteria.

(It is also common to occasionally be used during labour and birth).

By looking at the list of different rehabilitation programmes, I can see that hydrotherapy can cater to many different health problems, and also orthopaedic injuries such as knee and ankle which are common in dancers.

The review then addresses previous literature results that have shown the high level evidence on the effectiveness of hydrotherapy.
One example is: "Hydrotherapy and rehabilitation of patients with anterior cruciate ligament disruption."
Thomson et al conducted a Cochrane systematic review on the effectiveness of physiotherapist-led programs and interventions for rehabilitation of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), medial collateral ligament (MCL) and meniscal injuries (M) of the knee in adults.
The authors found 31 previous trials, and only 2 of these 31 trials involved the application of hydrotherapy vs land-based rehabilitation program among patients.

The trial consisted of McClintock et al randomizing 20 post ACL reconstructive surgery patients into 2 rehabilitation programs: 10 days 'standard' home program followed by 7 hydrotherapy sessions and 10 days 'standard' home program followed by 7 land based therapy sessions. The hydrotherapy based and land-based programs were not similar or equivalent. Both rehabilitation programs took 28 days. The knee was measured pre operation, 10 days post operation and pre and post therapy sessions ( 7 measurements in all up to 28 days follow-up).
However, the authors did report that patients in the hydrotherapy program demonstrated significantly greater pain in mean flexion and range of motion at four weeks. The authors also reported that hydrotherapy based patients showed a significantly faster rate of return to pre-operative values of knee extension. In summary of this trail, there was evidence that post op hydrotherapy may be more effective than a land-based rehabilitation program for those patients undergoing ACL reconstructive surgery.

The final summary of this review stated that:

1. The application of water to treat disease has been used throughout history. It is known that Hippocates (460-375 BC) used hot and cold water in the treatment of multiple disease states. At present, hydrotherapy is applied to treat a myriad of diseases, including musculoskeletal problems. The majority of the evidence on the effectiveness of hydrotherapy to treat the described disease states and 'conditions' comes from small case series/reports and subsequent low level evidence (level 4).
2. The higher level evidence that was reviewed does not suggest hydrotherapy is effective in treating osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic low back pain, fibromyalgia or pressure ulcers. There were 2 papers that did suggest that post ACL reconstructive surgery patients may have better outcomes than those undertaking land based exercises alone.
3. The application of hydrotherapy is not always without risk. There are reports in the literature regarding legionella infections, burn, folliculitis and hypersensitivity pneumonitis which were directly related to the hydrotherapy.

In conclusion, the summary of this review is a good example of when I carry out my inquiry in module 3. I cannot be biased, only stating my opinion that supports the argument- I have to acknowledge there may be risks too, and I should be prepared to list the positive and negatives to ultimately deliver a fair and true report of my inquiry.








  


























































 

Special Interest Group

So I have finally created a new SIG group; The importance of rehabilitation.
I hope this link works! Please take a look at the link below and feel free to comment and share any
ideas or opinions you have on this topic! Past experiences maybe?

Thanks,

Katrina x

https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/102632499025856245557

New ideas emerging

I've been jotting down ideas in my journal lately when I've had light bulb moments whilst researching
for my inquiry, and I've found that this has really helped mark down any ideas which I can then use later on with my research.
Over the past week I have been brainstorming ideas, flicking through webpages and supporting information  for my inquiry- and there seems to be an underlying idea that keeps popping up or even a topic of interest. There seems to be a correlation between dance and science.
Science appears to be the supporting evidence in the dance world, and health and dance are also interlinked.

I have also just discovered that Dr Roger Wolman, a consultant at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital has a Dance Medicine Clinic on the NHS. This is very exciting as it appears there are some links between my new professional practice of orthopaedic therapy and that of the dance world. (I will continue with this idea in upcoming blogs!)
I hope I can bring my knowledge of the body into my new job and absorb as much information as I can by learning about the science and therapeutic side of the role.

Also, after reading a few other blogs this week I saw that the word 'Ethics' emerges numerous times. This is something I will have to handle with great care if I am to incorporate my inquiry into my current practice. Obviously I will have to inform my work colleagues of my intentions and I will have to be extremely vigilant whilst carrying out my research in my place of work.



 

Phone call with Paula: New direction for my inquiry

After a phone call with Paula Nottingham this afternoon, I have gained insight into what my potential line of inquiry could be. We talked about the topic I was interested in and what I had been looking into since my deferral of module 2 in november. As I was still working in retail at the time, I wanted to research the need for professional nutritionists and psychologists in vocational dance schools as I feel strongly (from my experience) that young dancers are not nurtured as well as they should to develop into mature adults. However, Paula noted that this could be difficult to develop into a line of inquiry as it is not relevant to my current practice.

Recently, I have been offered a new job role of a therapy assistant with the NHS; a role which consists of assisting a physiotherapist in the care of orthopaedic patients.
This new development in my career is a huge turning point in my life and has made me think, could I use my potential inquiry in conjunction with my professional practice?

Paula thought this would be a good idea and a good plan of action for me. From my experience of dance training and my knowledge of the body, I could potentially incorporate this with my new professional practice. There are several ideas going through my head already and I can't wait to get started in my new job as a therapy assistant.
Are there any similarities between dance therapy and physiotherapy? I shall soon find out!
Dance movement therapy is something I might go into in the future, and by completing my inquiry within my new practice, it could be an invaluable stepping stone into the industry.

I will keep you all updated once I start my new job, but in the meantime the mammoth amount of research begins!

Katrina

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