Introduction

A blog needs to start somewhere, right?

I've been pondering a blog for a while - but was struggling to get organized.  Who would be reading? What topics should I focus on?  My focus has been narrowed down to three components.

1) Education
As a physical therapist, I'm constantly looking for new learning and resources and never able to read quite enough.  This includes discussions of rehab, nutrition, recovery, training, supplementation, psychology, pain science... the list goes on. This blog will be a place where I can share some of the knowledge I'm gaining from the experts. A place to be able to go back and find articles that are clinically relevant and making changes to the way I practice physical therapy.

The experts I've most admired in my first 3 years as a clinician - (not an exhaustive list) - but whose thoughts will inevitably shape some of my posts:
- Mike Reinold - and his whole crew at Champion Physical Therapy and Performance
- Eric Cressey - and his crew at Cressey Sports Performance (and a fellow UCONN HUSKY!)
- Bret Contreras - The Glute Guy
- Tim DiFrancesco - TD Athletes Edge
- John Rusin
- Grey Cook
- Sue Falsone - the lone lady in the crew.  Last, but certainly not least.

2) The Female Athlete and 3) Injury Prevention.
I have a tiny role in the women's basketball world, and I've been there, in varying capacities, for more than 15 years.  I've been at the high school, college, and professional level with opportunities to experience international competition on the world stage.  To me, when the women play basketball, it's an art form. When I see these incredible athletes suffer injuries, especially when they could have been prevented, I am saddened.

My grad school research was devoted to women's basketball injuries, thanks to the greatest mentor, Dr. Lindsay DiStefano.  Now, three years later, there still aren't enough publications in this patient population - or in other women's and girls' sports and I've let them down by not working harder to do something about that.  Hand-in-hand with the body of knowledge in women's sports is a focus on injury prevention.  I've had the opportunity to work with female athletes from so many sports, and when the injuries are from repetitive use and poor mechanics, there are things that can be done to prevent this.

Lastly, when looking to the list of mentors above and in searching for the experts in the physical therapy world, the field is dominated by men.  How is this possible when, according to the APTA website from 2010 - females were 68.3% of the profession?  So here's to trying to get the female perspective a little more publicized.  I am light years away from being an expert - I just want to see more females in the spotlight.  For this, I hope to have female colleague contributors as we move forward on this adventure.  Don't worry guys - you'll benefit from our contributions.


Abby