Beckham, Rats, and more

So, England is out. In the end, it came down to penalty kicks. And being a former Varsity field hockey goalie myself, let me just say that when it comes to penalty kicks, some goalies got it, some goalies don't. Robinson don't.

And then in maybe not a shocker, but definitely a surprise, Brazil was eliminated thanks to the goal scored by Thierry Henri. What a weekend this would have been to be in Paris!

I take off for Vermont in a couple of hours here, but had a few thoughts to wrap up from the training course, which I really enjoyed. Probably had something to do with taking on the student role again, and being with a bunch of people who were all talking rehab talk. It was good to be talking treatment techniques in which you're problem-solving ways to actually make a long-lasting difference in someone's life. Speaking of which, I had an email waiting for me this morning from a stroke patient I worked with for 3 months before leaving for the UK. Seems he is doing really really well, not only able to move his right arm now but also pick up light weight objects and more. He's also walking without a cane now. I don't typically give out my email, but for whatever reason, with this family I did, and I am so happy every time I get an update every 2-3 months. Especially at the moment, that email today was a great reminder of why I do what I do. That what I do does matter, at least to a few people along the way ;)

Anywho, with our review of neuroanatomy, the male OT lecturer waxed poetic in talking about how even though the anatomy is the same, our brains are what make us unique...and naturally used David Beckham as an example. He talked about how he has played football all his life, but could never take a free kick in the same way Beckham does. He could try to replicate the funny setup Beckham does, sideways to the ball, but could never ever do exactly what Beckham does. So we are all unique, and the ways in which we interpret things, and the ways in which we do things can become even more unique if there has been an accident....

One of the other things this guy talked about rung a bell, because he was quoting some research that's been done with rats. How scientists have run tests on neuroplasticity, how well the nerve pathways in the brain can regenerate or rebuild themselves after an injury, by studying rats where they have created lesions on their brains. A ways back, when I was at Rob's house with a bunch of his friends playing poker until almost dawn, I got a chance to talk a little bit with this guy Mark, who isn't studying exactly the same thing, but is also involved in research studies using rats and their brains. And while I'm not a big proponent of animal testing, I do realize it's a necessary evil, and that there is great value to the information collected through research like what Mark is involved in. The research that our lecturer was quoting did find that in rats with lesions on their brains, if they were given a stimulating environment (wheels to run on etc), their brains regenerated more synapses, more pieces of a new nerve pathway, than did the brains of rats who did not have such stimulation. It's an interesting argument for structuring the challenges provided to patients with any type of brain injury-- and an argument for when you come up against those families who want to do everything for their loved one, and unfortunately can often be an obstacle to progress.

And finally, there is a new theory out there about applying constraint-induced therapy to cognitive dysfunctions. Constraint-induced therapy is a somewhat controversial treatment which can used in stroke patients who have lost the use of an arm. You physically restrain the arm that is functioning well, forcing them to try to use the other arm for functional tasks, and thereby avoiding something called "learned nonuse." Many patients will stop using the weak arm at all, because every time they've tried, they've failed. They learn to not use the weak arm, which basically becomes dead weight. Since you can't strap down a piece of the brain, I really don't get applying this concept to cognitive dysfunction, but apparently the idea is out there! Chew on that for awhile Midge and Kristy!!

The holiday is coming up shortly, so Happy Fourth of July to you all! I may or may not update a few times from Vermont, I really don't know, but if nothing else, I'll be back online in two weeks or so. Lots of love, Allison.