How your body gets damaged in a whiplash injury

Whiplash is a non-medical term describing a range of injuries to the neck caused by or related to a sudden distortion of the neck associated with extension. The term "whiplash" is a colloquialism. "Cervical acceleration-deceleration" (CAD) describes the mechanism of the injury, while the term "whiplash associated disorders" (WAD) describes the injury sequelae and symptoms.

Whiplash is commonly associated with motor vehicle accidents, usually when the vehicle has been hit in the rear; however, the injury can be sustained in many other ways, including headbanging, bungee jumping and falls. It is one of the main injuries covered by the car insurers.[citation needed] In the United Kingdom, 430,000 people made an insurance claim for whiplash in 2007, accounting for 14% of every driver's premium.

source: wikipedia

And here are the KNGF guidelines for the Whiplash Associated Disorders

Better in, better out - the essence of preoperative physical therapy for the frail

“Better in, better out”, the motto of preoperative physical therapy, appears to be as simple as it is true: the better the patient comes into the hospital, the better and quicker he or she leaves the hospital. There is ample evidence in the literature that the functional status of the patient prior to the operation contributes to the risks of complications during the postoperative course. The physical therapist who is experienced in screening, diagnosing and optimising the functional status of the patient can play a key role in interdisciplinary preoperative care.

Text: Jaap Dronkers, Erik Hulzebos, Nico van Meeteren

Source: http://www.eunaapa.org/

Mechanism of cough reflex

The cough reflex has both sensory (afferent) and motor (efferent) components. Pulmonary irritant receptors (cough receptors) in the epithelium of the respiratory tract are sensitive to both mechanical and chemical stimuli. Stimulation of the cough receptors by dust or other foreign particles produces a cough, which is necessary to remove the foreign material from the respiratory tract before it reaches the lungs.

The cough receptors, or rapidly adapting irritant receptors are located mainly on the posterior wall of the trachea, pharynx, and at the main carina, the point where the trachea branches into the main bronchi. The receptors are less abundant in the distal airways, and absent beyond the respiratory bronchioles. When triggered, impulses travel via the internal laryngeal nerve, a branch of the superior laryngeal nerve which stems from the vagus nerve (CN X), to the medulla of the brain. This is the afferent neural pathway.

The efferent neural pathway then follows, with relevant signals transmitted back from the cerebral cortex and medulla via the vagus and superior laryngeal nerves to the glottis, external intercostals, diaphragm, and other major inspiratory and expiratory muscles.

source: wikipedia

And here you can see some nice techniques for respiratory and cough facilitation:

Depression, Anxiety and Heart Disease

Video describing the feelings that are most regularly observed before and after a heart disease. And here you can find the KNGF treatment guidelines for cardiac rehabilitation.

Tests for Heart Conditions in Hospital

Video describing the tests that are most regularly carried out in hospital to diagnose heart disease. And here you can find the KNGF treatment guidelines for cardiac rehabilitation.

Physical Therapy teaching

  

During my 1st year of studies, I had many questions into me about my choice to study Physical Therapy. Why Physical Therapy? Why not Medicine? What is the difference? Is Physical Therapy really useful? Does it really have an effect? Why am I educated this way? How should a proper Physical Therapy curriculum be built? What should be the subjects presented and the way they should be presented by the lecturers?

So, I decided to put all of these thoughts on a piece of paper and start a small research. The results of this research are presented in this presentation.

I am not suggesting something specific or something that is 100% correct. I just believe that there must be a continuous on how such educational programs should be built based on research and scientific knowledge.

This is what I tried to do and open the space for discussion. Because I really believe in the strength and quality of the University's curriculum, how this is presented by the lecturers and the effect this has on the Physical Therapy student.

Esophagectomy and physical therapy

Over time, Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease, or GERD, can lead to Barretts esophagus, dysplasia or even esophagus cancer (adenocarcinoma.) This video shows how an esophagectomy removes abnormal or cancerous cells by removing part of the esophagus, the top part of the stomach and nearby lymph nodes. It also discusses some of the risks and possible complications of this operation. Mayo Clinic has a very large team with an international reputation for its skill in diagnosing and treating reflux, Barretts esophagus and esophagus cancer. For more information, go to the Mayo Clinic website.

The importance of physical therapy after this important surgery can be seen in this small research study.

ICU & Acute Care Physical Therapy

This video shows the rewarding fields of acute care physical and occupational therapies helping a patient who was bedridden for several weeks in ICU due to respiratory failure and sepsis. It captures her recovery from the initial assessment in ICU, when Phyllis could barely move, to the final outcome after her rehab stay.

An amazing online animation library

"Animation is a powerful way to help non-medical professionals grasp the intricacies of modern medical technology. We're confident that our videos are having an impact on our brand and on the way people view and understand healthcare".

Indeed, this company has created a beautiful online animation library with many many videos you can use on almost any part of the human body.

"We are dedicated to increasing health literacy throughout the United States and worldwide. Through hospitals, clinics, and healthcare partnerships, we hope to make it easy for people who use our content to find and understand the basic health information and services needed to make positive health decisions.

Nucleus's medical images are seen by millions of people each month on WebMD, EBSCO Host, SMART Imagebase, Healthwise, YouTube, MSN.com, and thousands of other locations on the Internet, in print, and in broadcasting".

source: http://www.nucleushealth.com/

The coronary artery bypass graft

This 3D medical animation of the heart shows a coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) procedure used to combat coronary artery disease.

Cardiac rehabilitation (rehab) is a medically supervised program that helps improve the health and well-being of people who have heart problems.

Rehab programs include exercise training, education on heart healthy living, and counseling to reduce stress and help you return to an active life.

source: National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, US Department of Health and Human Services

Research databases and tips

Research and Evidence Based Practise will be one of the major parts of your studies, especially in your last years of studying. Here are the most important databases I am using:

http://scholar.google.com

Use it to:

–Find (scientific) articles through the Google search engine

http://wikipedia.org/

Use it to:

–Get some background information

–Get some specific links

–Get a translation

–Find definitions

Don’t use it as the only source (evidence) for your practice

http://www.pubmed.com

Sign up for free NCBI account

Use it to:

Find articles (links and/or full text) about any medical related subject

Check different tabs:

–Limits

–History

–Details

Menu of the left:

–Tutorials

–PubMed central

http://www.thecochranelibrary.com

Sign up for free account

Use it to:

Find (mostly systematic) reviews only

http://www.pedro.org.au/

Use it to:

–Find (full text) articles specifically about physiotherapy

http://www.bib.hva.nl/hva-dm-gezondheidszorg-eng/object.cfm

Use it to:

–Access different databases at the same time

http://www.picarta.com

Use it to:

–Find the place (library) in Holland where you can find a specific journal (hard copy)

Boolean operators form the basis of mathematical sets and database logic.

They connect your seach words together to either narrow or broaden your set of results.

The three basic boolean operators are: AND, OR, and NOT.

Why use Boolean operators?

To focus a search, particularly when your topic contains multiple search terms.

To connect various pieces of information to find exactly what you're looking for.are AND, OR, and NOT

They MUST be capitalized in a search

Use when searching for more than one concept or search statement

When using two or more operators in one search statement:

– the one on the left is processed first

– E.g. influenza AND vaccine OR vaccination would retrieve articles that had both influenza and vaccine and it would also retrieve all articles on vaccination (pneumonia, measles, tetanus, etc.)

–to change the meaning, use parentheses: e.g. influenza AND (vaccine OR vaccination) 

Use the symbol * as a substitute for zero or more characters

–For example, risk* retrieves risk, risks, risk-taking

Uses the first 150 variations with the root

Turns off automatic explosion of MeSH terms

Turns off automatic term mapping

Medical Subject Heading (MeSH)

A controlled vocabulary term used by all the indexers in an organization to ensure consistency in assigning terms to articles (or records) on the same topic. They are also used in searching to avoid having to think of all the possible words that various authors could have used to express the same concept.

Neurology_1 - the basics

Beautiful course, Neurology, offers you the basic understanding of the structure and function of our Nervous System. It is very important for a Physical Therapy student to build a good basis on this course from semester 1.

I have created a nice presentation of all you need to know in year 1 of your studies.

I hope it can help you.

Jack Carool and cerebral palsy going to the show

Jack Carrol, 14, who has cerebral palsy, stunned viewers on Saturday night with his BGT routine, winning rave reviews from the judges.

And top comic Jimmy, 40, said: “You wouldn't bet against him becoming a star”.

Check out all the latest News, Sport & Celeb gossip at Mirror.co.uk
http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/jack-carroll-tipped-win-britains-1832670#ixzz2RMaGgXrz 

Follow us: @DailyMirror on Twitter | DailyMirror on Facebook

Neuroanatomy Tutorial by The University of Utah Eccles Health Sciences Library

The WebPath® computer-aided instructional resource at this website contains over 2700 images with text that illustrate gross and microscopic pathologic findings along with radiologic imaging associated with human disease conditions. For self-assessment and study there are over 1300 examination items. There are more than 20 tutorials in specific subject areas. These materials support educational programs in the health sciences.

Click here - amazing tool.

Physiology_1 - Understanding Life

 

I believe that in order for a student to deeply understand the structure and function of the human body he has to study and understand its Physiology. In my opinion, this course is the most important course in the beginning of physiotherapy education.

So, I have created a PowerPoint with the most important subjects I believe one should cover in his 1st semester in any Physiotherapy program. These include 6 major subjects:

1. Homeostasis

2. Chemical composition of the human body

3. Cellular structure and metabolism

4. Movement of molecules across cell membranes

5. Control of cells be chemical messengers

6. Neuronal signalling

This is the file.

I have based my work on the book "Vander's Human Physiology - The Mechanisms of Body Function", Widmaier, Raff, Strang, McGraw-Hill International Edition, 12th edition.

Extreme wheelchair stunt..!

Have you ever tried to do a wheelie? If you do, you will find out that even trying to stabilize your wheelchair for 1 sec. is extremely difficult..!

Check this out..!

What is the single best thing we can do for our health?

A Doctor-Professor answers the old question "What is the single best thing we can do for our health" in a completely new way. Dr. Mike Evans is founder of the Health Design Lab at the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, an Associate Professor of Family Medicine and Public Health at the University of Toronto, and a staff physician at St. Michael's Hospital.

Interactive biology

An amazing website full of videos explaining many of the issues a student needs to understand in anatomy and physiology.

I am copying this from their "about" page:

Ok, so here’s the real deal. We all know that there are MANY people out there who don’t like biology. Ok, ok, there are even many out there who HATE it with a Passion. I know . . . it’s hard to believe – such a fascinating topic with so much valuable information and people actually don’t like it. Can you fancy that?

Here’s the thing – I have a theory. My theory is that most people who don’t like it, don’t like it because of the way it was taught to them – A bunch of $100 words by a very intelligent teacher. Now, I’m not trying to bash on teachers because they (we) are important. However, sometimes, it is necessary to break down concepts into little bite-sized chunks.

That is what Interactive Biology is all about – Breaking down the concepts in biology so that if a Freshman in High School wants to understand Graduate-level Neurobiology, with enough discipline, she could do so.

Technology is AWESOME, and I enjoy using it to enhance my classes. The internet continues to amaze me. It’s such a useful tool that can help anyone who wants to learn about any subject. Well, if biology is the subject you want to learn about, this is the site for you.

The virtual dissection table

Onstage at TED2012, Jack Choi demonstrates a powerful tool for training medical students: a stretcher-sized multi-touch screen of the human body that lets you explore, dissect and understand the body's parts and systems.

Jack is the CEO of Anatomage, a company specializing on 3D medical technology.

The drummer's motor control ability

Talking about motor control in human beings.. :-)