MotoPT: IMPROVE YOUR MOVE Hello FTR Community, Welcome to the MotoPT Improve Your Move column, where I will provide free monthly physical therapy-related information. I hope you are enjoying your time off from the Florida Trail Riders (FTR) racing season but are also keeping an eye on the 2022/2023 season just a few months away. Please allow me to use some of your valuable time to introduce myself to those who do not know me. I have been an FTR member since 2009, and since my first race, I knew I would be addicted. Seeing the number of participants and fans grow in recent years has been great. With increased participants, the competition progresses but so do injuries as the margin for error shrinks. Look at the past few seasons of AMA Motocross and Supercross series if you need some current examples. That is where I come in. I believe I can be of service to the FTR community concerning both injury prevention and rehabilitation of the human movement system. Please indulge me for a few short paragraphs while I
tell you a little about my experiential journey so you can gauge the value of my advice in this column. I wouldn’t say I like this part, but I feel it is necessary for the first month’s column. Have you noticed social media’s excessive quantity of “experts” and “masters”? Far too many people are willing to dupe the public into believing the individual is far more qualified than they are just to take your hard-earned money. Although “master clinician” and “experts” are titles I would save for the individuals I was fortunate enough to learn from, I believe I have earned credibility in this field. You should take a little bit of time each month to see if any of the advice I pose will improve your riding or help your family. Here is a little bit about me and my journey. I became an occupational therapist in 2006 and a physical therapist (PT) in 2007. In 2010 I went back for fellowship training through the American Academy of Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapy (AAOMPT) with eight different mentors. It was an intense undertaking, and even though I had a manual therapy certification, that fellowship FLORIDA TRAIL RIDERS
training packed ten years of experience in 1 year of 50–60-hour work weeks (yes, I worked most weekends also). Since then, I have worked my way up to become an Associate Professor in a Doctor of Physical Therapy program and secure a master’s degree and an additional doctoral degree. What can I say? I am a sucker for school loans. I have also worked on continuing my clinical expertise by securing further training in PT as well as service to the PT profession. This additional training includes becoming a certified orthopedic specialist through the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties, a fellow of AAOMPT, and intramuscular dry needling certified. I have been fortunate to serve as an expert witness for a lawsuit, written textbook chapters, and collaborated on major orthopedic research projects and independent publications ranging from shoulder impingement syndrome to sensory deficits after ACL knee surgery. I have been allowed to present on various orthopedic-related topics at national and international conferences. Despite this training and effort, there is always more to learn and more people to help.
