Ponderings of a PT anatomy professor

All about the wonderful human body. Or as my son says...correcting people's posture with hugs.

[anatomypt]

Rotation resistance at the knee

The new tip of the day - all thanks to my wonderful student Erika - relates to the ligaments of the knee. Most everyone knows what the ACL/PCL and LCL/MCL limit in the sagittal and frontal planes, respectively. We test ACL/PCL with "drawer" type maneuvers in the sagittal plane and put the knee in valgus and varus strain in the frontal plane for the collateral ligaments. Did you know that each pair of these ligaments also have a resistive or limiting capability in the transverse plane, limiting tibial rotation? Because we rarely test the ligaments in this plane sometimes it can be hard to remember which does what. Here is the tip: The "internal" ligaments - the ACL/PCL will limit internal rotation of the tibia on the femur. The "external" ligaments - the LCL/MCL will limit external rotation of the tibia on the femur.

[anatomypt]

What would you like to talk about?

Hello to all my new followers..... anyone have a question about anatomy I can answer?

[whatshouldwecallptschool]

For all the shiny new PT, DPTs

[anatomypt]

yeah indeed!

[anatomypt]

To flash or not to flash

Anyone who knows me well, knows I have a stance against flashcards. It isn’t that “I do not believe flashcards can help you study anatomy” - I actually like some flashcards. it all has to do with how you create and use the flashcards. Learning is obtained in many different ways.

I guess I should clarify even more —- I am not a fan of pre-made flashcards. By creating your own flashcards - you are learning - actively. By using someone else’s (like a publisher) you have lost that learning opportunity. Flashcards created by the publisher are like taking your book and cutting it down into small cards. Still a book - still passive learning.

So create and you learn. Then make it even more active and play a game with someone using the cards. Then when you are all through anatomy, you could use them for wall paper….or fire starter….or dust collecting (mine are in a box doing just that - I couldn’t bare to destroy them - bad juju.)

[whatshouldwecallptschool]

To all those taking the NPTE the next 2 days...

[anatomypt]

Go get it fellow DPTs!

[anatomypt]

It is that time again.....

With new followers coming on I can tell people are beginning to gear up for gross anatomy. After 4 months hiatus from smelling like lab it is time for me to get back in the saddle and begin a new medical school anatomy class. So here we go. T minus 5 days. Time to get my smart scrubs on and see what I remember :<).

[anatomypt]

My life as a manual therapist!

[anatomypt]

So honored to receive the APTA excellence in academic teaching award. Maybe they found my blog? #next2014

[anatomypt]

To exercise or not? That should never be the question!

[anatomypt]

Anatomy of a gummy bear.....would you still eat it?

[anatomypt]

After years of preparation. Endless hours of studying. MCATS and volunteer hours. Research projects. Helping children across the world. Possibly rehabilitating YOURself in PT…..the dream is a reality. You got the acceptance you worked so hard for. You party, celebrate and count how many “likes”...

[anatomypt]

Hello to all my new followers! Thank you for finding me out here in cyberspace. I thought I would re blog a few of my initial posts in case there are a few of you who just got in to medical school, PT school, PA school or any other program that might be having you take gross anatomy. Hope it is helpful!

[likeonthediscoverychannel]

For Mother’s day I worked with Halmark to make an LotDC ecard! you can get the full card here. I uploaded a little taste for you to enjoy!!! 

[anatomypt]

My son made this ecard.....

[trevorjonesportfolio]

[trevorknappjones]

I finally updated my portfolio for 2014! 

[anatomypt]

My sons portfolio

[anatomypt]

Today I used props and students to animate the anterior abdominal wall and inguinal hernias

[whatshouldwecallptschool]

Best advice for getting through PT school

[anatomypt]

Great advice for all my students...MD's,PA's and PT's

[anatomypt]

New ligament in the knee..... who would have thought!

http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/11/06/your-knee-bones-connected-to-your-what-scientists-discover-new-body-part/

[anatomypt]

Flashcards....to flash or not to flash

I am known for not being a fan of flashcards. I find it very hard to explain why I think the standard study method is NOT the way to really learn a subject. I struggle because I know they work for many and many have used them “successfully” for years. I also struggle because I know that is how I got through my first anatomy class. I also know that I did not retain the material once I was challange to recall this as I evaluated a patient.

And that is what it is all about…..learning for your patient. Being able to remember which muscles would be weakened if a certain nerve is impinged, or what are the exact muscles attaching on “that tubercle” you are palpating. Our patients do not present to us in “cards”. We don’t test the deltoid and then rule it out or in as the culprit in our patients problem….we test the shoulder abductors - ALL of them. We palpate the REGION not just the deltoid. Nerves are innervating more than one muscle at a time - they innervate a group of muscles and therefore if we lose function from that nerve we lose function from that group. Not one muscles, not one flashcard.

Think of flashcards as bytes of information in a computer program. The more bytes our computer has to sort through to get the end result, the slower the process. When we only have a minute or less to make a decision during our evaluation we need to sort fast and retrieve general information that keeps us safe and moving in the right direction in our evaluation. It is much more efficient to learn anatomy by relationships than by each muscle’s action, innervation, origin and insertion.

I know this is one of the first places many students go when trying to sort through so much information at once- to flashcards. I recognize that flashcards can be helpful to get you initially organized. I would respectfully suggest that if there is an urge to catalogue the information, try making a card of all the muscles innervated by a particular nerve. OR have a card of all the muscles that attach to a particular palpation point - like the ischeal tuberosity. Make the cards functionally related and maybe just maybe, you’ll store this information in a place that you can ‘find” during that evaluation two years from now. I can guarantee that if you continue down the flashcard memorization route that those cards will most likely be all mixed up and possibly much like the 52 card pick up — all over and not in one easy retrievable place.