Week 3 Reflection

During Week three, I did not have as many breakthrough learning experiences as the first two weeks, but I was able to apply what I had learned more than before.  I began to be able to notice progress in certain people and was able to tell how and why they were improving.  From watching the same kids go to Laurie’s classes every week, I could see how effective the program was.  Also, I had an easier time watching exercises and understanding what fundamentals different ones would be highlighting.   Laurie showed and explained to me well this week that any specific Burdenko exercise is never focusing on just one part of the body, it instead is focused on the whole body.  For example, you never have to worry about laying down and doing 100 crunches, because every Burdenko exercise you do your core is activated and being used the entire time.  This is also why Burdenko is such an effective form of rehab, because it focuses on getting your entire body strong, instead of just the injury.  When I do my rehab I will be doing not just knee exercises, but so much more.  I benefitted this week just as much as the others, and I am lucky I was able to do this project because the benefits have barely even begun.  I really enjoyed learning about all of it, but now what I am really looking forward to is using it for the rest of my life.  I am excited now to start my rehab and show my physical therapist how much I know and also to be able to do everything I’ve been reading about and watching.  This is a very nice change for me to be excited, rather than bummed out which is more where I was at the beginning of my project.  It is not just this summer, however, that I will benefit from my project.  Learning about this has completely changed my thinking of athleticism, and what it really means to train your body.  There are so many components I never considered when working out to train for a sport, and now that I know I will always be looking for opportunities to do Burdenko. 

May 27th

Today was my last official day on senior project, and I started to work on everything that needed to be turned in at the end.  I printed out pictures sent to me from my sponsor and started planning what I wanted to go on my presentation for the exhibit.  I also spent a little time reading "Overcoming Paralysis", and this section talked about different land and water exercises you should do and how long you should spend on each.  I do not need to read this for anymore hours, but I want to finish it before I send it back to my sponsor because it's so interesting.  This weekend I have a lot more work to do to get everything done before it's due on Tuesday.

May 26th

I said goodbye to my sponsor this morning, and came back to campus where I will stay for the rest of my senior project.  I have finished all my hours, so tomorrow I will begin to work on my week 3 reflection and final evaluation.  I used my extra time today to work with Chris in the trainers, and then I went down to the pool at Colby Sawyer on my own.  Even though the project has just ended it is still helping me, because I was able to use what I learned and do it on my own this afternoon.

May 25th

Laurie and I went back and used the pool today, and I got to experience a few more pieces of equipment.  The first were cuffs that you put around your ankles.  The cuffs would seem like they would sink, but they actually do the opposite and want to float.  This makes it all the more difficult to keep your body aligned.  I also got to use the Burdenko belt with tubing for the arms and legs.  I had seen this done a few times from watching Igor, but have never used it for myself.  It was really difficult, and also hard on your coordination because your arms and legs want to do different things.  It was good that I got to get in the pool with her so many times, because I am now familiar enough with the exercises to go and do it sometimes on my own.

Thankfully the weather was great for tonight's class at Laurie's house.  The kids were able to go back out to the street and do a lot more movement.  They did some similar exercises as the first week I observed, but they progressed further and did them in different ways.  In Burdenko, most of the exercises have some similar theme or are connected, but there are endless ways you can do them.  Tonight was a perfect way to end the classes, but because of the cold not heating up there pool fast enough, I was unfortunately never  able to see the group work in the water.  I still, however, feel like I got to observe a good amount in the water by going to Igor and watching her kids a few times.

May 24th

Today was another early day because Laurie and I went down to watch Igor's morning appointments again in Sudbury.  Two of the clients I watched today I could relate to more than last week's, because they are both ski racers.  One was a 9th grade boy, Sabri, who is working with Igor because he had terrible back pain during the season.  The other was a 7th grade girl, Katie, who broke her leg last August and is now fully recovered but still comes once in a while to work with Igor.  You could tell that Igor understood everything the sport required physically and made sure to do exercises that applied to them.  When Katie was in the pool, Igor even told us that one of the exercises she was doing he created just for skiers.  Both of these kids have been making great improvements while working with Igor.  The third client we saw was one we watched last week, too.  It is the boy who had the stroke when he was 15, and is now paralyzed on the right side of his body.  He has been working everyday with Igor since last Monday, and since the last time we saw him he has made tremendous improvements.  It's inspiring, in fact, how much he has progressed and how hard he is working.  When he first started he had a hard time even walking because of his right side, and we watched him doing movement exercises on land today that some able bodied people would have challenges with.  He did them well, and with a smile on his face.  While we were down watching Igor we also saw my old coach from Waterville Valley Academy, Tom Barbeau.  Tom is master certified in Burdenko, and was the first person that exposed me to it from doing workouts with him when I was at the academy.  He was down to watch Igor and ask some questions.  Laurie and Tom both like to go down and check in with Igor once in a while, to get new ideas and to watch it taught by someone else for a change.  I feel very lucky in doing this research that was able to meet first hand the creator of the method, instead of only learning about him through books and other people.

Tomorrow is that last day of Laurie's classes, and then I will go back to campus to continue reading and start working on my evaluation and everything else to wrap up my senior project!

May 23rd

After a doctors appointment in Boston this morning, I went back to Hopkinton to stay with my sponsor.  We had time before her class started so we went down to the pool.  She worked with me and her son, Peter, who was rehabbing his back.  After that we went back for the others kids to come at 5:30, and the rain once again forced Laurie to make adjustments.  She is still without her partner, Taylor, but it was not too big of a problem today because it was a smaller group.  One piece of equipment the group worked with today that I hadn't seen much of before was short tubing.  They put small pieces of tubing around their feet and did exercise with either one piece between their two legs, or with one in each leg and the other end of the tubing in their arms, creating tension and forcing resistance.  They did movement with the tubing, but not as much as Laurie would have liked to if they were able to go outside.  Hopefully the weather will improve for Wednesday and they will be able to get back out to the street for the last session I watch.

May 22nd

Today I continued reading "Overcoming Paralysis".  The first section I read was about important tips you may not know to pay attention to when exercising.  These steps include shaking your body before exercise, proper breathing, body awareness, relaxation, and massaging before and after exercise.  The second subject the author Scott Biehler discusses was pain and depression in your recovery and throughout life in a wheelchair.  He explained the causes of both pain and depression, and ways to help manage them.

Tomorrow I will go back to Hopkinton and go back with my sponsor for the final week of my senior project.