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.

Week 2 Reflection

During week two of my senior project, I became much more familiar with the range of people the Burdenko method applies to.  I was introduced to it to some degree in the first week of Laurie’s classes, even though most of the athletes participating were in the top tier of capability and were without injuries.  For example, there is one middle school boy, a soccer player, who has bad duck feet.  During the exercises he is always focusing on keeping his lower body in line, and learning to recognize when his feet are not straight.  The goal is to help train his body to stay straight all the time.  I watch him on one side of the room trying to improve his alignment, but can also look to the other side and see Laurie’s daughter, Abby, doing the same exercises, only for different effects.  Abby is a very high level ski racer, who this past season was on the US Ski Team.  Through years of competing at such a high level she has no doubt been exposed to a variety of workout methods, and the fact that she comes out to the sessions every time says a lot about the program.  She is confident that the Burdenko method has what she needs to be in the best shape possible, and it has been successful throughout her whole career.

I saw even more of this when Laurie and I went do to observe Igor.  I learned there was no huge distinction between the what Laurie had been doing with her class, and what Igor was doing with his clients.  Igor’s clients may have had injuries or certain challenges with their bodies, but the exercises were just as difficult physically as they were with Laurie’s athletes.  In both the pool and on land, they were still doing a lot to strengthen and train the rest of their bodies.  This came as a surprise to me, because I always assumed there was a big difference between training for high level athletes, and rehab for injured athletes.

What I learned this week will hugely benefit me with my motivation throughout my rehab.  While we were watching Igor work with his clients, Laurie reminded me that what I would be doing for my rehab was not very different then what she would be doing to train her kids.  This made me feel like even though I am injured, I am not missing out on all that much.  I am still able to get a good workout, but in a way that will not disrupt the healing of my knee.  The focus of my rehab will not just be to help my knee heal, but I will be working to strengthen my entire body more then ever before.  

May 19th

Today I came back to campus after lunch, and used my time her to continue reading "Overcoming Paralysis".  It continued to describe the benefits of working in water, and told another miracle story.  This one was of a man Bob McKenna, who when he was 23 fell 5 stories and broke his fifth and sixth cervical vertebrae, leaving him paralyzed from the neck down.  Through years of working with Igor he was later able to walk with just the assistance or ankle braces and crutches, and can live an independent life.

There was also a section on nutrition and how important it is to feed your body food that will help it heal to the best of its ability.  It made clear there was no need for a diet, just he right information on how and what to eat, and how eating "intelligently" is a lifetime commitment and an important part of conditioning the whole body.

May 18th

Today was a long day, beginning at 5:45 when we got up to go down and watch Igor Burdenko, who is the creator of the method I am studying.  He is currently working out of Bosse Sports and Health Club in Sudbury, Ma.  Laurie and I observed while he worked with four different people, mostly with all different problems.  The first client was an 8th grade boy, who was a very talented tennis player.  The boy has recently been growing a lot, and he is now extremely tall with little muscle to support it.  He had so much stress on his joints causing back and knee pain that he was unable to play tennis.  Now after working with Igor he is back on the courts, and as Igor explained to us he is able to regain his strength without pain or interfering with the healing process.  His next client was a doctor and tennis player, with bad back pain.  He too was unable to play temporarily because of his pain, but now since working with Igor has made a lot of progress.  The next client of Igor's required the most patience and attention then what we had seen with the previous two people.  He was a 19 year old boy who had a stroke when he was 15, and he now is very hard of hearing and has slow processing because of swelling of his brain.  His symptoms are similar to that of someone with Multiple Sclerosis or Parkinson's.  Unlike the other clients which worked 50% on land, 50% in water, this person worked all water.  While in the water, he worked on mostly coordination exercises, and ones that will help him regain the control of his body he lost from the stroke.  The fourth client, was an engineer who had a knee and an ankle problem.  He was told he needed surgery for his knee, but since working with Igor has successfully avoided it.  This man had poor coordination issues, which could be a possible source of all his injuries.  The exercises Igor was having him do looked very simple, but they were hard for him to gain control  and have his brain follow along and detect patterns.

After the observation in Sudbury, we went back to Hopkinton and I observed one of Laurie's classes.  The rain again made the session limited to just the garage, but everyone made it work just like the last time.  Laurie took a lot of exercises Igor did, and showed them to her class.  In doing this, she highlighted the fact that one Burdenko exercise can be modified for a person of any age,  and can be used to rehabilitate an injury or problem, or also be a difficult workout for a high level athlete.

May 17th

There was no class today, so Laurie and I went down to the pool to do stuff for myself.  We were able to progress much further than last week because I was more familiar with the basics of the exercises, and my knee was capable of more.  After that we talked a little bit about Igor, and different techniques he has while working with people.  Tomorrow we will go into Boston, where I will get to meet Igor himself.  He has 4 appointments in the morning that Laurie and I will be observing.  It will be interesting to see the exercises and sessions runs by the creator of the method I am studying.

May 16th

Today I did a little more reading in the morning, and then left at lunch time to go to Hopkinton.  Taylor is out of town this week, so Laurie was alone with the group.  She considered splitting it into two sessions to help keep control of the group, but then decided to keep it just one.  Another factor that played into tonights session was the rain.  Normally, about half of the exercises planned are for outside in the street or her driveway, but tonight she had to adjust so everyone was inside.  During the class, in addition to giving the kids the exercises to do, she also taught them about what they were doing.  She explained the difference between static and dynamic strengthening, how to both strengthen and stretch a muscle, and other helpful tips for the athletes to know for when they are training on their own.  Tomorrow there is no class but we will be going down to the pool to learn more there.

Week 1 Reflection

In just the first week, I have learned more about the Burdenko method than I predicted I would during my entire project.  In fact, it is hard for me to keep this reflection short because there are pages of information I want to get to people about this method.  Although watching the classes and doing the exercises were really helpful in teaching me about Burdenko, I have found my favorite and most effective way of learning to be just by talking to Laurie.  In conversation, you can tell how passionate she is about everything, because information just starts pouring out.  She wants me to understand all the Burdenko method entails, and she has already passed that passion on to me.  When people ask me about my project, I really want them to understand just what this is, and how different it is than just “working out” or “rehab”.  During Wednesday’s class a women was walking by on the street and asked what Laurie and Taylor’s classes were all about. Instead of saying it was a conditioning class for high school sports stars, Laurie replied, “I teach athletes how to move.” It is interesting to watch the kids doing all these exercises, because there is a real separation between those who have been trained well, and the kids who are just beginning. For example, her own children do it perfectly, because they have been working on it the better portion of their lives. Other kids in the group who just started, struggle with the simple skills of balance and coordination.  Exercises that look easy may be very difficult to do. An outsider watching would probably think that the kids having trouble were out of shape or not good athletes, when the truth is they may play club soccer 10 months a year or play three varsity sports. That, however, is exactly where the problem lies. Kids today go from sport to sport as each season goes by, and never take the time to condition their bodies. They may run on their off days or lift weights occasionally, but they never train their bodies in ways that will help them catch their balance if they stumble or get knocked, and other functions that are so important for your body to have. This is another reason why Burdenko is so effective in preventing injury.  We were watching her son Pete at his lacrosse game while I was down with the Fucignas at the beginning of the week, and there was a moment when someone hit against Pete and caught him off guard. As Laurie watched his reaction to this and how he quickly got right back in a balanced state she told me, “that, right there, is Burdenko.”

What I learned this week will benefit me hugely with my rehab, and I have already been able to start using it now.  Even this morning, I went by myself and did exercises in the pool.  The pool, if done properly and using the Burdenko exercises, can be a great healing environment for your body.  It is not water aerobics, and you are not simply running in the shallow end.  Everything you are doing is with a belt on, and in the vertical position with your pelvis forward and your body straight.  You are in the position you would be on land, except you are in an anti-gravity situation. For me, what I can do on land is very limited because of my knee. Being in the water puts me in a situation where I can do exercises that push my boundaries and perform much more, but in a safe environment. It helps you to make advances so much faster than if you were only doing your rehab on land. 

I have had a lot of information and specifics thrown at me this week, and I think the reason I have absorbed all of it so well is because it applies directly to myself.  I really want to listen to what Laurie is saying and learn it, so I am knowledgable enough to do some of it on my own.  Burdenko is so complex, that is it no surprise it took her so long to get master certified, and there are few people out there who can properly teach Burdenko. Everything Igor Burdenko has created is so genius, it is a shame that more people don’t know about it or take advantage of it. You can see frustrations Laurie and Taylor have sometimes, when new innovations come out in the workout industry that Igor thought of years, and in some cases, decades before. The reason this is not hugely popular is that it is hard to convince someone how effective the Burdenko method is, without out showing it to them and proving the benefits.  Burdenko is hard to advertise, because there are no hard core workout videos, it cannot give you 30-minute abs, and there is no flashy equipment to accompany it.  But once someone begins Burdenko, all they want to do is show it to their friends and persuade them to do it.  I wish that everyone knew about it, and would train themselves to do it.  It is hard to get into Burdenko, because you really need to be taught it by someone properly trained and be closely monitored at the beginning, but it is really worth the effort.  It is so good for your body, and really makes you transition from being a generic sports stud, to a true athlete.

May 12/13

Unfortunately the blog website was down last night, so I was not able to post my day's work.  Yesterday and today have been less uneventful, because I am back at campus and no longer under the direction of my sponsor.  I have spent these two days reading a book called "Overcoming Paralysis".  It was written by Scott Biehler, with all the information accredited to Igor Burdenko.  Scott was in a motorcycle accident suffered a broken back and was paralyzed from the chest down.  He was told he would not be able to do a lot any more, and without a medical miracle, would never walk.  Through water therapy and working with Igor, he now has control of the muscles below where he was injured, and is making a lot of progress. He wrote this book about his experience and  how to help other in his situation, through the Burdenko method.  I have not yet finished the book, but it goes through all the basics of the Burdenko method and talks about Igor.  It was interesting to discover that Igor turned to water therapy as his main interest and method of therapy after watching his Russian father (Igor is from Russia), who suffered many injuries from World War II, but could still exercise in the water with much less pain and a significantly quicker recovery time.  I also found out that Igor has an interest in working with the handicapped after developing a program where for his athlete who had a serious accident and because quadriplegic.  He went from only being able use his mouth, to miraculously having the use of his arms and being able to write again.  This book has also outlined the five key points of the Burdenko method.  The were to work on the water and in land, work in the vertical position in the water, work with the whole body, work in both directions, and work to develop six essential abilities for everyday life and sport (balance, coordination, flexibility, endurance, speed, and strength - in that order).

There are many cases explained in which Igor has helped people transition from wheelchairs to walking, even when doctors said it wasn't likely to be done.  The book is very interesting so far and I look forward to reporting more on it once I get there.  Until then, I have the weekend off and am back to working at Hopkinton on Monday.

Day 3

Today was another class night, and all of the same kids showed up again.  Because it was the same kids, they could progress further from the exercises they did on Monday.  One interesting piece of equipment they used was a belt you put on, with four sets of tubing coming out of it.  Two of them go around your feet and run down your legs, and the other two are held in your arms.  They did movement exercises while wearing these belts, to help with both strength and flexibility.

Another huge piece I learned more about today was possibly the single most important goal in using the Burdenko method- alignment.   The reason this is all so effective is because your body is always in a completely straight, proper positions so no exercises you are doing will cause further injury.  It trains your body to do everything correctly and with quality.  These exercises do not harm your body, they are incredibly beneficial to it.

Today I also got a little taste of what its like to run a fitness business, and the types of things that go into these classes.  Laurie spent some of the day thinking of names to call her classes, and also the types of flyers, videos, banners, etc she wanted to promote what she was doing.  I also saw the thought and time she put into planning all the exercises and having a good idea of what she was going to do for the class.  Tomorrow morning I will head back to campus and spend the remainder of my week reading and doing research on the founder of all this Igor Burdenko.

My 10th

Today was a lighter work day for Laurie, so I got the opportunity to work more on my own rehab.  We went down and used the pool at the Y, and I got to get in and do exercises for myself.  She walked to me through a lot of things, many of them focusing on my knee.  All exercises that were done were developed by Igor Burdenko, and using his method.  What I experienced was more the basics of everything, because I can not do too much yet.  This worked well because I got to see Burdenko exercises in their simplest form, which clearly highlighted what each exercise wanted to achieve.  In addition, I got to watch her daughter, Abby, work out in the pool as well.  Abby is a very good ski racer and a high level athlete, so by watching her I got to see version of the exercises which were much more complicated.  Doing my own and then watching her proved just how suitable Burdenko is for athletes at all different stages.  It also showed how it can not only be effective as a way of rehabilitation for any injury, but also can be just as effective as a fitness regime.

Laurie and I also spent a lot more time talking about Burdenko, and different things it accomplished.  In just two days I feel like I have already learned so much and become more knowledgable about everything, and hope this trend will continue all the way through my project.

May 9th

Today was the day 1 of my senior project.  I left campus after lunch and went to Hopkinton, Mass, where I will be staying until Thursday morning.  Tonight I observed as my sponser, Laurie, ran a 2 hour class at her house with her partner Taylor.  The class consisted of 10 middle school and high school aged athletes.  They did all types of Burdenko exercises, which they were very non-traditional compared to your normal workout session.  They used no weights, and it was predominately free movement. The kids were all levels of athleticism, but they all had some form of experience with the Burdenko style workouts  from working with her.

After the session was over I talked long with Laurie about the exercises that were done and why they had the kids do them.  The most important thing I learned was that the Burdenko philosophy is that the foundation of all workouts should be in balance, coordination, and flexibility.  It is important to have endurance, strength, and speed and these should be addressed as well, but you need to have the strong foundation first.  Most of what she talked to me about made sense, but were not what I was thinking before.

Overall today was a successful first day, and I look forward tomorrow to working on my own rehab.  We will be going in the pool and learning Burdenko water exercises, which is a large part of his method of sports therapy.