Shadowing a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine
- Prioritizing patient privacy, this blog will be using false names in place of real identities.
Hey everyone! These last two weeks I shadowed a doctor of osteopathic medicine (DO) and had a great time expanding my understanding of the body and properly taking care of it in practice. A DO is a licensed physician that uses a holistic approach to patient care, factoring in mental health, lifestyle, and other parts of a patient's identity into their analysis and treatment. I observed a DO that works in conjunction with Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. Many of her patients were young athletes working toward full health and ability in their sport, but she also treated senior athletes with a focus on proper body maintenance and physical health in aging. The dichotomy between the two allowed me to better understand how sports, while great for staying healthy and active, can physically wear on the body later in life. This part was particularly important to me because it brought up a major question of mine: How do you play your sport while also decreasing the risk of injury later in life? This question remained a theme throughout my time with Dr. X.
Ellen
One of the cases that piqued my interest during my time with Dr. X was Ellen's visit. Ellen came into the office with a pugnacious attitude, some shoulder pain, and a determination to feel better. Ellen is in her 80s and, despite her age, is set on staying active and playing golf. In Dr. X's initial assessment of her, she demonstrated great strength and physical fitness throughout her body.
Usually, when aging occurs, people cease or phase out the activities that once kept them active and strong. When something hurts, they stop doing that action altogether, and ultimately their abilities wane. This, however, was not the case with Ellen. She had been maintaining a regimen of strengthening exercises and pushing herself and her muscles to continue to support her. What stood out to me most was that of all the patients that I got to see during my time at Mount Sinai, Ellen had the most cumulative strength. Talking to her, I discovered that this was because of her devotion to her strengthening and mobility routine. Even the smallest movements that target specific muscles can greatly decrease that muscle atrophy with age. Although Ellen had pushed herself beyond her limits during a particular exercise and experienced a flare-up of shoulder pain, she still had tremendous strength because of her commitment to staying active.
How This Applies to My Work with CitySquash
Ellen is a wonderful example to demonstrate that despite age decreasing muscle mass, there are steps that can be taken to maintain one's body. In my work with CitySquash, I hope to bring this idea as well as movements and light muscular work that will maintain strength. While young muscles do not atrophy as frequently as in older patients, it is still important to maintain mobility and strength to decrease the chances of injury. My goal is to ultimately give CitySquash a program that will introduce routines for the athletes so they can maintain their strength, decrease the risk of injury and allow them to play the sport they love for a long time. I also want CitySquash athletes to be able to use these movements to warm their muscles up before competition and practice. Hopefully, by compiling everything that I learned from Dr. X into a presentation, I will be able to help these student-athletes be more successful in high-level squash and as they pursue their sport in the future.
