All The Right Moves

Today was a great day at work! Much better than last Tuesday. We only had one observer and Jennifer was observing office hours with one of the doctors. So, it was was just me and Lauren doing splints. Tuesday is always "learn a new splint" day. Today it was the gutter splint, both ulnar and radial. I started the morning by practicing a radial gutter on Jason, as there were no patients there. It's a pretty easy splint, in that they patter is basically a rectangle and you drape it over the ulnar side of the hand. It actually turned out pretty well too. I then saw a couple of patients and was able to make their splints for them. I made a couple of hand based thumb spicas and a forearm based as well. Lauren and I were able to man the splint station and I didn't have to have her help too much. I am continuously getting more comfortable with my splints, although there is always room for improvement. I then practiced a radial gutter. It's a little more difficult in that you have to make a hole for the thumb and make sure you roll that out. It didn't turn out so bad either.

Good thing I practiced the ulnar gutter this morning, because we had a patient come and I was able to make her splint for her. I didn't have to be too perfect with it, as she is having surgery Thursday and then we will re-adjust the splint after surgery to make it fit better. Lauren was pretty impressed with the splint as was I. The afternoon slowed down a lot and Jennifer came back, so we practiced the splint that we have to teach the OT students on Friday. We practiced making a pattern and then the splint because we won't have the pre-cuts that we use in clinic. This splint is the easiest of the three so it wasn't so bad. It will be a fun one to teach. All in all, a pretty good day at work. Busy, but good. We actually got off a little early too. I left work around 5:15 as opposed to 6:15 or 6:30. So, I went and got a pedicure and my eyebrows waxed. It wasn't as great as the place I go to in Dallas, so I'll have to keep looking. But, my toenails look so much better!

Tuesday is also when I meet with my personal trainer, Lance. I decided that I would go for a quick run to warm up before heading to the gym. It was about 38 degrees out tonight, so I of course put on shorts and a jacket and set out. You always dress for about 20 degrees warmer. You don't want to be comfortable when you start, and I definitely wasn't. As I was headed out, some guy yelled across the street "where are your pants!". My legs were definitely chilly for the first mile or so, but then they get warmed up. In fact, my upper body was getting a little too warm. I probably could have gone with only my reflective jacket. I got in a good 2.5-3 mile run before heading to the gym. It's so hard to run in the city though. One because my Garmin doesn't work because of the tall buildings. The satellite can't pick up. And there are too many stop lights. I get going just to have to stop again for another light. It's a good thing I can head for the museum on the weekend. Not too many lights out there.

Lance put me through another great workout! We started again with step ups, only this time I was on the largest plyometrics step. It was tough but I did it. Tonight we really focused on back and shoulders. I did some rows, reverse fly, and sumo squats, all with scapular retraction. I also did lat pull down and then cable triceps extension. I told him my triceps are weak, and he definitely took that to heart. I did quite a bit for my triceps tonight. I then ended with the ab machine again which is a great workout. My abs are still sore from Saturday. I am still enjoying working out with him. I always come away sore but a good sore. Tomorrow is my day off from working out because I'm at work from 6:30am until around 9:00 or so. Except tomorrow night we have a Philadelphia Hand Society meeting at a swanky Greek restaurant. Should be a lot of fun and a great lecture. It makes for a long Wednesday though.