Thank You Sydney

Participants for the Discover the Sports Thorax course were treated to a new venue chosen by host David Pope (Clinical Edge), Waterfront Wolfies Restaurant, where we had a view of the water and the Opera House, as well as delicious food. I was excited to hear that this will be the venue for the 2012 Discover Physio Series in Sydney next year. With all the amazing food I will definitely need to keep up my harbour runs! We had a great group of clinicians from as far as Tasmania and Melbourne along with local physios. There were many interesting thoraxes to learn from, and we had the skillful assistance of Caitlin Farmer to provide feedback during labs so that everyone could develop their ‘thoracic ring’ skills. Thank you to everyone for a very enjoyable weekend, with great discussions and questions, and a zest and passion for learning and exploring this new approach to the thoracic spine and ribcage – the integrated three-dimensional ‘thoracic ring’.

Next a day off, when David and I recorded our first podcasts for Clinical Edge. 

The next five days was spent teaching Part 2 of the 2011 Discover Physio Sydney Series, continuing with The Integrated Systems Model whole body approach. Part 2 expands on the integrated trunk with more thoracic ring skills, continuing all the way up to the 1st ring and then linking the mid-cervical spine to the thoracic rings and rest of the trunk. We also explore the relationships between the thoracic rings, the shoulder girdle (scapula, clavicle, and humerus), and the cervical spine. Brent and Meryn (Sydney Sports Physiotherapy Centre) discovered an OA driven ASLR in colleague Kate – when Kate’s left OA joint was decompressed and right laterally flexed, her ASLR dramatically improved and her pubic symphysis was controlled (no shearing). No other corrections (pelvic compressions, ring corrections, etc.) made any difference to Kate’s ASLR. Experiences like this reinforced for the group the power of the principle of “finding the driver”, and that any task we do with any part of our bodies is actually a whole body, whole person task. This means we have to go beyond only assessing the part or region that is painful.

It is a big week with lots of new content, new handling skills, and paradigm challenges. The Sydney Discover Physio Series group took it all in stride, staying positive and open (even when tired!) and everyone’s thoracic ring and neck handling skills improved immensely through the week. I’m excited to hear their stories and clinical experiences from this next phase. Thank you all for a great week – it’s a pleasure to share this year on the Discover Physio Series with you.