Toujours aucune nouvelle sur son état. Ce matin, pendant la pratique, Jacques Martin a affirmé qu’il ne patinait pas et qu’il n’était pas prêt d’un retour au jeu…

CKAC a affirmé hier que c’était une fracture mineure… Espérons avoir plus de nouvelles dans les prochains jours, et peut-être même les prochaines heures.

William Albert “Billy” Burke (born November 25, 1966) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Charlie Swan in the 2008 film Twilight and as Gary Matheson in the second season of 24.

Buy this Title on DVD

Burke was born in Bellingham, Washington. His television credits include roles in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (in the episode “Second Skin”), Party of Five, Gilmore Girls, Karen Sisco, Fringe, Monk and The Closer (Season 4, episode 13, “Power of Attorney” playing the attorney Phillip Stroh). He also plays Detective Eric Box in the movie Untraceable.

His motion picture credits include Jane Austen’s Mafia!, Along Came a Spider, Final Jeopardy, Flashpoint and Ladder 49. His upcoming film credits include The Fallen, Forfeit, Fracture and Retirement. He also appeared in Feast of Love (2007), co-starring Selma Blair and Morgan Freeman. In 2008, Burke appeared in Twilight, based on the best-selling novel by Stephenie Meyer, playing the role of Charlie Swan.  He also plays Bobby’s brother Jack on the show My Boys. Burke reprised his role as Charlie Swan in Twilight’s sequel, New Moon.

Burke is one of the “famous faces” on the online poker website Hollywood Poker, which is run in conjunction with Ongame Network.

Working with a nautilus extension and with bazaar is interesting, you can’t just open up the process of a bzr branch or pull and expect everything to be rosy. It’ll lock out the GUI and then you’ll be stuck without progress reports.

So I’m happy to report that I figured out how to make it work by using examples set forth in the qbzr project (QT-Bzr) so a lil bit of rewriting and a quick re-tooling using threading.Thread and we’re ready to start making sure all the dialogues and displays don’t lock up and deliver useful progress reports of the work they’re doing.

You can get the code branch I’m working on from lp:nautilus-lp

In unrelated news, I just got the results back from an x-ray, turns out I chipped one of the bones in my foot. So I’ve been walking around UDS for the last four days with a serious injury. You won’t believe the ear full I got off the doctor for assuming all that was rong was a simple sprain.

I undertook another another mission last night as I had to get a cab from work to A&E via Bezzer Liv’s house to collect my moral support and then have my crummy foot checked out again. An evil nurse made me feel so silly for even being there (“we’ve already told you clearly there’s nothing wrong, so why are you here again?”) that I secretly cried a little bit after she’d gone. Luckily Liv saved the day by finding the nicest lady in Homerton Hospital and asking her what we should do. Nice lady instantly got a doctor to have a quick, kind word with me, and he checked the x-ray and made me an appointment at the fracture clinic for this morning. Turns out the bone is in fact cracked and I’m now in a space-age fracture booty device for the next six weeks. That’s going to put a whole lotta spanner in the Guardian Girl works – unless they happen to base the next six weeks of fashion shoots around pseudo-ski style and/or neu-medical hip.

Such is my renewed dedication to the Guardian cause that, even though I didn’t get home from The A&E Experience (“watch your crutches on that puke on the floor. Actually, is it a turd?”) until past 11pm, I still made a batch of muffin mix, let it rise while I had my bath and then cooked them while I dried off. They were less satisfying to make than yesterday’s crumpets and I totally fonzed up the mixture by using self-raising flour instead of plain and putting too much water in so the dough resembled PVA glue. I also coated them in actual semolina rather than the suggested semolina flour, because it was what I had in the cupboard. I thought they’d be disastrous but in fact they came out looking more or less like muffins, albeit slightly fecal as ever, and they tasted pretty good but a bit bland. Actually, to be totally honest about it half of them tasted like washing up liquid. There’s a good reason for this. After crumpetgate I washed my frying pan by pouring water and washing up liquid into it and leaving it on a hot hob until it boiled away. Dunno why it did it but by the next day I’d forgotten I had. The frying pan looked lovely and clean so I started cooking the muffins without rinsing it. I suppose I might produce some extra oestrogen as a result but that’s unlikey to do me much harm. Three breasts are better than two.

I think the muffins are meant to be split and served with butter or the like (marge?) but I’m trying to be slightly calorie aware as I’m getting zero exercise with my injured paw, and we know what happens when you eat Guardian food every day. It tends to supersize a girl. I got away with it slightly more when I was walking or running 4-12 miles a day but arguably that’s what gave me the cracked foot, and one must pay attention to the body’s cries for help apparently.

I could sue the Guardian for making me chubby and further adding to my distress by suggesting I wear small fashions. Or I could thank them because the surgeon told me I have good strong bones, which I attribute to all those pies.

So the crutches made it into yesterday’s fashion and the booty is soon to become a regular sight. Dunno if I can wear it with a platform heel on the other foot. I suspect the answer to that is fairly obvious. So much for xmas party glam.

No muffin shots but here’s another underwhelming fashion shot of yours truly outside Horrorton Hospital.

Studs or sequins

Stubby deliquent

Conclusions

• I’m pretty sure my captions are going downhill.
• Every time I try to type “conclusions” I type “cobclusions”, which is not only irritating but also reminds me of my dead house rabbit Cobbie, who I really loved even though he bit the crotch of every male who went anywhere near me, no matter whether their intention was to kiss me or or hand me my change. He had a pink lead and used to go everywhere with me, which I think might be why he was so irritated all the time. I feel a bit guilty now but I did give him lovely fresh veggies every day and he lived a mollycoddled, free-range life.
• Don’t forget to clean the detergent from your pan before you heat food in it, will you.

Cardiovascular Systems, Inc. and FDA notified healthcare professionals of a nationwide recall of all lots of the ViperSheath Sheath Introducer on behalf of Thomas Medical due to reports about stretching or fracture of the sheath during use.

In the event of a device fracture, separated segments of the device may require unplanned open surgery to remove the retained segments or control bleeding. Since this device is coil reinforced, any separation of the cannula (a flexible tube inserted into the body) has the potential to expose portions of the coil, creating the potential for vessel dissection or perforation.

The recall encompasses products distributed from March 25, 2009 to October 21, 2009, and includes the following lot ranges and catalog numbers:

• Lot range: S28117 through S29174
• Catalog numbers: VPR-ISH 5 X 85, VPR-ISH 6 X 85, VPR-ISH 7 X 85, VPR-ISH 5 X 45, VPR-ISH 6 X 45, VPR-ISH 7 X 45

CLICK HERE to read the MedWatch safety summary, including a link to the company’s Press Release.

A recent New York Times article, Phys Ed: The Best Exercises for Healthy Bones (thanks for passing it along, Mary) declares that “the best exercise is to simply jump up and down, for as long as the downstairs neighbor will tolerate.”

Well…maybe.  But who the hell wants to do that?

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again.  I’m really sick of reporters with no experience in the field having free reign to write whatever they want about health and exercise.

If you read the article, you’ll find that “scientists” are in dispute about how bones respond to exercise, and what type of exercise is best to build bone.

Except, that is, that explosive/heavy weightlifting builds bone well.

But cycling and running are in dispute.  In fact, running might even cause the loss of bone, when calcium lost through sweat or in metabolic processes is replaced by bone material.

Wait…hold on reporterer…go back a step…

Explosive movements and heavy weightlifting build bone.

Ok.  Well then why the fuck aren’t we recommending those activities?

The best thing to do, instead, is to make a joke out of it.  “The best exercise is to simply jump up and down, for as long as the downstairs neighbor will tolerate.”

Why make a joke out of it?  “For as long as the downstairs neighbors will tolerate?”  Why are you jumping indoors?  Why aren’t you going outside and jumping?  Why are you jumping in place?  Why aren’t you running around and jumping onto and over obstacles of varying heights?

That activity also builds the skills of balance and proprioception, which might help to prevent hip fractures even more than the concomitant building of the bone itself!  If you never fall, you don’t need rock-hard hip bones.

And that’s not why I have my clients jump, and lift heavy stuff.  I’m not concerned with their bone density.  That’s a bizarre, reductionist view of the body that I don’t want to buy into.

I have them do those activities because that’s what human bodies are meant to do.

For the last time – YOU ARE AN ANIMAL! You respond best to what all animals best respond to – sunlight, clean water, un-molested foods straight from nature, and lots and lots of physical activity of all types.

The thing all of these “scientists” miss is the big picture – the human body as a whole, as an animal.

If you sit all day, your bones get weak.  If you eat a crappy diet, your bones get weak.  If you run for a long time, and don’t replenish the nutrients you’ve lost, your bones get weak.  Cycling isn’t even a weight-bearing activity, so I’m not sure why the article focuses on it so much…

Also, in response to one of the comments made by a researcher quoted in the article, I’m pretty sure there’s been research that shows that calcium lost during endurance exercise is compensated for by bone if it’s not replaced soon.  I’ll have to double-check that.  I wouldn’t be surprised, though – most researchers are so caught up in trying to keep grants rolling, etc., they don’t even know the research that has been done in the area they themselves are studying.

Which speaks to another issue I have with this type of reporting.  Science is a process of exploration.  It is curiosity.  It is asking questions and trying to find the answers.

IT IS NOT THE PLACE OF SCIENCE TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS.

We put science in such a place of authority in our country that brains shut off like lights in a blackout.  I can see them all the way down the street, blinking off.  No thinking required.  Science has me covered.  The scientists will tell me the right thing to do.  The government will talk to the scientists and protect me.

Bullshit.  Turn your brain back on.

I take such offense to this, because people who don’t know any better are going to read this article, and others like it.

What is someone going to do who reads this article?  They’re going to say, “oh to hell with it…exercise isn’t helping my bones…” or “I need to jump up and down more!”  Which is silly!!!  I mean, if you’re just jumping up and down in place…ridiculous.  See the above comments about balance and proprioception and nature and the requirements of a healthy animal.

And what about the bones in your arms?  How do you get those stronger?  Jumping up and down doesn’t put any strain on your arms.

How about crawling?  Explosive pushups?  Heavy bench pressing?

Oh no…we shouldn’t do that!  Let’s just play patty-cake until the downstairs neighbors complain!

Got the injection a week back. There were some confusion as to what kind of injection it was. It turns out that it was not a diagnostic injection after all. It is just a cocktail of analgesic, some short acting and long acting steroid. The doctor thought that it will help with the soreness and scar tissue. The injection was administered right at the ankle. Had to take it easy for 48 hours after the injection. Then now I am back to normal. The soreness has reduced. But I do see some unstability(Don’t know how to describe) when I am walking at a faster pace. Need to closely monitor and understand what the issue is. So that is where I stand.

I got to sleep in a little bit this morning because I was due to meet at colleague in Solihull to observe an asylum interview at a UK Border Agency office there.  DH (Dick Head) is on annual leave but had a doctor’s appointment this morning, so we were trying to skirt around each other, getting ready to go.

I went downstairs first and had my breakfast while he was doing his thing in the bathroom.  Then I came up to brush my teeth, get dressed, etc., while he went downstairs to have his breakfast.  This is what you call living together like polite strangers, not the intimate partners we were such a few short months ago.

I hadn’t even put the toothpaste on my brush when I heard a crash and a clank against the radiator.  Idiot fell down the stairs!  I’m sure he tripped over his boot laces – he never ties them before he goes downstairs.  He was carrying his jacket, coffee mug and a magazine, and when I looked, they were all lying on the floor down there with him, and he was moaning and holding his wrist and trying to figure out how to get himself up.

I was only tempted for a moment to let him lie there, but of course, I didn’t.  Went down to help him up, his right wrist was really hurting, and really, all the way up his arm hurt.  We walked around the living room together until he told me he was ok and then I went back up to finish getting ready.

He was out the door before I came back down, sitting in his car trying to figure out how to close the car door.  Idiot!  Our GP’s surgery is just a five minute walk away, so I told him to just walk.  His arm was really hurting, so I suggested that he forget about what his appointment was for today and just have them look at his arm…I think we both knew that wasn’t going to happen, they don’t have x-ray machines in GP offices like they do in the US.

I was back at my office by 2:00 in the afternoon and had an email from another estate agent that a flat I was interested in was available.  So I called and the guy I talked to, Kieran, suggested this evening, as he said he was showing it to 2 other people and would be there anyway.  We arranged to meet at shortly after 7:00.  By the time I left the office at 5:00, someone had really turned the waterworks on!  But, I found my way over to where this flat was and arrived 1/2 hour before the appointed time, found the flat and then found an eat-in fish and chip shop nearby and tried to dry off!

I was standing under the overhang outside the building promptly, and just a few seconds later, Kieran came out the door with the person he’d been showing the flat to.  This one is above a shop, but has its own front door onto the street, which is a very busy street.  It wasn’t a bad flat, much better than last night’s and £375 a month.  There’s nothing great to say about it either, just that it wasn’t bad and I would put it on my list of possibles…it’s easy to get to the city centre from there, and slightly closer than where I am now, the kitchen’s ok – new fridge on its way, stove, but no washing machine.  The set-up has the living room at the back of the flat and the bedroom right on the busy road, but I can’t imagine there’s a law that makes you use the rooms that way – I’d switch the bedroom to the back.  Toilet and bath are separate, but both in good shape, there’s an electric shower and no grot on the ceiling – no carpeting in the toilet!

Well, back home again to find that he has a fracture above his elbow, it’s a bad one (he said), but they’re treating it conservatively (he said) – no plaster, but one little slip and he’d need to have surgery (he said).  He also said the GP didn’t want to know, so he came back home to call his dad to take him to the A & E, but couldn’t get a hold of him, so guess what?  His girlfriend, Frances, came to take him in.  How nice!  Now she knows what our sweet little house looks like, if she hasn’t been here before!  She must have been working (at the same hospital he works and where he went to A & E) because he got his dad to bring him home.

I am so depressed about this.  He’s on annual leave for another week and then I’m sure he won’t be able to go back to work for a while, and he’s supposed to be house hunting too – he was supposed to go look for a place today, and I’m sure that didn’t happen.  I just don’t want to see him…

Over the last month I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about this post.  Thinking about how to share this story, this experience, this accident and what it all means to me.  After a month I still don’t quite know how to convey all of those things and sorting out how events impact me is always an ongoing process that I hope writing about will further.

Just so you know the gist of this story: I climbed, I fell, I broke my back… literally.  But I’m okay.

I live a pretty adventurous lifestyle.  Outside of this latest accident and a torn ACL 9 years ago, I’ve managed to get through a dozen years of activities like mountain and road biking, wilderness hiking, downhill skiing, backcountry snowshoeing, rock climbing and simply being a male in his 20’s without much health drama.  While the average American might look at my lifestyle as dangerous or crazy, to me it’s a lifestyle of being alive and one that I’m perfectly comfortable with.

What you are comfortable with is an important thing to always keep in mind.  Knowing when you can push that comfort zone and when you should stay in it.  Comfort and confidence are strongly tied together and we mostly limit our lives to what we’re confident doing because well, it’s comfortable.  But to continue growing as a person we need to expand what we’re comfortable with and increase our confidence in new dimensions.  We all do this by learning new things, meeting new people, starting new relationships and many other ways.  It just happens that one of my dimensions is exploring myself in nature and over the years I’ve become very confident  in this area.

I mention this because I don’t want the lessons I’ve learned to be lost via dismissive thoughts like “he’s crazy” or “he was asking for it”.  The reality is that we’re all crazy, we’re all asking for it and every now and then it catches up with us.  So here’s the latest story of how I was asking for it and how it caught up with me.

“We did it because it’s fun and mainly it was fun… every now and then it went wildly wrong” — Joe Simpson, Touching the Void

The Stage

If you’ve been reading my previous posts, you’ll know all about the events leading up to my fall so this section will be a bit repetitive.  For those that haven’t, I was in Yosemite Valley for a 6 day climbing trip and on a route called Selaginella (5.8).  The entire trip was going fantastically and the climbing couldn’t have been better.  We were making great time, the weather was awesome, both Ben and I had done some great leads and the views were beyond spectacular.  Everything was so fantastic that even the fall that I’m about to describe can’t tarnish those experiences.

I had just finished leading a 200′ rope stretching pitch to one of the coolest rock formations and belay stations I’d ever seen.  From this location it was about 800′ straight down to the valley floor and about 170′ to the top of our climb.  So with Ben taking the next lead I was assuming that once he reached the top I’d just have to follow up behind him and clean the gear along the way, piece of cake.

I couldn’t see Ben’s progress on most of the route so I was judging how things were going by monitoring the amount of rope I was letting out.  Knowing that it was 170′ to the top I was surprised when Ben went off of belay with 60′ of rope left.  I couldn’t hear him at this point so I wondered if I was mistaken about how much climbing we had left or if the beta in the topo was just wrong.  Either way I started climbing up to him.

About 50′ from him he informed me that he hadn’t reached the top and that I’d understand why when I got there.  I was curious what was going on but Ben didn’t sound remotely worried so I wasn’t either.  He had stopped on this 20′ long ledge that was about 18″ wide and about 30′ from the top.  He didn’t finish it off because the climbing below was pretty strenuous and he wasn’t sure if we were still on route or not.  That was cool with me.

The Fall

So we looked at our options, we had two of them.  Over to the left was a large flake that was totally separated from the wall and looked like you could just push it over.  In front of us was a face section with some very thin and detached flake and what appeared to be a small crack.  The face looked quite featured and I thought I’d be able to get a piece of protection in 10′ off of the belay.

So I used these very thin flakes as foot holds while walking my hands up this seam in the rock that I thought turned into more of a crack.  These flakes were about 1/8th of an inch thick and I could feel them moving a bit when I stepped on them.  Needless to say I wasn’t looking to hang out on them for too long.  When I got up to where I thought I’d be able to get a small nut in I realized that it wasn’t going to work out as I expected.  This didn’t concern me too much because while the rock was sketchy, the climbing was easy and I wasn’t worried about falling.

Looking up at what I had left to climb I spied a nice pocket in the rock about 4 inches tall and 3/4 of an inch wide making it big enough to fit a solid cam into.  I became a bit fixated on this pocket and when I reached it I discovered that I had run out of solid footholds on my right side.  So instead of resting on the rock my foot was mostly holding on with friction.  My left foot was on the sloping section of this seam in the rocks so it didn’t have a great amount of purchase either.  I had a solid right hand in the pocket that I noticed below and a good left hand on the seam.

In order to place the cam into the pocket I had to remove my right hand from it, select an appropriate sized cam from the rack of gear, place it into the rock and clip my rope into it.  The first cam I selected turned out to be a bit too small and the lobes on the cam were tipped out.  What this means is that the cam was fully extended in the rock and it’s holding power would be drastically reduced.  So I removed the cam to replace it with a larger one.

At this point I found myself starting to get nervous.  My right foot started to Elvis (shake uncontrollably) which isn’t a good thing when it’s gripping the rock with friction.  I managed to get myself to calm down and my foot stopped shaking.  So I went back to looking for the right size cam and was having real trouble finding one that I liked.  The nerves kicked up again and this time the shaking in my foot caused it to slip.  Because my left foot was on an even worse hold and I only had one hand gripping the rock, I couldn’t hold on and fell.

At the time that I fell I was about 20′ above the belay and about 5′ from the top of this climb without a single piece of protection between me and Ben.  This is called a factor 2 fall and it is the worst type of fall that a climber can take.  When you fall on lead you fall twice as far as you are above your last piece of protection plus a bit for rope stretch.  When your last piece of protection is the belay itself, that means you’re going to fall twice as far as you have climbed plus some rope stretch.  For me this translated into what we are estimating as a 50′ fall.

At 190 lbs, I’m not the lightest climber and after 50′ of gravity doing it’s thing it takes a good amount of force to stop such a moving mass.  When the rope started to come tight Ben initially couldn’t stop the fall and the rope started running through his right hand.  Being an extremely good belayer he quickly found where the rope was leaving the ledge and stepped on it.  Outside of being a fantastic person, this is reason I climb with Ben.  Without his quick thinking my fall could have been 220′, I can’t thank and praise him enough.

The Aftermath

The rock I was climbing wasn’t quite vertical, it was sloping just a little bit.  So when I fell I slid down the first 20′ which wouldn’t have been bad except for that 18″ ledge.  When I hit that Ben said that I just crumbled onto it and then off of it, this is what caused most of my injuries.  This sent me tumbling down the remaining 30′ of my fall.  When the rope came tight I found myself upside down and a bit disoriented, kind of like the scrambler amusement park ride if it were to end with you inverted and hanging by your waist.

Ben shouted down, “are you okay?!”  I replied very quickly with “yeah, I’m fine”.  He didn’t believe me and proclaimed that he saw my fall and that there is no way I could be fine after something like that.  I felt pretty beat up but I didn’t feel broken and quickly swung over to the route we had climbed up and told Ben that I was going to start climbing up to him.  He shouted down for me to hold on because he was “dealing with some pretty bad rope burn”.  My heart sunk and I felt incredibly guilty about the injuries I caused him.

But in no time he told me that I could start climbing up to him and while doing so I noticed that my left heel was hurting a bit as well as my right knee and my lower back.  But I honestly didn’t think too much about it at the time.  I made my way back to Ben pretty quickly and got myself secure into the anchor that was now proven to be very bomber.

We hung out there for at least a half an hour.  In that time my injuries were starting to become quite noticeable and I was growing anxious for a plan of what we were going to do.  Our options were to rappel down the route leaving behind an enormous amount of gear and probably taking a least a couple hours to do so, have one of us try once again to finish the climb or wait for a party far below us to catch up and have them help us out.

With how slow the party below us was moving it would be at least a couple hours until we got to the top if we waited for them.  Rappelling the route was not only unappealing for the massive amount of gear we would leave behind, it was also pretty dangerous.  So we decided to get the guide book out and see what it suggested for our route.

Turns out we were suppose to go up the large flake over to our left.  After thinking and talking it through, Ben said that he’d be willing to lead it and I could follow up behind him.  Even with very severe burns he managed to climb up the flake and finish the route without any troubles.  The adrenaline was starting to leave my body by the time I started climbing so it proved to be pretty painful.  But even in my state I managed to finish it off without weighting the rope.

The Descent

At the top Ben asked if I wanted to take a moment to at least enjoy the view, I said “nope”.  The pain in my knee was excruciating and while I was happy to be at the top and next to a very popular hiking trail, I was pretty worried about the mile of hiking and the 1000′ of descending that was now in front of me.  I couldn’t put any weight on the heel of my left foot and the pain in my right knee kept me from stepping down with that leg so the many sand covered steps of the trail were bound to make things interesting.

So I set myself little goals.  I’d focus on getting to a landmark that I knew of or to a specified elevation.  Along the way we ran into a couple of hikers that warned us that there was a bear just off of the trail in front of us.  I thought about how ironic it would be to survive the fall but be eaten by a bear.  So we approached the area slowly and made a bunch of racket.  We noticed the bear above us and it seemed pretty content to mind its own business so we continued on our way chatting with the couple that warned us of the situation.

They, like almost everyone else that a climber runs into, was very curious about how we climb such things.  I left the explanations and demonstrations of how the gear worked to Ben.  While I was very worried that I had torn a ligament in my knee, I was very pleased with my ability to keep up with two hikers who were injury free.  Plus the conversation helped keep my mind off of things and we were back at camp in no time.

At camp we got out the first aid kit.  Ben cleaned up his burns and threw on some tape while I put an ace bandage on my knee with some ice.  After hanging out a bit and sharing what happened with Dustin and Katie we walked back to the trailhead to pick up my car and went to the grocery store for some food.  When we got back to camp I was still very sore but feeling surprisingly well.  Well enough to make us some breakfast burritos for dinner and then hang out by the fire for a couple hours before heading to bed.

I was tempted to visit the medical staff in Yosemite but figured if the swelling in my knee and heel didn’t get any worse I could wait until I got back to the Bay Area.  The next morning I woke up very stiff but was mobile.  We packed up the car and started the drive home.  Along the way we chatted about what had happened and bigger picture stuff around our climbing futures.

The Hospital

When I got home I didn’t want the doctors to be repulsed by my smell so I took a shower and headed to Stanford Hospital.  I tried to get an appointment with a sports medicine doctor but none were available so I headed over to the ER.  They admitted me and by 3pm I was in a room getting checked out and having some X-rays taken of my heel, knee and back.  Around 5pm they decided that they wanted more info about my heel so they ordered a CT scan of it, fine by me.  Around 7:30 they said that they couldn’t see anything wrong with my heel and started to discharge me.

Cross section of my L2 vertebrae

Just before signing my discharge papers the doctor came in and put an end to the fun.  He said that a more senior radiologist looked at the X-ray of my back and spotted a compression fracture in my L2 vertebrae.  My response: “you’re shitting me”.  Just like that I went from being a beat up guy to the most interesting person in the hospital and while everyone loves some attention, you don’t want it from doctors.

So I asked what this meant.  They said that they needed to get a CT scan of my spine to determine if it was a stable or an unstable fracture.  If it was unstable I’d have to go in for surgery and get my vertebrae fused and if it was stable they’d put me in a back brace for a month and I’d be on my way.  What a contrast that is, I could be fine in a month or my entire outdoor life could be over.  I started freaking out a bit.

So I called Ben and told him what was going on and asked if he could keep me company, he said that he’d be on his way.  After getting of the phone I went in for my CT scan and was very nervous about it.  I was so nervous that my entire body was shaking and all of the techniques I knew to calm myself weren’t doing the trick.  This continued for another 20 minutes until Ben showed up.

Not only was it nice to have Ben around to keep me laughing and distracted, he was a better witness to what happened to me than I was and could tell a side of the story that I couldn’t.  It also gave me a chance to hear about his struggle to find an burn specialist for his hand that his insurance company approved of.  After a series of “recommended” doctors that no longer existed, he thankfully managed to find one that was truly interested in taking care of him and he needed it.  With bandages covering the severe third degree burns on his palm and finger tips, it was pretty obvious to the staff that he was there to see me.

At about 9pm and the parade of doctors was just about to begin.  Seems like everyone that was on staff that night came to check me out and hear my story.  Each one of them performing their favorite barrage of neurological tests on my body, one of them even wanted to check the “tone” of my rectum, fun for everyone.  I kept hoping that one of them would be as attractive as Elliot Reid from Scrubs, but alas that was not the case.  As a reward for going through all of this they ordered me a dinner but the kitchen was closed so instead they got me a few packages of graham crackers.

The hours past and I got no conclusive information from the doctors.  They seemed to be debating about how bad my fracture was and nobody wanted to make a call so they kept bringing in people with more experience hoping to clarify the situation.  It seemed like some doctors just stopped by because they wanted to hear the story in person, one guy was even a rock climber.  But at 4am they seemed to acknowledge the fact that a decision was not going to be made and they’d have to wait for their senior spinal guy to show up in the morning.

Not wanting to admit me into the hospital and not being able to send me home they decided to stick me over in a corner of the hospital where I could spend the night.  I affectionately referred to this area as purgatory.  I don’t care what the religious folks say, purgatory was really pretty nice, they had food, comfortable beds and some pain meds which allowed me to get to sleep.  They even offered to let Ben stay in a room next door if he wanted!  While a gracious offer, home has a pretty strong pull over a hospital, especially after 8 hours and there was really no point in sticking around.  I was out shortly after Ben left.

In the morning the spinal guy checked me out and kind of laughed at me still being there, that made me feel good.  It was clear to him that my fracture was stable and they threw me in a brace and shoved me out the door.  I was to wear this brace for the next month or so and even though it was pretty annoying I was just thrilled to not need any surgery.

The Lessons

Like almost every other accident, there isn’t just one thing that went wrong in this one.  Nothing in life is black or white, safe or unsafe and this is why textbook rules are impossible to apply to all situations.

Some climbers my criticize me for not following the best practices and getting some protection in sooner but anyone who has done a good amount of living knows that things don’t always work out that nicely and trad climbing is no different.  I could have possibly clipped the rope to one of the pieces of the anchor but even that practice seems to be subjective and would not have changed my personal outcome in this case.

I could have and should have taken a look at the topo before setting off on this lead.  It would have been obvious that the face was not the way to go and would have likely avoided the whole accident.  I think about this one a lot and it frustrates me that I had this information and did not use it.

I could list off a number of other things that would have made a difference and kept us safer.  But I feel like doing so would be like telling someone that 2×2 is 4 instead of telling them why 2×2 is 4.  You could spend your life learning lessons about specific climbing situations and never know how to climb safely.  So instead I did a little 5 whys exercise to see if I could find a deeper lesson.

What I came up with is the feeling like this accident was brewing for a while.  So even if I had avoided the accident in this specific case, the risk of a similar accident would not have been removed.  I’m not saying that I got injured because it was fate and I’m not saying that I deserved this because of the activity I was doing.  What I’m saying is that the way I was escalating my climbing made a preventable accident inevitable.

In less than one year I’ve gone from no climbing experience to leading routes that 60 years ago were considered to be almost at the limits of human ability.  I spent a lot of time measuring my success and gauging when to move up in difficulty based off of being able to complete a climb at some level.  That’s a totally reasonable and safe approach to take in a climbing gym where things are predictable and you don’t need much margin for error.  Trad climbing has a different set of requirements.

So instead of some blanket rules that every climber has heard, what I have come up with is the more abstract realization that I should have been paying more attention to what was fueling my confidence.  I was comfortable leading a section that I shouldn’t have been because I had confidence in my abilities to do it.  But that confidence was founded more on ego than reality and when things didn’t go just right it caught up with me.

If you’ve done something long enough that it becomes second nature, that’s a solid thing to be confident about, that’s what I’m calling reality driven confidence.  Talking yourself up and increasing your ego driven confidence is fine, that’s a good way to push the envelope, but you should recognize when you’re doing that and avoid doing it when you’re betting a lot.

I continue to find that rock climbing closely parallels life and I think that’s why I love it so much.  You have confidence you climb, you loose confidence or find that the confidence was misplaced and you fall.  I don’t care if it’s rock climbing, building a relationship, running a company, the stock market, the housing market or anything else that involves humans, the same rule seems to apply.  The more reality based confidence in the system, the safer the climbing.

Have You Seen Smallville: Season 7 Episode 12 – Fracture?

Episode Synopsis:

Clark is convinced that he can find his cousin’s whereabouts if he can get into Lex’s mind, who’s just been shot by the man holding Kara and Lois prisoner.

So what do you think of this episode?

If you missed it, you can watch it here.

arch support sleeves from Eckerd

I just learned recently out this ironic fact:  a doctor diagnosed me with extreme flat footedness when I was about 3 or 4 years old, and suggested surgery to my parents. My parents declined, probably figuring their daughter would never aspire to succeed in any sport.

Two decades later, I’m feeling the pain of that decision. The doctor wasn’t conclusive about what’s been causing the pain – so the injury could be any number of things such as a metatarsal fracture, plantar fasciitis, or just simply metatarsal overuse.

For the last three and a half weeks, I’ve been icing my feet almost every day (I’ve missed 3 or 4 days). I’ve also been wearing a pair of arch-hugging sleeves I bought from Eckerd 24/7 (except when icing and sleeping). I’ve also stopped taking the stairs whenever possible, even to go up one floor at work. I try to avoid any extra pressure to my toes.

Here are the symptoms that I should have paid more attention to. They’ve been occurring for years, not just the last few months:

• Wear running shoes (or any shoes that have a little room inside) is painful. Feet feel “loose” and there is a constant “prickling” sensation of pain.
• Walking at any speed faster than a leisurely pace – such as speedwalking – gets painful after about half a mile! (Good that I don’t want to be a distance runner.)
• Walking barefoot can be painful. Toes to mid-portion of feet feel very fragile.

I just purchased shock-absorbing Pegasus vaulting/tumbling shoes that will hopefully diminish the pain in the gym. Till then…ICE ICE ICE!!!!
Any athletes out there suffer from flat feet? How do you lessen the pain?

Freeze water in a bottle...

...and roll your foot over for at least 20 minutes per day.

Throughout history, men and women alike have dreamed of technological advances such as advanced robotics, did they perceive that said technological advancement would subsequently result in near-constant isolation of the human race? Apparently not. The year is 2017 when a company known as VSI create ‘Surrogates‘, robotic shells in which the user can place their own personality, thoughts and to some extent their soul, into it’s well known invulnerable shell, protecting the user from harm and letting them experience anything they desire all from the safety of the users own home.

With the creation of the Surrogates, crime rates have fallen to almost nothing, until FBI agent Tom Greer (Bruce Willis) catches wind of the first murder to happen within years. Greer finds that everything isn’t what it seems within this futuristic, perfect utopia and in turn, questions what exactly defines a human. Now, that is something that really should be taken into account here, there have been countless films in the past which focus on the creation of somewhat autonomous sentient beings (even if that may be debatable here), such as in; I Robot, Terminators and Transformers, but Surrogates brings forward something unique to the table. Whilst at first, the film may not seem so dark and sinister, if you read in to the concept, it’s really quite disturbing, essentially exploring philosophical questions such as ‘What defines humanity?.’

The futuristic comic book adaptation features Bruce Willis (Die Hard Trilogy, Sixth Sense, The Fifth Element), Radha Mitchell (Pitch Black, Phone Booth, Silent Hill, also the upcoming ‘The Crazies’), Rosamund Pike (Pride & Prejudiced, Die Another Day, Fracture), Boris Kodjoe (Brown Sugar, The Gospel, Starship Troopers 3) , James Cromwell (Babe, L.A Confidential, The Green Mile) and Ving Rhames (Pulp Fiction, Mission Impossible II, Dawn Of The Dead). Willis is renowned for his die hard attitude which appears in most of his films, and he does an exceptional job throughout Surrogates of preserving that, whilst some people may see as a flaw, I on the other hand, think it’s an attribute that should be carried with him. Alternatively, Mitchell’s performance, whilst definitely professional, seemed rather benumbed at best, but this may be due to the fact her character doesn’t really get a chance to make a big impact throughout Surrogates. I would however like to applaud Cromwell on his rather impressive representation of Dr. Lionel Canter which, teamed with Willis, kept the film going for me. An intricate film which subsequently makes you think, and definitely doubt, you’ll love it if you are sci-fi/comic book fans, otherwise it might not be the film for you.

]]> http://weakinteractions.wordpress.com/2009/11/04/the-non-science-of-fringe-fracture/ Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:01:11 +0000 John http://weakinteractions.wordpress.com/2009/11/04/the-non-science-of-fringe-fracture/

Fringe: Season 2: Episode 3: “Fracture”

Walter and Peter contemplate the case.

The Shadowy Organisation^TM just won’t quit with the weaponised people – it’s radio-triggered crystal bombs this week. The usual impossibilities aside, this episode was refreshingly easy to watch.

This episode is debunked at Popular Mechanics and Polite Dissent, and you can read more about it at Fox, IMDb and the A.V. Club.

Random thoughts

The first scene in Walter’s laboratory, about five minutes in, was one of my favourite introductions to Fringe Division. Walter is heating a test tube over an open flame, which is quite unusual (due to the flammable chemicals that are generally found in a lab), and then proceeds to pour the contents into a Büchner funnel. It’s obvious from the speed at which the liquid runs through that there’s no filter paper in it, which renders it largely useless – until we see that Walter is actually making a cup of coffee.

Although Walter is only speculating, silica (SiO₂, probably quartz in this case) doesn’t taste salty and it’s a little presumptuous to proclaim something “as hard as diamond” after merely tapping it with a pair of tweezers.

Apparently, the chemical reaction that crystallised our human bomb “solidifies the water in the cells” – or, put another way, freezes them. Some other effect must also be at work, because otherwise the ice would just have melted (this may have made for a less-traceable weapon, though).

Cyanogen chloride

Cyanogen chloride is certainly dangerous enough to be a chemical weapon, but it’s not a neurotoxin. It prevents oxygen exchange between blood and cells, resulting in rapid cell suffocation and death from respiratory failure.

As everyone else in the blogosphere has pointed out, 331.6 MHz is not considered part of the VHF spectrum.

Cordis and FDA notified healthcare professionals of a nationwide recall of all lots of the CROSSOVER Sheath Introducer, a long-coil reinforced,kink-resistant catheter sheath intended for use in arterial and venous procedures requiring the percutaneous introduction of therapeutic or diagnostic intravascular devices or fluids.

The recall was due to stretching or fracture of the sheath during use. In the event of a device fracture, separated segments of the device can embolize downstream in the bloodstream and impede blood flow distal to the point where it lodges, resulting in ischemia or infarct to the distal extremity. Since this device is coil reinforced, any separation of the cannula has the potential to expose portions of the coil creating the potential for vessel dissection or perforation. Unplanned open surgery may be required to remove the retained segments or control bleeding.

CLICK HERE to read the MedWatch safety summary, including a link to the firm press release.

Les saisons s’envolent emportant avec elles les histoires qui les ont fait vivre. Comme l’emblème de ce drapeau boudé par tous, elles tombent sous le poids de l’eau, sous le souffle du vent. Ces feuilles d’érables portent les couleurs de mes passions, jaune, orangé, rouge puis celles deux tons rappelant le fruit qui n’a su atteindre sa maturité. Un restant de vert sur  fond chaud que je noyais de verres le front chaud.

La facilité à me relever après une tempête me surprends encore. Comme si le plus bel âge me donnait la sagesse de la raison. Fuir l’arène, les uppercuts et les débits sanglants…Il me demande d’ouvrir mon intérieur un mois après la fracture, je n’en vois pas l’intérêt. Mettre mes souffrances et mes rêves bafoués au profits de ses satisfactions égoïstes, pendant que son bonheur récent l’aveugle et le rends irrespectueux à force de se regarder la mousse de nombril, non merci, je passe à autre chose. Ma vie n’est pas sienne, sa vie n’est pas mienne. Nous avons partagé, nous avons expérimenté, nous avions que le plaisir en tête, mais voilà qu’un jour nous nous sommes trop attaché. Le plaisir devenait obstacle aux sentiments, nous avions trop bu de l’un et l’autre, et les images de nos limites ainsi repoussées à l’extrême dans cette vie de débauche volontaire émergeaient quotidiennement dans nos esprits. Nous aurions peut-être voulu plus, mais nous avions déjà franchis le mur de non retour. Trop de chair, d’inconscience, d’insouciance…Trop de physiques nous éloignaient de notre confort. Notre complicité charnelle se transformait en tendresse amoureuse, blottis contre lui j’y serais rester jour et nuit. Trop d’images meurtrissaient notre amour, incapable de rajuster le tire, nous nous sommes éteint.

J’ai gardé ma tête hors de l’eau, malgré la douleur, celle de le voir se prendre en main après notre histoire, d’arrêter de faire souffrir ces femmes auxquels il tenait, et partir sur une base solide avec sa nouvelle flamme. Il lui donne ce que je demandais en silence, en me remerciant pour ses apprentissages…Je fût sa maitresse d’école pour son coeur, son lit, et sa nouvelle vie. Les mots que je prononçais au creux de son cou, je me les voulais destinés. J’attendais son réveil patiemment, tout en sachant qu’il ne pourrait continuer à mes côtés,  les derniers mois étant trop lourds à porter. Par amour je me suis tu, par amour je l’ai repoussé et redirigé ailleurs. Il semblait troublé entre deux eaux, je l’ai éclairé en me retirant. ”Pour mon bonheur” qu’il me dit…oui pour son bonheur j’ai piétiné mon coeur…

Parfaite entente entre ma raison et mes sentiments, pour le bien être de tous et le mien, mon sourire en coin, chassant ma détresse au loin, j’ai continué mon chemin…Sans crises, sans larmes, sans explications, j’ai laissé ce chapitre derrière…

Je puise ma force dans mon raisonnement, dans ce qui semblait inévitable selon le parcours emprunté.  Que je rêve d’être celle avec qui il est fidèle maintenant ne serait qu’une torture de plus, inutile.

Le positivisme qui m’habite depuis ce cul de sac relationnel attire vers moi de nouveaux chemins, de nouvelles rencontres, et d’anciennes passions.  Rien de relationnels dans tout ceci, seul le plaisir de partager sorties, randonnées et confidences.

Le plaisir que m’apporte ces amitiés me réconforte et me distrait. Je tais mon vide intérieur pour me permettre d’avancer sans craquer. Je suis seule, un peu par choix.  J’ai cumulé les partenaires durant les trois dernières années…Et certaines relations en valaient probablement la peine. Le refus venait de moi. Parce que ces hommes voulaient s’engager trop rapidement, souvent deux mois à peine après la rencontre initiale. Je suis consciente que plus nous avançons en âge, plus nous osons foncer. La peur de finir notre vie seule semble atteindre les plus coriaces. Mais chacun a ses marques, chacun son bagage.  Que j’ai beau expliquer à ces messieurs l’importance que je porte à prendre mon temps, parce que je ne veux me retrouver enchainée dans une vie qui ne m’appartient pas, le résultats reste le même. Ils prennent ce refus comme un échec, et finissent par quitter.  Comme si le temps jouait contre nous, dans la tête de plusieurs les minutes sont décisives, voir vitales.

Je ne raisonne pas comme l’adolescente qui joue au lit musical, ni au mourant qui accrochera le premier intéressé pour un peu de bon temps en attendant la fin…Je n’ai pas eu un parcours relationnel heureux jusqu’à mes 28 ans, les ruptures mise à part. Trop de violences, trop de manipulations et trop de peurs…Je ne me souviens pas d’une réelle complicité avec l’autre durant cette période, ni même de fous rires sans conséquences.  Je ne veux pas non plus jouer la victime dans ma vie. Mais mon parcours m’a laissé un gout amer face au couple. Je ne crois pas qu’un nouvel amour donne l’heure juste sur la relation.  Les premiers mois sont toujours plus beaux, le coeur léger, aveuglé par l’engouement d’un renouveau et la curiosité insatiable d’une vie parallèle encore inconnue. De prendre une décision de cohabitation à long terme durant les premiers mois me mets sur les freins.  Je ne me sens pas apte à prendre telle décision sur un coup de passion.  Mettre fin à une relation inadéquate lorsque les deux parties ont encore leur logis respectifs, simplifie cette étape plutôt douloureuse.  D’où l’importance de me garder cette stabilité le plus longtemps possible avant de chambouler ma vie entière.

De me regarder ainsi cheminer me fait du bien, m’indique que je vais bien. J’ai laissé de côté mes désirs égoïstes de relations fonctionnelles, pour laisser place à la liberté de choix individuelle de mes partenaires.  J’ai cette faculté de regarder le tout à distance, d’analyser l’ensemble de l’histoire, son contenu, et d’accepter l’itinéraire souvent fatal de cette épopée…

Je suis toujours cette amoureuse finie, qui garde en tête ce rêve de partage, de complicité et de famille. J’essaie peut-être, surement, de protéger mon coeur (encore) des blessures trop pesantes que je ne saurais remonter…

Got the report, and as I had expected….I ahve a stress fracture. Bummer….I have a boot and no running for 6 weeks. THIS SUCKS!

foot. I am finally seeing a podiatrist tomorrow for my nagging foot pain that has been with me since running the Chicago marathon. In reading symptoms on the internet, it sounds a lot like a stress fracture. It feels fine during the day just walking and so forth, but running starts it hurting. It also hurts first thing when I wake up. If I touch the source of the pain, it is VERY sore. Strange as it sounds, a stress fracture would actually be a better alternative to a tendon issue or ligament issue. Those take a lot longer to heal. Oh well, I will report back tomorrow. In the meantime (until I hear otherwise), I will still be running as much as I can. So far this week I have only managed 6 miles. Actually the first run was pain free until the end, then it really hurt. More tomorrow.

neil.burman@gmail.com Cape Town.

This column regularly  reviews and refers  to  the contentious issue of Regulators and Big Pharma suppression and disparagement of natural micronutrient supplements - The Vitamin Wars in which Jack Drummond and Linus Pauling were so embroiled by persecution and assassination-  so as to promote sales of designer drugs and focus on treatment not primary prevention, on the obviously sound shortterm  economic principle that prevention does not pay, Only Disease Pays.

Recent key papers perhaps expose the falseness of the vitamin  conspiracy, the condemnation if not regulatory suppression of free choice  supplements in favour of risky designer drugs like antimicrobials on the FDA’s  (ie the New Drug Industry’s)  efforts to protect the Disease Industry with the self-serving but poor argument  that experience and observational and evolutionary evidence are not good enough, only randomized controlled trial evidence will do.

This despite the major studies that vitamin D in optimal  dose, like vitamin C, in  fact in optimal multinutrient combination, offers better protection – prevention and treatment- than any designer drugs against all diseases, from acute and chronic infections eg  flu, HIV and other  STDs,   and tuberculosis and other bacterial (and parasitemia) infections, to autoimmune, lipid- hypertensive-vascular disease, depression and cancer, prevention of frailty and fractures, even sexual-reproductive health, dementia and multiple sclerosis – as Dr John Cannell of the Vitamin D Council repeatedly details.

Earlier this year a  research centre in San Francisco estimates benefit of increased vitamin D status in reducing the economic burden of disease in western Europe. The reduction in direct plus indirect economic burden of disease was based on increasing the mean serum 25(OH)D level to 100nmol/L, which could be achieved by a daily intake of 2000-3000 IU of vitamin D.  For 2007, the reduction is estimated at euro187,000 million/year. The estimated cost of 2000-3000 IU of vitamin D3/day along with ancillary costs such as education and testing might be about euro10,000 million/year. Sources of vitamin D could include a combination of food fortification, supplements, and natural and artificial UVB irradiation, if properly acquired. Steps to increase serum 25(OH)D levels can be implemented now based on what is already known.

A University Toronto study last month on    How to optimize vitamin D supplementation to prevent cancer, based on cellular adaptation and hydroxylase enzymology by Prof Robert Vieth Univ Toronto, Canada  analyzes the question of “what makes an ‘optimal’ vitamin D intake” ie  ‘what serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] do we need to stay above to minimize risk of disease?’. This simplistic question ignores the evidence that fluctuating concentrations of 25(OH)D may in themselves be a problem, even if concentrations do exceed a minimum desirable level. It explains why higher 25(OH)D concentrations are not good if they fluctuate, and that desirable 25(OH)D concentrations are ones that are both high and stable.”

A new study last week from Finland probes the benefits of vitamin D in institutionalized adults with intellectual disability ID, who may eat poorly and seldom get any sunshine. . Those given 800iu vitamin D daily for 6 months did better than those given simply 150 000iu imi at the start, when all had a mean vit D bloodlevel of 40nmol/L, the oral dose group having a final level of 82 compared to 62 nmol/L in the other group. PTH fell in both groups, but target D3 level of 80 was attained in 42 % orally vs 12%  imi.

and now this week Pietras ea from Boston  detail how Vitamin D₂ Treatment  50 000iu fortnightly for up to 6 years for Vitamin D Deficiency and Insufficiency in Boston increased vitamin D levels from 67  to 117 nmol/L, without change in blood calcium, and no kidney stones- but with persistent vitamin D deficiency in perhaps 10%, for a variety of possible reasons. They agree that oral vitamin D3 is the best preparation. This is retailed in South Africa for as little as  R6 (($0.80)  per 50 000iu. In fact, unless the patient has shortterm absolute contraindication to oral-enteral  supplement, there is no better (ie parenteral)  route  for vitamin D3 if not all supplements than via the stomach.

The short answer is that, from local and international experience with such doses, there is indeed no evidence of harm, only benefit- ie nothing to lose. Prudence dictates query about history of hypercalcemia/ kidney stone problems, and baseline and followup check of at least serum calcium phosphate and creatinine if not also vitamin D  levels, to judge whether dose of 2000iu or 10 000iu/day (or 50 000iu every week or month)  is both enough to produce stable blood level in the range of 125 to 150nmol/L, and safe for the individual.

Paris until 4/2/20101, rue de la Le’gion d’Honneur, 75007 Muse’e d’Orsay Curators  Anna Swinbourne, curator Museum of Modern Art, New York  Laurence Madeline. Curator Muse’e d’Orsay, Paris  This exhibition, the first retrospective to be presented in Paris since 1990, aims to show the interplay of fracture and continuity to be found throughout Ensor’s work.  Continuity comes from the Naturalism and Symbolism that influenced his early work, as well as the tradition of masks, disguise, grotesque and satire, and carnival, a legacy from his childhood in Ostend, a city to which he was deeply attached. Fracture is the dramatisation of the use of colour and light. It is also the invention of a new language where the words intrude unsubtly alongside images, in order to give meaning to ideas, and the invention of a new narrative system teeming with characters and actions. Through his scathing irony, his sense of derision and self-derision, his intense colours and his expressiveness, Ensor, a strange and unclassifiable painter, finds his place amongst the precursors of Expressionism.  Since 2008, the “Orsay Thursdays” have been presenting a new look at the museum. Take a literary stroll, see a theatre, music or dance performance linked with the permanent collections or the temporary exhibitions. After the summer break, the programme resumes in October on the last Thursday of every month, always in the evening!  Under the High Patronage of  Mr. Nicolas Sarkozy, President of the French Republic  His Majesty Albert II, King of Belgium (Death and the Masks)

Les lombalgies

Dr. Julien Lévesque, chiropraticien

Dr. Julien Lévesque, chiropraticien — Ressentez-vous des douleurs au bas du dos lorsque vous restez longtemps debout ou assis? En effet, le mot «lombalgie» signifie douleur au niveau des lombaires (bas du dos). Au cours de l’évolution, lors du passage de l’homme de quatre à deux pattes, une section du corps a demeurée légèrement plus faible pour le travail physique qu’il doit très souvent effectué. En effet, le bas du dos doit supporter tout le poids du haut du corps, les nombreux stress de rotations, le devoir de soulever et de supporter de nombreuses charges (puisque l’on ne plie pas toujours les genoux) et il doit aussi absorber les chocs supérieurs et inférieurs, lors des sauts sur place. C’est pour ces raisons, que le bas du dos est si susceptible de subir des blessures ou qu’il exprime des douleurs en fin de journée.

Plusieurs facteurs peuvent en être la cause;

• • • • Biomécanique (blessure musculaire, ligamentaire, tendineuse, déséquilibre posturale,…) qui représente 90% des cas,
      • Grossesse (libération hormonale, la relaxine),
      • Lésion des disques ou des facettes (hernie, irritation),
      • Douleur référée d’une lombalgie (irradiation dans les racines nerveuses),Douleur référée d’une viscère (reins, rate, intestins, foie),
      • Douleur référée d’un vaisseau sanguin (anévrisme de l’aorte abdominale),
      • Neurogénique (compression des racines nerveuses causant douleur et symptôme neurologique),
      • Psychogénique (stress ou émotion intense),
      • Osseuse (fracture, tumeur, infection, maladie métabolique),
      • Spondylolisthèse (déplacement antérieur ou postérieure d’une vertèbre),
      • Lésion sacro-iliaque (traumatisme, hyperlaxité, inflammation, infection),
      • Hernie discale lombaire,
      • Sténose du canal lombaire (compression de la moelle épinière).

Suite à l’investigation (questions, examen physique, chiropratique, orthopédique et radiologique) un diagnostic sera porté sur votre condition. En fonction de ce diagnostic, divers traitements s’offrent à vous;

• Ajustements chiropratiques,
• Thérapies musculaires,
• Application de glace, repos,
• Exercices d’étirement et de renforcement musculaire,
• Recommandations ergonomiques (travail et repos),
• Référence s’il y a lieu (médical, psychologique,…).

Avantages de consulter un chiropraticien

Avec les soins chiropratiques Network, plus de 95% des lombalgies aigües s’améliorent en 1 à 2 semaines alors que les maux de dos chroniques diminuent en quelques mois. La pensée populaire qu’une petite douleur va disparaître comme elle est venue, mais rare est le cas. Plus on entretient un problème, plus la guérison sera longue. Puisque l’on n’a qu’un seul corps et qu’une seule santé, l’idéal est qu’avant même que l’on se blesse ou que l’on a des douleurs, on consulte un professionnel qualifié (chiropraticien) pour s’assurer que tout fonctionne correctement. Parfois, on a l’impression que c’est pour rien que l’on consulte, mais il faut se rappeler; «Mieux vaut prévenir que guérir». Ainsi grâce à la prévention, on économise notre corps, notre temps et notre argent!

Le Dr. Julien Lévesque, chiropraticien exerce à la Clinique Maintenant, située au 1477 boulevard St-Joseph Est, à Montréal. Pour rendez-vous ou informations, contactez le au 514 910-7644 ou au 514 670-0446. Vous pouvez également lui écrire au : drjulienlevesque@gmail.com ou visiter son site Internet : www.chiroenergie.ca

The Doctor told me last week that I would need to get a diagnostic injection to see if the scar tissues are the one that is preventing me from squatting/extending. I have set up an appt for next week. But still worried as to what that would bring to the plate of worries!

The good thing from all this, the other half got me a Wii and Wii Fit plus to get me going. Have been getting tired of people telling me that I have put on some weight since the fracture as if I didn’t know that already! I am enjoying my Wii even though it tells me that I am 64 in Wii age! Let us see how long it keeps my interest!

A man kills his wife but can’t be brought down without the big factor….the EVIDENCE!!!

When Ted Crawford discovers that his beautiful younger wife, Jennifer, is having an affair, he plans her murder–the perfect murder. Crawford is immediately arrested and arraigned after confessing–a seemingly slam-dunk case for hot shot assistant district attorney Willy Beachum, who has one foot out the door of the District Attorney’s office on his way to a lucrative job in high-stakes corporate law. But nothing is as simple as it seems, including this case.

Now if Anthony Hopkins is going to play a brilliant person behind bars that has delights of playing mind games with highly intelligent lawyers you have to know that this will be compared to Hopkins” greatest Silence Of The Lambs.

The film doesn’t take itself too seriously as it does feature some tense reducing laughs. Director Greg Hoblitt and the screen writers keep us guessing. We know that Ted shot his wife but we can’t figure what ever happen to the murder weapon.

One thing about this film that really had me attracted was its two leads, and too say I wasn’t dissapointed. Gosling and Hopkins both go at each other which could have easily turned into annoyance but doesn’t as the film showed off as a sort of clash of the titans work. Gosling and Hopkins work off one another and its great to see these two work together, because each both show strong performances. The film also shows that now Ryan Gosling is not just an indie lead and can actually play with the big boys.

There were some obvious faults with this film. The story seemed to unbelievable how a smart lawyer like Gosling would be so dumb and forget about the most important factor in the case. Though the scenes with Gosling and Hopkins were great the problem was that there weren’t many more and could’ve totally added a lot more tension that the film could’ve promised. Also, the romance between Gosling and his blonde headed boss seemed like it wasn’t needed and I think its just takes away a lot of the drama the film relied so heavily on.

The film is well written although it seems to have a implausible plot, but is still overshadowed by the two strong performances by the two strong actors.

8/10=Matinee!!!