The world of orthopedics has grown significantly over the past three decades. There has been a huge growth in technology, and this has had a huge impact on surgical and diagnostic procedures.

But how much impact has this had on true patient-focused care? The majority of patients in the orthopedic realm are non-surgical and require effective, conservative care. Just take a look at those with back pain as a prime example of the challenges facing orthopedic clinical practice these days. More and more clinical guidelines are indicating support for fewer and fewer assessment methods and treatment interventions. Costs continue to rise. Patients are unable to access their provider of choice given the antiquated gatekeeper model. The health care system as we know it is failing the patient, in terms of access to care, fiscal responsibility and outcome. Such is the world of back pain – as but one orthopedic example.

Mechanical Diagnosis And Therapy, or MDT, will redefine how orthopedics is practiced – by providing a framework for problem solving, diagnosis, and patient-focused care.

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Sanity sure does seem to be a relative term these days. More often than not, truth has become far stranger (and perhaps crazier) than fiction itself. With this in mind, this Rumination delves into some of the more insane things that have been on the newsroom highlight reels over the past few weeks. It never ceases to amaze me what has become acceptable in our world these days – the times, they are a changin’!

#1: Insane football factoid: Did you know that since Urban Meyer became the head football coach at the University of Florida in 2005, there have been 30 arrests of football team players? The most recent was receiver Chris Rainey this past September. I’ve been known to complain about the occasional early season arrest of a Longhorn in Austin, be we don’t even hold a candle to this statistic. There was a time not so long ago when the University of Miami would have garnered the biggest rap sheet. I guess that the University of Florida is just trying to keep the honors in-state.

Of course, illegal behavior as a collegian only seems to have fostered the same in the pro ranks. I would like to think that college coaches would take a greater role in the personal development of their athletes – but that might be expecting a lot of a coach making $4 million a year.

But wait, there’s more craziness in this Rumination …

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There is nothing like a humanitarian effort to put pride in ones’ heart. Helping your fellow man – or woman – is something that I think provides value in our lives.

We see the signs of these efforts in health care on a regular basis now. Just a few days ago, I was witness to some placards on 6th Street, asking people to make donations for health care for a baby in China. Another example is “Floating Doctors” - a medical group that provides free health care for people in remote regions of Haiti, Honduras, and Panama. These are all admirable, socially-conscious efforts.

My question is this: how many of these same people are staunchly opposed to universal health care in their own backyard?

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Much as the trees change color in the fall season, the Texas Longhorns have also changed color – from top 5 BCS contender to not-yet bowl eligible – in the month of Red October.

What a difference a month can make – and it’s still not over. For all intents and purposes, October has been as bad as I’d projected. After the UCLA loss at home, it looked like October had the potential to be abysmal at best. And guess what? When Mack Brown calls it “unacceptable”, well, imagine what the fans think.

It has become readily apparent that the #5 pre-season ranking was a little, how would you say it, over-rated. And there have been a laundry list of problems to contend with in the meantime. I would have thought at the start of the season that Texas would have at least 3 losses this season, most of which would come from the month of October. If you had to decide who Texas would be beaten by in the month of October – Oklahoma (at Dallas), Nebraska (at Lincoln), or Iowa State (at home) – which teams would you have selected?

Oklahoma? Maybe. Nebraska? Especially Nebraska with a chip on it’s shoulder? Sure. But Iowa State? Are you kidding me?

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