I never imagined that a squirrel would provide some valuable life lessons. That’s certainly what I thought - until one fateful day not that long ago.

Wilber was his name. Wilber the squirrel. In all reality, he probably wasn’t called Wilber in the animal kingdom. I am sure he was nameless in the squirrel world, until he received the moniker from me.

Wilber and I would have not had any reason to meet. Wilber’s world hadn’t crossed mine - until he fell out of a tree. I am sure it’s not that rare for a squirrel to fall out of a tree, land on it’s feet, and scurry off to new adventures. But as I soon found out, he was a baby squirrel, and I don’t think he’d fully understood the concept of how to jump and fall safely. I found him in the yard, obviously scared and unable to move his hind legs. He was barely the size of my palm.

It was a Sunday morning, and a quick online search revealed a contact email for Wildlife Rescue. Email sent. Waiting. Waiting. More waiting.

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In a previous post, I described the basic principles underlying Recovery-Centered Training (RCT). This new model of human performance is based on the mechanisms of tissue recovery, adaptation, and development. Not only does it focus on optimizing the sport performance capacity of the athlete, but it also serves as a functional basis for injury prevention-based training. A schematic overview can be found below.

One of the primary functional elements of Recovery-Centered Training is the mechanical network. This includes all of the tissues and the neuro-musculo-skeletal and cardiovascular systems. In many ways, the cardiovascular system is simply another component of the neuro-musculo-skeletal system. The heart is, in fact, a very specialized muscle that adapts to training stimuli much like other skeletal muscles do. These systems (and the tissues that create these systems) are responsible for the mechanical function of the human body.

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It’s been three long weeks since the last time I posted anything about the beloved Longhorns. They had a rather challenging road trip – first to Missouri, and then off to Oklahoma State for what was supposed to be the biggest remaining hurdle in the Longhorns’ schedule. So what happened? It was pretty simple - great defense, consistently inconsistent offensive play calling (Greg Davis at his “finest”), a non-existent running game, and a jump back up to number 2 in the BCS. Two solid victories, though it can be debated how convincing they really were. But at the end of it all they now own the state of Oklahoma for 2009, having beaten both Oh-Who? and OhEss-Who?. Today saw the Horns take on Central Florida. It is a strange oddity to have a non-conference game in November. Although it was a 35 – 3 Longhorns victory, always a good thing in the Longhorn Nation, it left a very bitter taste in my mouth.

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In a previous post, I discussed the use of the term “voodoo” by Dr. James Irrgang in a NY Times article on physical therapy last year. As I mentioned, the reason why this article suddenly became relevant was the sad realization that not much has changed in the profession in the 18 months that followed the article’s publication.

Frankly, I applaud Dr. Irrgang in presenting the NY Times with the current clinical reality of physical therapy. But there was a significant backlash by many physical therapists, including Irrgang’s peers in the American Physical Therapy Association, for his use of the word “voodoo”.

My biggest concern is that if there was a problem with the use of the term, then there is an even bigger issue with the middle-of-the-road response from my peers and my professional association.

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