Monday, March 31, 2014

Resource of the Day: What provides better support for ankle sprains?

In almost every sport, athletes experience side to side movement like in tennis, basketball, soccer, football, etc. To prevent this, the earliest methods of supporting ankles was through taping them very tightly so that it would restrict movement in the ankles. Now we actually have reusable tie on braces that are said to have better support than tape. From experience, I've always like tape better just because its easier to put my cleats on with and its more comfortable but the tape does loosen as the game goes on. Braces are a bit bulkier but they sure do provide a lot of support and they are always adjustable. Some people argue over what is better but studies have show the brace to be superior over tape.
http://www.oaph.com/patient-center/where-it-hurts/ankle-taping-or-ankle-braces-%e2%80%93-which-more-effective-prevention-injurie

Raising Digital Awareness

So I've been using this open source learning now for almost two years and now we are finally seeing something more valuable to it than before. I understand that it was an online binder for the world to see but I didn't feel like anyone really payed attention to my work. Then we started doing these "resources and I didn't really see the value because I felt as if they were just me telling people hey come check out what this guy said. Todays talk was probably the first time this resource stuff actually made sense because now I see that it's not just another assignment or hey look what I know, it's to find people like you with the same ideas that want to work together. So this blog is important for reaching out to those people that are interested in what I want to do. Have I been putting enough resources? No, I don't post them regularly but I see that it is how I'm going to get traffic into what I want to do. These tools like social media are made readily available for everyone and whats the limit to it? We should use these tools to be more productive with what we do but also not rely on them so much as the only means of getting out there. Being on a computer to reach out is good and all but it's always nice to know that person who has the same ideas for real.

Monday, March 24, 2014

My expert

In every athletic trainers room and sports rehab clinics across the country, you will see one piece of technology in common. The stimulus machine is used by athletic trainers and therapist all over to relieve pain in designated areas by this machine which puts an electrical current into the muscles of wherever it's attached. This method of treatment has been around for ages but the man credited with the modern invention of this device is Dr. C Norman Shealy.

Masterpiece test

So I'm on a path of exploring engineering medical equipment for athletes. When I think test, I think common memorization on a multiple choice test. Well that doesn't show much cause what if you guess on like half of your questions and get most of them right? I think a test would be understanding the different equipment out there right now and having a verbal explaination what each item is for. Then use what that equipment is made for in the best senario to show that you know when and where is the time to use it.

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Resource of the day: Physical Therapy

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3362981/

So at the moment I'm dealing with a hamstring pull that is looking to keep me out of track for the next month. I started looking into different ways I could rehabilitate it so I can hopefully make a speedy recovery without losing much in my legs. This was a good source I found explaining what causes this injury and exercises you can do to recover from the injury.

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Status on My Blog

So I know my research hasn't been posted and its not that I haven't done it, it's just that I don't record it to my blog. So I have so catch up to do with that but rest assure, my research will begin to be posted on my blog.

Entrepreneur

a) I would say that my questions are meant for an Entrepreneur. I tried not to ask basic questions but more about what choices they made in life or effects of others that inspired them to chase a dream. Because to me, it's not important where they're at now but what events in there life before then helped them to reach their goal.
b) I wouldn't consider myself an entrepreneur because to me, it still means someone who tries to do something completely new. Then again I want to better the technologies used in the athletic world so maybe that's something but I don't feel like I don't have what most entrepreneurs do.
c) I feel in schooling, no one even mentions entrepreneurship so most kids come into the world without a true drive to chase their passion. Then after highschool we see how entrepreneurs are glorified in society and we wonder what they did to get there when all it took was motivation, hard work, and the risk.

10 Questions

1) What did you do when you were younger that sparked your interest?
2) How did you begin your research?
3) In what ways did you reach out to build your network?
4) What was your drive to pursue your passion?
5) Did college help you develop your passion?
6) How did you ask for help when you needed it?
7) Did you have to overcome others who said you wouldn't succeed?
8) Who were your main supporters?
9) Was there more motivation when some said you couldn't do something or when the said you could?
10) How can I reach my potential?

Sunday, March 9, 2014

Super 5

1)   Alan Turning- He is important to my field of engineering because he is the developer of binary architecture in computers (the things you see in computers that go like this 001011000010010)
this important because electrical engineering braches off into different other types of engineering. One of the most important branches being computer engineering.
2)   Nikola Tesla- said to be the greatest electrical engineer of all time for his inventions. ( fluorescent lighting, the Tesla coil, the induction motor, and 3-phase electricity)
3)   Alexander Bell- Invented the practical telephone which revolutionized communication between Americans and the rest of the world.
4)   Tim Berners Lee- the inventor of the world wide web
5)   Steve Jobs- revolutionized personal and portable computer technology.

Benchmarking

     After review of my blog from this semester, I have some catching up I need to do. My project needs some more updating because I don't have all the posts involving my topic. In the eyes of my viewers, my blog is what most would call your "typical" high school students work. My posts lately have gotten lazy and I really need to pick it up. This shouldn't be a problem however because for the most part, I have most of the work done but not up on my blog. I've had a few personal problems outside school that has effected my posting frequency and I know shouldn't be used as an excuse but I am now working on getting back into the daily routine. I have been working on researching two fields at the moment and still am having trouble trying to determine which one is more appealing to me.
      In class recently, it has come to my attention that maybe instead of trying to pick one, I should try to find a way to implement the two together. Somebody in class during discussion actually presented a good idea which will help me to get going in that direction. The idea of engineering products like prosthetic legs and braces of different sorts have been a common link between physical therapy and engineering that I was looking for. So recently, I have no been in the process of researching the technologies that go into making support for the human body and how they actually work. It is quiet interesting to me considering that I have spent plenty of time in different splints and braces through out my years of sports. These supports are vital to active people because with sprained ankle, knee supporters, etc, have provided protection to athletes with injuries that would normally be able to restrict them. My personal experiences using such devices have shown me that these are a major part of sports and I see first hand how they benefit the user.
     I have also been doing one on one research with the fields. After my research with physical therapy, I can see myself going that route. It will keep me in a job where I'm still around something that has been a huge part of my life. Going from athlete to physical therapist I feel would be a great transition because I will better understand the physical and emotional state of each person. It's surprising that the field actually must deal with the emotional states of the people they are rehabilitating can be quiet drastic. Telling someone they are out for the season can cause a lot of stress on that person and more than likely, your going to catch a reaction that may not be pleasant, but being a former athlete who has heard those words before, can relate to that person and help to calm them down and do everything in my power to put them back in action as soon as possible.
     I've looked into engineering very much as well and long than I have for physical therapy. It has been a hobby for me all my life so it was natural for me to go this route. I've come to learn through my research that there's much more to engineering than just building things. It is also understanding how and why these things work and what they are best used for. I've never had any kind of training or education of any type involving engineering so my plan is to try it out once I'm in college. I'm not to sure who I reach out to for this field or who is the best at what they do because I've never really looked into who is the best at their field of engineering.
     As of now, I'm not to sure how I actually turn this research into a presentable project and that's where I've been stuck. I've asked for help but it really doesn't make sense what I'm making out of all this other than finding what career I really want to look at.