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TODAY SHOW
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TODAY SHOW - September 25, 2003 6:48:00 PM
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ttsfl
Posts: 7
Joined: September 10, 2003
From: Sarasota, FL
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I was watching the TODAY show this morning and noticed that the upcoming segment was on exercise and low back pain. I stayed tuned to see who would be dispensing this advice. As the healthcare and fitness industry continues to evolve and change, I feel, as I have seen discussed on this forum in the past, that Physical Therapists need to position themselves as the leaders in this field of wellness and prevention, while continuing to focus on the rehabiliation aspects of injuries as has been done historically. Physical Therapists are musculoskeletal experts. Who better to be dispensing this type of advice? So getting to my point, I was not surprised to see that "Today Show Fitness Expert Kathy Kaehler" was the one starring in this segment. I have seen her on this show in the past and have been less than impressed with her knowledge base and wondered what made her "the expert". Before posting this, I gave her the benefit of the doubt and did a little research into her background. Here is what I found:I cut and pasted a short bio: "Kathy Kaehler, NBC's "Today" show fitness expert, and personal trainer to Michelle Pfeiffer, Drew Barrymore, Cindy Crawford, Alfrie Woodard, Samuel L. Jackson, Penelope Ann Miller, and Claire Forlani, among many others, lives in the real world..
She attended Michigan's Hope College, where she earned B.S. in physical education with an emphasis in exercise science and dance. Kaehler then won an internship at the Coors Wellness Center in Golden, Colorado, and relocated to California in 1987 to become director of the fitness program at Jane Fonda's ranch spa retreat in Santa Barbara."
As a physical therapist and CSCS I feel that we as PT's should be out there in the community educating the public and positioning ourselves as the leaders in this field, not a "celebrity trainer" with a phys ed degree. (Please note as I know people can be easily offended on this site that this is not meant as a derogatory comment toward people with a Phys Ed degree. In my career, I have come across several people with a similar background that could speak intelligently about prevention and treatment of low back pain through strength and conditioning...Kathy Kaehler is just not one of them from what I have seen on the show). In fact, the anchor woman, Ann Curry, chimed in and said she learned so much from her Physical Therapist on this subject. The commet was brushed off by Kaehler but it made me again wonder, why do I rarely see PT's on talk shows, writing segments in Fitness Magazines, or on the news dispensing this type of education and advice that we are uniquely qualified to provide? I would imagine b/c PT's are generally busy seeing 25 patients a day and have time constraints on this type of "extra-curricular" activities. I also see this when I go to NSCA continuing education courses (which I have found to be excellent) that there are rarely speakers with PT and CSCS presenting. I bring this up not only for the community education but let's face it, there is also a market out there for it. I attended a continuing education course by Threse McNerney (Professional Health and Fitness Institute...excellent speaker..highly recommend her courses) that brought up a interesting point....the SAME patients that are in our office complaining about a $10 or $20 co-pay are marching down the hall to a Personal Trainer or Massage Therapist and they are willing to self-pay $65+ dollars an hour for their services, many times to a personal trainer who attended a weekend course and has no educational background in this area. How many times do I go to the gym or get a patient with, say osteoporosis that has been doing flexion exercises with their trainer, or a total hip patient not following thier precautions. Again, point being, PT's need to tap into this market in order to continue to survive, not only for our own welfare but oftentimes for the welfare of the patient or client. A little off subject but back to my original reason for this post...
I am not one to just complain and not act. Therefore, I am going to send an email to the TODAY show stating my concerns about the credentials of their "expert" with regards to LBP (she may be an excellent "trainer to the stars"..I am not questioning that aspect of Kaehler) and educating the TODAY show about the role a qualified physical therapist may be able to play in such a segment in the future. Any interested PT's in the New York area? [IMG]http://www.rehabedge.com/forums/smile.gif[/IMG] I would invite others who agree with this to do the same. One email will not make much of a difference but several will. You can send an email to: today@nbc.com
And I also cut and pasted from the today show website regardind that segment:
"Fitness expert Kathy Kaehler shows “Today’s” Ann Curry a series of exercises designed to prevent and/or alleviate back pain."
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Re: TODAY SHOW - September 25, 2003 9:07:00 PM
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Dr.Wagner
Posts: 1242
Joined: January 24, 2003
From: Indianapolis
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This was a huge bitch of mine when I practiced therapy...the APTA being soooo focused on adding "legitimacy" to their name by starting the DPT (and turning their back on the MPT's and BSPT's...creating competition within the ranks) and neglecting their "back end" and allowing Personal Trainers, Massage Therapists, and "exercise specialists" to steal their market share. While therapists are worried about reimbursement and going back to school to compete with their "own kind"...other groups have stolen the words "therapy" "exercise" and "massage". PT's are no longer considered the experts, they were being left behind...it just pissed me off.
And look, 10 years later, it is still happening...it hasn't changed. And you know, I would absolutely bet that trainer knows a hell of a lot more exercise techniques than any new DPT grad...but then again, I guess the DPT could MAYBE tell you a little about NSAIDS.
OK, I didn't mean to piss anyone off...but hey, I am still a PT , just a bit ticked by the APTA. Sorry for the rant.
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Re: TODAY SHOW - September 26, 2003 3:50:00 AM
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Shill
Posts: 1107
Joined: February 13, 2003
From: Madison WI USA
Status: offline
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IF anyone has connnections to the Today show, I'll go on TOMORROW and set the record straight regarding misinformation and LBP. (do they have a Saturday show?) This is also one of my major professional stressors, for example, seeing LBP advice in "Real Simple" magazine, with no mention of anyone contributing to this article who might actually be qualified to do so.
I had the chance to provide some quality information to a magazine, regarding LBP in Flooring contractors, specifically Hardwood Flooring Magazine. They found me, rather than me seeking them out, but nevertheless, I was able to contribute to, and edit their final article, so as to have in convey the evidence based information that people need to know. Now, its a far cry from research publication, but PROPER health promotion is a necessity, as we all know. To help establish ourselves as those who provide quality information on a number of health, fitness, body maintenance, and of course, rehabilitation issues, we need to branch out, volunteering our consultation to media that will be viewed or read by the general public, as this is the audience we need to reach!! The APTA has started a process like this, with the "For Your Health" magazine, but I'm not sure that this gets disseminated to enough people. I'd like to see them print out a few million of these, and have us place them in waiting rooms across the country. These could become as widely known as "Highlights". Then we'd be heard.....
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Re: TODAY SHOW - September 27, 2003 4:53:00 AM
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mcap56
Posts: 619
Joined: October 26, 2002
From: New York, NY
Status: offline
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Dr. Wagner:
I can certainly agree with a lot of what you are saying. I think a lot of the PTs out there share your view and are similarly insecure about our professional boundaries.
It is a difficult issue however. The personal training, bodywork, yoga, restorative industry is certainly eating away at our market share (especially here in NYC), and we should do our best to stem the tide. But I don't know how far we want to descend into that area. There is a ton of competition, much of it unliscenced and cheaper. If we go too far in that direction, it is possible that we may indeed loose some of the legitimacy that we have been fighting for.
I don't think this is totally a professional association issue either. The APTA does need to do a better job of promotion and practice protection. However, there is nothing stopping any of us from going out an proclaiming ourselves as experts in particular areas. Magazines, talk shows, newspaper articles aren't going to seek us out just because we have PT degrees. We have to be aggressive and proactive. You have to start small and keep working at it.
I have always been interested in Spinal disorders. Through a lot of work, research and reading I increased my knowledge. I then authored some articles for various back pain web sites and created my own back pain web site. It took a lot of work including reading a few textbooks (medical, not PT) from cover to cover. It also took the realization that what I learned in PT school and in post-grad continuing ed was very inadequate. I think I have a lot to offer on the subject. But no one is going to come knocking on my door by virtue of my PT degree or any of the certifications I have.
If some of us are interested in fitness consulting or being considered experts on the subject, go ahead. Just don't expect anyone to seek you out just because you have a PT degree. And don't assume that your PT degree automatically qualifies you as an expert. I have seen a lot of PTs that know very little about strength training. I have seen PTs act like flexibility will save the world. And....as far as what was mentioned......as a profession we don't have that much that says our exercises are better than generic exercise for back pain (I think they are and the research is growing but we aren't there yet).
Respectfully,
mcap
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Re: TODAY SHOW - September 27, 2003 4:54:00 AM
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mcap56
Posts: 619
Joined: October 26, 2002
From: New York, NY
Status: offline
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And.....BTW.....a girl I went to PT school with has already authored at least one fitness book and has been on the today show (or a similar one). It's about her....not her degree...........
mcap
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