Ain't Gonna Ruin My Derby Week

At first, I thought it was the greatest May fool’s joke that I have ever seen, even though May 1^st isn’t till tomorrow (In feat of symbolism this is how we celebrate it in KY-one month behind everybody else).

Of course I am talking about the front cover of the PT Magazine of Phys (can’t tell what else it says as some kid who is playing the wii’s head is covering the rest of the magazine title).  This is the glossy mag that accompanies our official Journal-Physical Therapy.

It has been posted many times here, here, here, and here about what I will now refer as “the Paris Hilton of Physical Therapy” (you know something that continues to obnoxiously show up all the time and just when you thought it was gone shows up again)-otherwise known as the Wii as in Wiihabiliation (or Wii’s gone Wild).

But, to see Paris Hilton of PT show up on a magazine produced by our professional association shows just how lost we are in any type of unified branding message.  I am sure that the conversation went something like this:

PT Magazine Idea Generator:  “Why don’t we run our cover story on minority diversification, women’s health,  or PT cash practices?”

Colleague of Idea Generator:  “Uhh, because we run that cyle every quarter?”

Idea Generator: “No, I mean something really different this time!  Let’s run them all three together!  It will be the biggest issue of all time and amass record sales.”.

Colleague of Idea Generator:  “Uhh, well, the magazine is free so sales won’t matter but I am sure your idea will make or advertisers and their mother’s proud-let’s go with it”.

Idea Generator:  “Great!  Wait!  I really got it-let’s throw in a Wii into the picture!”

I am quite confident that is how we got this month’s cover.  We hit the trifecta again (pardon the horse pun).

Just a few questions:  is this ther ex or group?  Does it matter if the kid is on medicare? Do you have to have a DPT or a tDPT to play (I mean facilitate one one one)?

Most interesting thing to the whole debacle?  Right below is “Also inside:“ with the first bullet point being about 21^st Century Marketing for PTs.  Hope the Idea Generator reads it for next month.

But, it ain’t gonna ruin my Derby Week!

larry@physicaltherapist.com

Comments

[Selena Horner]

I feel your pain, Larry.

I just got back from discussing Wii with the gym teacher at our local middle school. Apparently the school "Wellness Team" had suggested that Wii be one of the activities that all the 6-8th graders could choose as 1 hour of physical activity they'd like to do for the "Health Summit" in a couple of weeks. The students could "play tennis, golf, or play a song while getting a good workout."

Hmmm... I had issues. Wii for health and a workout was just too much for me!

So, anyways, the Wii is going to be adapted somehow and is now going to be used competitively for 4 runners racing each other (fast running in place) for 45 second bouts. AND Wii will be used for a dance, dance revolution kind of thing. The Wii will not be the full 1 hour activity and instead the Wii will be part of a circuit of a couple of other activities where the students will rotate. The gym teacher was thinking that maybe the students rotate through each of the stations twice. The second time through the stations the students could use Wii for tennis or golf or whatever. I agreed that this would be a favorable compromise but the students should also be required to compare and contrast the activities performed.

Just as all spinal manipulation isn't the same (as being discussed over on MyPhysicalTherapySpace), all physical activity isn't going to have the same benefits.

I'm hoping I can stomp out the perception that Wii is a workout in this community with our students! Wii isn't a workout; Wii is a Wiikout.

[James Glinn]

I think I am going to need an extra splash of bourbon in my mint julep....

http://www.kentuckyderby.com/2008/

Oh and here is the link to the Kentucky Derby game for the Wii:

http://wii.ign.com/articles/707/707335p1.html

[Art]

This issue made it into my recycle bin in record time!

[David Logerstedt]

I am surprised to see that a site that promotes technology and evidence based practice is totally against the Wii. Can you point to me any research that shows its effectiveness or lack of effectiveness? You seem to judge quickly when there is no evidence to support your claim.

Just like the profession used ultrasound for years with very little good research and its continued use despite its lack of effectiveness, you should wait for some bit of research to come out before you make any judgments regarding it. Just like any other tool, the Wii may be a valuable piece of equipment.

I'm not saying you replace other forms of proven exercise with the Wii, but it may be valuable in its use.

[Christie Downing]

Does anyone actually read that piece of ****? It's the most unscientific publication out there. The articles profiled in this publication remind me of the "wet behind the ears" papers that I see students write when they do not really understand the literature and only look for articles that "prove" THEIR beleifs (even if it's bad research).

It's all about flash, glamour, advertising for an "easy" read for PTs who do not really want to put in the time and effort evaluating the research on their own. PT maganize, in my opinion, is the Paris Hilton of the APTA.

...and if any of my current students are reading, I don't mean you...it was a great semester for learning (shootings aside)

[Larry Benz]

David:
The over hyped and promoted wii for PT is not about evidence and technology. The problem I have with it is that in the eyes of the consumer (and now perhaps PT's since it is on the cover of our national mag), it further marginalizes what we do and our true value proposition. Are we a profession that plays games? Is the wii group therapy? Does this now mean that PT's should use a nintendo game rather than their hands? If I am a payor, why would I ever pay for a patient to play a wii when they can do it for free at a Best Buy store?

[David Logerstedt]

Larry,

I can agree with you on that point. The Wii is overhyped and overpromoted for PT. No question. I do agree that as a profession, we must do a better job of marketing our true value to the consumer. So one way, maybe to use the initial hype of the Wii as a tool used in therapy but here are the other great things that we do.

Of course, I would love to see an article in PT magazine on the benefits of spinal manipulation in improvement of patient care or the use of perturbation training in the ACL potential coper population. Instead of waiting for the PT magazine to write these articles, we should go to the editors and publishers and persuade them to write about things we care about. This is a site that has a lot of reach and we can use the collective group to come up with ideas, not the publishers.

[Christie Downing]

Working for a hosptial based facility that has a large clientel (sometimes more than we can handle), I can understand why private clinics are looking to the Wii to improve their client base. It is a competitive market, and sometimes they are willing to sacrifice a little professionalism to increase clientel. "Customer service" is viewed much differently by the consumer than it is by the practicioner. Consumers are looking for higher technology and have learned to demand it (look at the number of people who demand an MRI for simple radicular low back pain that is easily reducible without first going through a mechanical assessment.)

While I fully empathize with the private practice arena that has to compete for business, it's a slippery slope we are sliding down when more money is spent on Wii's, plasma TVs for the waiting room and other fancy things that plug into the wall. Instead, this money could be directed towards furthering the education and skill of the practicioner (if only we could convice the consumer that THIS will result in better care).

With this current marketing scheme, we could all start calling ourselves chiropractors.

[John Ware]

There's an appropriate and effective way to brand our profession, and this silly magazine is doing more to set us back than move us forward.

I think there's a problem at PT Mag. There use to be some interesting articles and commentary, now its all fluff and no substance. What's worse, people all over the country pick up this magazine in clinic waiting rooms all over the country and get this warped, fluffy, inaccurate perception of what most PTs do.

I think Christie nailed it with the reference to how this magazine appeals to a certain lazy, low common denominator in our ranks. I don't want to keep paying my dues for that.

Let's either re-tool it or stop the presses altogether and let Felicity, the new VP of marketing, have the money to market our profession effectively.