GO GREEN!
Ally Karaba, Nat'l Rep MSUCOM
The year at MSUCOM kicked off in June when we started our summer semester and welcomed the class of 2017 to East Lansing, Macomb and Detroit. SAAO wanted to do something special for both first and second years to inspire interest and invoke curiosity toward osteopathic manipulative medicine. We hosted Draymond Green, former Michigan State basketball captain to visit both classes and talk about the influence and importance of OMM on his collegiate and now professional career at Golden State in the NBA. We really didn’t know what to expect, other than most of us were excited to see one of our favorite Spartan athletes in person talk to us as medical students. Much to our surprise, his knowledge and experience with OMM was extensive. He spoke very highly of Dr. Gilmore (faculty at MSUCOM) and the work she and the athletic training staff has done with manipulative medicine to strengthen his health and quicken his recovery time to be able to play game after game, and practice after practice.
When Draymond first heard about OMM, he didn’t really believe it could help him. But after he saw both the immediate and long term benefits on his health and playing ability, he was hooked, as OMM worked well for him and got his body functioning at its best. “The more treatments I received, the more my body understood what normal was, and was able to get to normal quicker, and stay there longer.” One of the questions from the students was his advice to medical students: “Explain what you’re doing to patients, what’s wrong and how they can fix it. Patients pick up on a lot and can learn too. And they will better be able to know their bodies, which for athletes is key.”
Draymond encouraged us to have something to motivate us every day, so when things get hard we can still be focused. His example: his mother, inspiring him everyday with her hard work and determination. If he doesn’t want to work that day or get out of bed, he thinks about her and how she has worked every single day for their family. This for me was definite motivation. It’s not always easy to get up and push yourself every day. But finding what drives you is so important to be able to give 100% to whatever it is you are doing.
Draymond commented on the lack of OMM in the NBA. Emphasizing that as students there are so many avenues for us to use OMM, even on professional athletes some day! Just because it is big at our schools and at Michigan State University for our athletes, doesn’t mean it’s everywhere. Most of his NBA teammates didn’t even know what OMM was!
To say the event was a success was an understatement. The 175 students and 8 staff members in attendance that day were buzzing about the talk all day and that week. It was a great way to introduce our first years to the practical uses and importance of OMM as they begin their studies. Sometimes the first few weeks of manipulative medicine can be over the heads of first years, but this was a great introduction to get them focused, excited and ready for their first OMM class. For the second years, it was refreshing to hear this first hand account of the incredible impact our work has and will have on the mind, body and health of a patient. We can’t thank Draymond Green enough for sharing his wisdom and appreciation for what we do. Go Green!
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