Author Topic: Value of Physiology Undergrad Program for Personal Health And Sports Performance  (Read 2156 times)

Cottonswab

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My Situation:
I am currently planning to FIRE at in 2017.  I do not have much interest in working part-time in my current career. Plan A is currently to eventually transition to seasonal, part time work as a ski instructor and a mountain guide.  While training to be a mountain guide and climbing / skiing to my heart's content, I would like to maintain some part-time academic study.  However, I already have a BS in Engineering and do not necessarily need the study to lead to marketable skills / degrees.

I may be healthier and more fit than the average American, but I have struggled with some health issues in the past, which significantly limited my ability to achieve my athletic goals and at one point even threatened my ability to function normally.  I became quite frustrated after relying on doctors that were unable to accurately diagnose the problems or recommend effective treatments.  It wasn't until I started doing my own medical research that I was able to prevent my health from deteriorating further.  Therefore, I have become quite interested in becoming more self-reliant in my ability to manage my own health and performance.

If I were to attend a university, it would have to be a place with excellent alpine climbing and skiing access (e.g., Boulder, CO; Salt Lake City, UT).  I would prefer to make use of online classes, as much as possible, to give me a bit more location / travel flexibility.

My Questions:
  • Will bachelors physiology program likely improve my ability to self-manage my health sports performance, while avoiding being overly reliant on doctors and trainers?
  • Does attending college physiology classes (and paying in-state tuition) offer significantly better educational value vs. simply reading the college textbooks on each subject? 
  • Are there any online programs, which offer a comparable experience / value to traditional classes

Goldielocks

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My cousin completed physiology degree, then went for a fancy chiropractic program in upstate NY.  (he is also married to a dietician / counsellor).  His specialty is rotator cuff and other sports related injuries.  And yes, he was a member of the ski partrol and is avid hiker/ adventurer.

I think he would recommend getting massage therapy training.  He had to take it as part of his first year of his Chiropractor training, as it intensely covers musculature, ligaments, and (I think) bone structure.  Plus, you know, hands on.   He will never be a licenses massage therapist, but found the training to be the most valuable out of everything he took.

Turns out there is a lot of cross over between massage therapy, physio therapy, and chiropracty, at least here, for the licensed practitioners.

You might find that a traditional, formal university program may teach you the same (intro level ) items your doctors learned, which, as you found, was not practically helpful.

So - it is a question - what do you want to learn?

Cottonswab

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You might find that a traditional, formal university program may teach you the same (intro level ) items your doctors learned, which, as you found, was not practically helpful.

I don't think that the primary reason that the doctors seemed to be unable to help me was due to their education.  I think the primary issue was that they were not very motivated to spend more than 30 minutes asking questions and working through the problem. 

I, on the other hand, am highly motivated to solve my own health problems. Once I am FIREd will have a lot of time available to gain knowledge and work on those problems.  My main issue is a lack of understanding of human physiology and disease.  Currently, I am able to spend a lot of time researching areas of interest, but I often run into conflicting statements or advice.  Without a good base of knowledge it is often difficult to critically evaluate different references and separate the useful information from the misleading and harmful information that is available.

So - it is a question - what do you want to learn?

Right now, the main focus areas that I want to study, in depth, are listed below.  However, as mentioned, I think I need broad knowledge base to most effectively study these topics in more depth:

  • Prevention of autoimmune disease / inflammation
  • Prevention of dementia
  • Prevention of Parkinsons disease
  • Increase insulin sensitivity / reduce insulin resistance
  • Decrease recovery time after intense excersize
  • Maximize strength to weight ratio