10-12-10

This week I met with 3 retuning patients from last week and also got to see a new patient evaluation. It was like an interview, where Amber would first ask subjective questions about the pain the patient is feeling in his knee. As the patient talked about his conditions, Amber would type them onto a computer program to keep records. Since there was time left after the evaluation, Amber showed the patient some exercises to start on.

This week I also learned how the clinic charges patients. There is a form and different codes for exercises that last for about 15 minutes.  You keep track of which exercises the patient has gone through during the session.

10-5-10

This week I met with three new patients--one with a shoulder injury and two with knee injuries. I also saw two returning patents, one with an elbow injury and one with an ankle injury, who I've seen each week since my first week of ISM. I feel it's nice to see a returning patient every week because it helps me understand the overall long process of physcial therapy and progress the patient has made, which is very rewarding.

On Tuesday there was a specific knee patient who Amber was going to try a new treatment called E-Stem. E-Stem works by attaching a square shaped sticky patch to the patient and another similar patch on the therapist’s arm. When the machine is turned on and therapist and patient contact will produce a sort of electrical vibration that will, hopefully, begin to heal the injury. It was so interesting to see all the different treatments available.

Weekly Log #3

Weekly Log #2

Weekly Log #1

9-28-10

This week I met three new patients who mainly had knee pains, and then one returning ankle patient. For each knee patient, Amber mainly used the same exercises such as wheeling around on a stool to work the hamsting and sliding up and down laying on your back on a machine while jumping off of a trampoline which gave a work out similar to running or jogging. It was also interesting to see how much the returning ankle patient improved when Amber measured his mobility--by moving his ankle left, right, up, down, as far as he could--with a plastic degree measuring tool.

Another patient, besides the four mentioned previously, was regaining muslces in her hand after disslocating her elbow and having surgery. She changed my perception regarding the braod range of people physical therapists will encounter. There are so many traits needed to be a successful PT, and the ability to work with people is crucial.

9-20-10

This week I learned much more about the different types and methods of physical therapy. One of the other therapists (George H.) introduced me to a book about McKenzie therapy and I learned after a few minutes of glancing through the book about bad posture and how it negatively affects your neck and spine. I met three different patients (2 with back pains and one with shoulder/arm pain) and saw an ankle patient who I had met last week. I saw many more creative techniques on how to relieve pain and stretch certain muscles (by using marbles, a weighted ball, a trampoline, etc.). My mentor also showed me a whole folder full of slide show notes on muscles, nerves, tendons, etc. that she had to memorize. In addition I found out that at college you do many research projects, and that Amber feels work is more enjoyable than college.