Hello! My name's Carla Reyes, welcome to my project, Let's Get Physical: Specialization of Physical Therapy. During my final trimester as a senior at BASIS Scottsdale, I will be able to conduct research to determine what factors impact the regimens used by physical therapists for knee and hip rehabilitation. Attending BASIS has offered amazing opportunities to explore various topics in-depth, and this project will provide an outlet to apply everything I’ve learned in a more hands-on manner.
Over the summer, I was able to shadow an oncologist/hematologist at Ironwood Cancer Research Center. While this gave me a chance to observe a more consultation and research based environment, I was curious to see other aspects of the medical field. Physical therapy interested me because of the doctor patient interaction and the flexibility which exists in the creation of treatments. The number of different types of patients and conditions treated is immense, with treatment ranging from blood sugar control diabetic patients to post-operative rehabilitation for professional athletes.
Growing up, I was always on a sports team. With constantly being on a soccer field, pool, or volleyball court came multiple injuries. Before I became aware of physical therapy offices and the restorative exercises created by PTs, I relied on naproxen and ice packs. My own stubbornness prevented me from seeking out reparative and preventative help. Since my interest in medicine has grown throughout the years, I have a fuller understanding and greater appreciation of the impact physical therapy can have on a person’s well-being.
Although I will not be able to lead appointments or have access to full patient history, by observing the physical therapists and technicians interacting with patients, I hope to be able to discover whether there exists a specific formula that physical therapists and PT technicians use to create treatments.
Hi Carla! Great idea. Physical therapy was very helpful when my knee became an issue. They are so patient and caring. Any idea what behaviors and treatments you will be observing? Are you measuring success by the speed of recovery? or time between injuries? Also, I love the puppy gif. So cute!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Mrs. Bailey! I'll be creating a table to take notes on each appointment I observe, including information on the patients' injuries, what exercises are included in the regimens, and anything notable about the patient/doctor interactions. Depending on each patient and their respective injuries, I'll be determining success of the treatment based primarily on the time until full recovery and whether or not the patient has to return. As I spend more time on-site, I will hopefully be able to decide whether or not the success of the treatment truly is based on the amount of time spent in physical therapy or if other factors are more important. Expect more adorable gifs coming soon :)
DeleteI'm excited to see how the internship experience guides you to focus more on a specific question, problem, and solution or thesis. Have you been able to visit yet? -Ms. Stender
ReplyDeleteI had a final meeting before I start my actual internship with my on-site mentor last week. He provided some ideas so that I will be able to specify my project further and gain a full experience and understanding of physical therapy. Each week I'm at the office, I'll come in with a new question in mind - regarding either knee and hip treatments or physical therapy in general - to guide my research during the internship.
DeleteHi Carla. You talked about how your interest in physical therapy emerged. What about your interest in medicine?
ReplyDeleteAlso, I think your own experience (or non-experience) with physical therapy is interesting, because I think it points to the larger stigma surrounding physical therapy. Will this be something you address in your research?
Hi Nicole, my interest in medicine mostly came about volunteering at hospitals and shadowing physicians. As for the stigma around PT, I think it definitely influences patient attitude along with how likely they are to attend their appointments and cooperate with the exercises. Since this is related to the doctor-patient interaction, I'll be sure to incorporate it into my central research question!
DeleteHi Carla, it was cool to learn about your motivation for this project. Is there a certain age group of people who you are most interested in studying? Also, what specific injuries to the knee and hip interest you the most?
ReplyDeleteHey Anthony. Depending on what time of day I'm on-site, I think the ages will differ. However, I'd like to be able to observe a range of ages and how that impacts the rehab process. Since they're more common, I'll be studying iliotibial band syndrome and ACL injuries most.
DeleteHello Carla! I never knew that physical therapists help such a wide range of patients or that there is so much flexibility in creating treatment plans. Do you think that each case you look at will take a completely unique approach? or do you think they will take slight variations of a single approach?
ReplyDeleteHi Vijay, I'm not totally sure whether there is a base program used for each injury that's slightly modified depending on patient or a totally constructed regimen which differs patient to patient. I think it's likely there are certain exercises that are applied across injuries, but that's TBD!
DeleteWow, Carla! This sounds really fascinating! Do you have any other hopes for this project apart from discovering a "formula" for treatments? I look forward to seeing the direction you take with your project!
ReplyDeleteThanks Nathan! I'm mostly hoping to see how effectiveness is influenced by the treatment specialization based on time spent in therapy and likelihood of injury recurrence.
DeleteHi Carla! I am excited to learn more about your journey! My mom had to go through physical therapy recently for a knee injury, so I can't wait to learn more about PT procedures.
ReplyDeleteHey Nikita! I'm so glad you can follow my research. My mom also had PT for her shoulder (at the site I'm working at actually). Hopefully this project sheds some light on exactly what happens during physical therapy appointments.
DeleteI am very excited to see how far this project goes. This sounds like a wonderful opportunity and experience to have. I have been thinking about looking into physical therapy procedures, so this project will definitely give me some inspiration.
ReplyDeleteThank you Sara, I agree! This research project is a chance to get to see some of the procedures from a non-patient perspective, so it's great that I will be able to share a lot of what I observe.
DeleteHey Carla! This seems like a really interesting research project. I can't wait to follow you throughout your journey. I myself have been injured in various physical activities such as volleyball and dance. Following you throughout your research could help give me insight on physical therapy procedures.
ReplyDeleteHi Lekha! Volleyball and dance can lead to some crazy injuries, especially knee and hip like what I'll be researching.
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