Internship in Review

My entire internship experience was something I will never forget. This experience truly helped me with my decision to pursue physical therapy. I was able to witness physical therapists work hands on with their patients on a daily basis as well as help PT aids. Being able to observe and be involved in a typical workday at a physical therapy clinic, I now know for sure that I made the right choice in my career path. During this experience I was accepted into a Doctorate of Physical Therapy program at Sacred Heart University. I also was asked to work for Sports Care over the summer as a physical therapy aid. The career exploration internship program truly impacted my life in the best way possible.

Physical Therapy Aids

At physical therapy clinics, there are physical therapy aids that help to assist the therapists. Aids have certain tasks which they must complete while working. Their job is to conduct the pre-treatment exercises with the patients. The aids must know what exercise each patient must complete, based off of their flow sheet, how many sets of each, how to properly perform the exercises, what is used for each exercise, and the body part that is worked by performing the exercise. They must also apply heat or ice post treatment to patients, set timers, and rewrite flow sheets. 

Electrical Muscle Stimulation

Electrical Muscle Stimulation is used for pain relief and for muscle re-education. This type of treatment is used by therapists to re-train muscles to contract, and also to help manage pain. A machine is used to send electrical current through wires to patches that are attached to the patients body, delivering the current into the muscle tissue causing sensory or motor response from the intended muscle.

Cupping

Therapists use different techniques and tools when treating certain patients. I have been able to see a few different techniques that were quite interesting to learn about. I witnessed cupping being done to a patients calf muscle.

• Cupping is a technique that creates suction and negative pressure to soften tight muscles and tone attachments, loosen adhesions and lift connective tissue, bring hydration and blood flow to body tissues, and drain excess fluids and toxins by opening lymphatic pathways
  
  
  
  
  

Transformation

Patients that come to physical therapy show drastic transformations throughout their treatment process. Patients come in with walkers, canes, boots, and casts, and eventually after patience and time, they leave physical therapy without any extra assistance that they once had to rely on. The transformations that I have observed at Sports Care are truly remarkable, and give me insight on how much these therapists can impact another person's life.

Flow Sheets

This week I got a closer look at flow sheets that are used for each patient to keep track of the exercises they do and how long it takes for the patients to perform them. These sheets are sent to the insurance companies to calculate how much to bill the patients/insurance. I was able to actually help the aids and fill a new one out for some of the patients. The sheets include the name of the exercise, how many sets of each exercise the patient must complete, the therapist, the injury, and the dates of each visit. This also helps out the aids when having to tell each patient what exercise the therapist has assigned for them to do.

Home Exercises

Patients that come to Sports Care for physical therapy are assigned home exercises to do themselves at home on days that they do not come to the clinic for therapy. These exercises are crucial to a patients recovery. If a patient does not complete their home exercises, there is a noticeable difference in their recovery time. For instance, a patient who had a knee replacement was using the usual first step at using a walker post operation. She had been using the walker for a longer period of time than normal patients would. The next step from a walker is using a cane to walk with, but the patient was not able to use it. This was because the patient failed to complete her own duty in her recovery, which was doing the home exercises. After the PT was able to realize that this was the issue, the patient began to complete her exercises, and soon after upgraded from walker to cane. The patient must work just as hard at home on their own just as they do at therapy in order to further their recovery process. It is definitely and extremely important aspect when attending physical therapy.

Observation

I have been able to observe different patients throughout my time at Sports Care. One patient in particular caught my interest, because I was not aware that such a patient would attend physical therapy. The patient came to physical therapy after overcoming cancer. The patient was weak from the therapy and the sickness itself, so he began physical therapy to try and regain his strength and energy. When the patient first came in, he was always tired and needed to take constant breaks in between exercises. After only about 2 months of therapy, a visible difference in his performance has been made. It is an incredible thing to watch and see people progress with their strength and ability. I have closely been able to watch him each week, and the change within his energy and strength has drastically improved. He takes less to no breaks, and is able to complete his exercises at a faster pace. It truly amazes me how physical therapy can affect a person's life in the best way possible. I was also able to learn that physical therapy is more than just helping people who have had injuries or surgeries. 

My Daily Tasks

On the days that I attend Sports Care, I perform the same few tasks. I mainly observe the Physical Therapists treat their patients, as well as assist the physical therapist aids. The aids conduct the exercises for the patients prior to treatment with the therapist. I wipe down treatment tables with disinfectant after patients leave, change the pillowcases, fold laundry, give out ice/heat to patients after treatment, set timers for ice/heat or certain exercises, hand out equipment to patients for exercises, and file away completed flow sheets.

Patient Variety

During my time at Sports Care, I have been able to observe the different kinds of patients and the many different causes for the need of physical therapy. Specifically, I learned that there are many varieties of reasons as to why a person may need it. I have been able to observe patients who have had hip replacements, double knee replacements, work-related injuries, motor vehicle accidents, geriatric patients who receive balance therapy, and also a former cancer patient who receives therapy to regain his strength. Physical therapy helps a vast amount of different people for many different reasons. This is why physical therapy is such an important medical field. The therapists help their patients regain their mobility and strength in ways that the patients never thought they could. 

What is Physical Therapy?

1. Physical Therapy is a form of therapy for the preservation, enhancement, or restoration of movement and physical function impaired or threatened by disability, injury, or disease that utilizes therapeutic exercise, physical modalities (as massage and electrotherapy), assistive devices, and patient education and training.

Sports Care Physical Therapy - Carlstadt

Front/Reception area

Treatment Tables

Gym equipment

Sports Care Physical Therapy is a franchise organization, that has many locations throughout New Jersey, New York, and in Florida. The location that I have spent my time interning at is in Carlstadt. The physical therapists here specialize in treating work related, sports, geriatric, and motor vehicle injuries in people of all ages.