Day 5

Day 5

On Day 5, I was at Ragged Mountain Physical Therapy from 8:30–12:00 and 1:00–2:30. In total, I completed 5 hours.

One patient I observed was an elderly woman with a frozen shoulder. She fell off a step stool and landed on her shoulder about a month and a half ago. At first, she did not think anything was seriously wrong, but over time her shoulder became tighter and tighter. She started coming to physical therapy around three weeks ago. Diane initially focused on mobility work, and now that her range of motion has improved significantly, the patient has started strengthening the muscles around the shoulder. Another patient was a middle-aged man who had been very active throughout his youth. He served in the Army and now works in manual labor. He has a brachial plexus injury, which Diane encouraged Elsa and me to research more thoroughly so we could better understand the condition and its effects.

During the day, I also met a man who had a very strong Holy Cross connection. He gave me his contact card, and I plan on reaching out to him later today. It was cool to see how this senior project can help me build connections and opportunities outside of just observing rehabilitation.

I also observed an elderly man who had narrowing in his spinal canal, causing him to lose feeling in his hands. The condition is called spinal stenosis, and he had it on both sides. His forward posture has contributed significantly to his tightness. He underwent decompression surgery and now has rods and other hardware in his neck. Diane’s goals for him are to improve strength in the shoulders and cervical spine, increase mobility in the neck, and correct posture. One of his biggest motivations in physical therapy is getting back to everyday activities, especially building things with his hands.

I also showed Diane the research I completed on Day 3 about the connection between the mind and body in relation to pain. She explained that she has had patients in the past with so much mental trauma that she was unable to effectively treat them. This connected directly to the TEDx Talk I watched, which explained that patients can experience very real pain even without visible soft tissue damage or inflammation.

One thing Diane said that stood out to me was, “When people have chronic pain, long-term pain can rewire the nervous system so that it doesn’t allow it to subside.”

Hours today: 5

Total Hours: 23 1/2