P.T. and Rehab

Dr. Alice Astone teaching P.T. and rehab. 

 day began with Dr. Alice Astone reviewing tissue function and assistive devices. The students then learned about variations of assistive devices for special circumstances, like when a patient cannot use one arm. Videos of patients post stroke were helpful to visualize paralysis and spasticity, associated compensations, and how to help someone regain function. We also looked at cerebral palsy, abnormal muscle tone and the necessity for proper positioning to prevent bedsores. Splinting and orthotics were new concepts as well as decreased bone density with non-weight bearing.  The class stated universally that people with strokes and cerebral palsy do not receive any help traditionally; they might learn how to do things again on their own with no assistance. We discussed rehabilitation vs compensation with conditions that plateau in function or conditions that will not recover like spinal cord injuries. The key to treatment for this population is to help them to help themselves. We learned that 16 of the students had seen people with strokes and 7 children with Cerebral Palsy type symptoms in the last year.

Alice teaching about CP with Timothy translating

Then it was on to infant and early child development. The class found it funny that Rick was a big baby on this topic, literally. He was the model in this exercise as Alice helped him learn new movements in the progression of development.

For orthopedics, we looked at arthritis, sprain/strain/tears, knee pain, and back pain. We discussed the relationship between posture and tissue stress with a live example of lumbar disc herniation with a Ziploc of water between two books. Slinky toys made for demonstration of tissue stretching with prolonged positioning; several students said they had seen joint stiffness after casting for a fracture. We talked through specific examples step-by-step according to a general P.T. assessment. This included an ankle sprain while playing Ta Craw (like soccer over a volleyball net), back pain from picking rice, knee pain from arthritis, and back pain from poor posture. The students asked great questions, including how to tell the difference between a movement problem and an organ problem (back pain vs kidney). 

students during stress break song.

As a stress relief one of the students made up a song involving a back message. Everyone seemed to enjoy this mini break activity. 

Thank you for your support,

Rick and Alice Astone

Students during message song