A twenty-one-year old ballerina stumbles during one of her shows and tears her Anterior Cruciate Ligament and requires hamstring graft surgery. As an aspiring Doctor of Physical Therapy, it is my job to make special interventions in patient's lives for injuries like this one, providing access to diagnosis, intervention plans, and prevention plans. Physical Therapist help patients get back to full strength or near full strength. The therapy does not only help patients get back to full strength but also helps them with pain management and adjustment skills.
The injured ballerina has practiced her ballet movements since the age of 6. When the ballet dancer comes out of surgery she realizes her knee is extremely stiff, the muscle strength in her right hamstring and quadricep are atrophied, making it difficult to both extend and retract her leg. The lack of movement she feels in her leg is due to postoperative swelling, an extracted …show more content…
It is the ballet dancers option to opt out of physical therapy, however I would highly advise her to reconsider if that were the situation. Physical Therapy reduces and eliminates pain, a process that will be difficult if she is not observed and taught professionally. The Physical Therapy sessions will improve mobility, the dancer will lose a large range of her knee’s ability to bend backward and forward, without following this plan there is a high risk of scar tissue and inadequate knee performance. Most importantly Physical Therapy will both help avoid future surgery and avoid re-injury. Physical Therapist provides assistive braces that prevent re-injury and also provide check-ups that will assess and increase one’s ability to balance themselves. Qualities such as consistency, accuracy, learned nature, and control will all be characteristics seen after the dancer relearn how to activate and stabilize the muscles in her right
The injured ballerina has practiced her ballet movements since the age of 6. When the ballet dancer comes out of surgery she realizes her knee is extremely stiff, the muscle strength in her right hamstring and quadricep are atrophied, making it difficult to both extend and retract her leg. The lack of movement she feels in her leg is due to postoperative swelling, an extracted …show more content…
It is the ballet dancers option to opt out of physical therapy, however I would highly advise her to reconsider if that were the situation. Physical Therapy reduces and eliminates pain, a process that will be difficult if she is not observed and taught professionally. The Physical Therapy sessions will improve mobility, the dancer will lose a large range of her knee’s ability to bend backward and forward, without following this plan there is a high risk of scar tissue and inadequate knee performance. Most importantly Physical Therapy will both help avoid future surgery and avoid re-injury. Physical Therapist provides assistive braces that prevent re-injury and also provide check-ups that will assess and increase one’s ability to balance themselves. Qualities such as consistency, accuracy, learned nature, and control will all be characteristics seen after the dancer relearn how to activate and stabilize the muscles in her right