Physical Therapy Case Studies

Based on my clinical experience, a 75-year-old female with moderate cognitive impairment was receiving physical therapy treatment (PT) for seven days for bilateral knee flexion contracture management due to chronic osteoarthritis. On the next day, the patient 's knees were swollen, but the skin integrity was fully intact. The patient refused to receive and PT modality or any therapeutic exercise which was very unusual. The patient was complaining of severe pain when I attempted to assess her right knee, and I suggested to order for an x-ray. The nurse contacted the attending physician and ordered for an x-ray. According to the radiology interpretation, the patient presented with a hairline fracture of the right fibular head. After I fully …show more content…
Since 1972, military PTs have a direct access health provider with a diagnostic test (Greathouse, Schreck & Benson, 1994; Benson, Schreck, Underwood & Greathouse, 1995). In military PT, to have the privilege to request for diagnostic imaging or to provide another preventive treatment for a patient is having a certification in a military institution where they have their training. Moreover, a supervising physician is assigned to an army PT to be able to conduct a neuromusculoskeletal condition (NMSCs) assessment to their patients, and a doctor is necessary to be present or available by telephone for consult.; physicians should also be available to collaborate any information in regards to patient care (Reid, Lachs & Feistein, 1995). The PTs in a militant uniform take part in activity in specialty medical education including radiology and under four to six-month supervision before they can practice independently (Moore, …show more content…
The health care providers as mentioned earlier have the power to request a diagnostic test to eliminate or affirm the identified disease to provide an appropriate treatment (McKinnis, 2014). Performing diagnostic imaging is essential to health care professionals because consulting a patient regarding their medical history and other present health problems and through physical examination is not adequate to confirm of a patient 's particular NMSCs (McKinnis, 2014). Therefore, it is crucial that a PT should be knowledgeable in diagnostic imaging to provide a suitable imaging expert (McKinnis, 2014). Furthermore, due to advanced medical technologies, it is a necessity that physiotherapist should improve their education in the medical imaging field to provide an extensive and allocate treatment regimen (McKinnis, 2014). Moore, Mcmillan, Rosenthal & Weishaar (2005) performed a retrospective research for three years and four months in an Army health care setting gathered more than fifty thousand data of new clients assessed and treated with unmediated referral in a PT military medical centers. There were no unfavorable occurrences reported; there was no