I am currently in a facility which is providing rehabilitation for people with a permanent disability. While treating one of my patients throughout the week I’ve noticed that there are times when he is really tuned into what I want him to do and does it well, and there are times when he just seems not too care. Reflecting on this over the week I have come to realise that the times he is focussed on what I want him to do is when it is something directly related to his big goal for rehabilitation – walking.
This has made me think a bit harder about how much education for this patient is required. I could be doing a bridging exercise or an exercise in 2 point kneeling which I know will carry over to his ability to walk well. However, the patient doesn’t actually realise this. I have also started to do more of what the patient wants to do (which is often walking practice) given that I get the best out of him when he knows the treatment is directly linked to helping him walk.
1 comment:
I had similar patients during my neuro outpts prac and i understand what your saying about them being more compliant when your actually walking. The one thing i had to watch was that even tho they are more compliant they may not be quite ready for that much walking practice and can start to perform poorly which is not the perfect practice that we aim for retraining normal gait.
Post a Comment