The past few weeks have seen quite a few changes in the clinic. Just recently, Fyzical switched over all of their scheduling and patient information to another computer program. The rehab technicians have had to help switch over all of the clinic’s patient information from the old system, WebPT, to the new system, Prompt. Along with this, the PTs and PTAs have had to learn how to take patient notes and document their patient’s progress with the new system. Needless to say, it was a little chaotic for the first week, as there was a lot of work for everyone to do, but now the clinic is back to running smoothly.
Along with this, I’ve also gotten to learn more from Tiana (the physical therapist) and Brandon (the physical therapist assistant) about treatments for their patients. At Fyzical, they prioritize manual therapy as opposed to only rehab exercises. This means Tiana and Brandon do a lot of targeted massages for their patients, depending on their injury. This can be especially useful for calming tight or inflamed muscles, which are often the causes of whatever is bothering them. Once the muscles have calmed down a little bit, then it is easier for them to work on strengthening with rehab exercises. Some other treatment methods that they use at this clinic are cupping, electrical stimulation, scraping, ultrasound, and dry needling.
Recovery Treatment Tools, Rehab Equipment, and The Cups Set
I got to talk more with Brandon about exercise progressions and regressions. He said that it is important to be thinking about how to adjust exercises as you go in order to meet patients where they are in their rehab journey. I also got to talk to Tiana more about vertigo and balance rehabilitation. At Fyzical, there are quite a few patients with problems with their vestibular system, which is the system in the body that helps a person tell where they are in space. Problems with this can lead to balance issues, frequent dizziness, vertigo, and other issues. For treatment, Tiana said she often uses electrical stimulation on their feet, as this is one of the areas that sends messages to the vestibular system. She also does some manual therapy with the goal of releasing some of the joints in the skull. I got to let her try it on me, which was really interesting. I didn’t know much about the vestibular system before this internship, so it has been exciting to learn more about it.
I also got dry needling done for the first time. There was a little break with no patients one day, so Tiana let me try it while there was a break. I got two in my hand and forearm. It was definitely a strange feeling, and my arm felt very fatigued afterwards, but it was very exciting to be able to try it.
I’ve also been starting to get to know patients more. It has been really exciting seeing their progress from just a few weeks ago, and getting to hear from patients about physical therapy from their end has been a really interesting perspective.
Overall, I’ve been learning a lot, and it is exciting to know that I am still only scratching the surface!
When I’m not in the clinic, I’ve been exploring Colorado. I’ve gone hiking a few times with Ava and gotten to see some incredible views. We also tried trail running this past week, which was not for the faint of heart. It was beautiful and really fun, but definitely very different from the kind of running we normally do.
We went to the Rockies and Dodgers baseball game a few days ago, and we were reminded how quickly the weather can change here. There ended up being a 90-minute rain delay, but we made the most of it and enjoyed the beautiful views from Coors Field.
Coors Field and Me and Ava During The Rain Delay
The rehabilitation tech at the clinic, Manny, is a rock climber, so he took me and Ava to go try rock climbing last week. I’ve never been rock climbing before, so I was really excited to try it. I’ve gone a few times now, and I really enjoy it. It has been fun to try something new!
In Boulder, we’ve spent a lot of time visiting Pearl Street. Me and Ava visited a place called Trident one evening when they had a live band playing. Another day, we brought Sophie with us and stopped to get coffee and shop at one of the bookstores on the street.
There are quite a few Cornell students that are either from Colorado or visiting for the summer that I’ve gotten to see, which has been really fun. A few of us went to the Nature and Science Museum last week and then got dinner afterwards, and we try to go for runs together often. It’s very nice to have some of the Cornell community around all the way out here. I am definitely looking forward to more adventures with them in the next month and a half!