Week 10:
Twin Cities Orthopedics

August 7, 2013

As I wrap up some of my experiences at Twin Cities Orthopedics, I took the opportunity to follow my supervisor and observed him work with patients at injury prevention. There were several methods by which he tests a patient to determine where they may be at risk for injury and then prescribes the exercise program he designed to help them prevent those injuries. One of the unique and time consuming strategies is to use slow motion video analysis of biomechanics to pinpoint imbalances or weakness which could put a person at risk for injury.

The patient is tested in various jumping, balance and strength exercises where the technique informs the physical therapist about muscle imbalances and places for the patient to improve. One major example of muscle weakness that puts a contact athlete at risk is a simple box squat and slow motion stair steps. Many people are unexpectantly weak in their hips and gluteus muscles. This weakness is easy to identify when a patient is walking down stairs or walking up stairs backwards. The clue is in the medial movement of the knees and a dip in the level of the hips. After as few months working with and observing knee replacement patients, I have learned to notice this gait imbalance and recognize which exercises are necessary to increase hip strength.

The purpose of the slow motion cameras is to identify this muscles imbalances before it becomes obvious to the human eye in real time. When caught early enough, certain injuries such as ACL tears could potentially be prevented.

These last few weeks have been very intriguing to see the rehabilitation for athletes after they regain daily function. Working with the younger popular switches up the routine and allows the physical therapists to use different skills and knowledge they acquired in school.