Week 5:
Twin Cities Orthopedics

July 1, 2013

This past week at Twin Cities Orthopedics has provided me with some valuable information and details for my personal project. Several weeks ago I began observing a patient who had a knee replacement and over the many visits have learned the specific reasons for changes in her rehab program.

One of the major goals of knee replacement rehab is to strengthen the muscles that cross over the knee joint. There are noticeable changes in the patient’s gait when these muscles are weak versus when the muscles are strong. As my supervisor and I watched the patient walk he pointed out, not only the weakness in the patient’s quad and hamstring muscles, but also a weakness in her hips. This weakness in her hips is causing her hips to dip and twist a certain way. This type of walking pattern is a classic example of a Trendelenburg gait which describes a weakness in the hip, thigh, and gluteal muscles.

Due to this hip weakness my supervisor gave the patient some hip exercises as a home exercise program which will help allow the patient to regain a more natural gait pattern. The body is all connected and a weakness in the hips could affect the knee which could affect the ankle joint as well.

My fellowship at Twin Cities Orthopedics has not only allowed me to network with healthcare professionals, but opened my eyes to various career routes within physical therapy. I attended a seminar and listened to surgeons present insightful information on anatomy and typical injuries of the shoulder, hip and knee. The next portion of the seminar was led by several physical therapists. They discussed different realms of rehab that I not aware of. There are 5 types of physical therapy including Pediatric, Cardiovascular, Neurological, Geriatric, and Orthopedic Physical Therapy (which is what I am most familiar with). I have heard of these types of physical therapy and I am interested in looking into these types for potential career paths.