Author: katiesarahmac

Day 8- necks, backs and needles oh my!

Today was my last day shadowing a physical therapist at Dunn Physical Therapy. Today i got to see a very wide variety of patients. I saw a patient that had a hurt neck and needed dry needling on his neck. Another patient I saw today had a hurt back and got dry needling done to relieve the stress on the muscles.

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Today I also learned how to make a hot pack. A hot pack is a thick pad that has been in hot water in order to heat it up. It is then covered in a blanket like thing. It is then covered in a towel and then another blanket. They use this for loosening muscles and for receiving the pain after an appointment.

Thank you so much Dunn Physical Therapy for everything you did for me! It was a fun and educational two weeks!

Katie Day 8-Mobile Meal Plan

Today I toured the other half of the Interfaith Food Shuttle building: Meals on Wheels. Cary Academy has also partnered with this organization, which delivers hot, nutritious meals to seniors who cannot safely create meals for themselves. My mentor Ms. Karkare delivers food on a route every Friday, so she was happy to give me a tour of the building. The food is prepared every weekday in a big, industrial-sized kitchen not unlike Cary Academy’s. Then, volunteers pick up the meals to be delivered on a route. The whole operation takes over 2,000 volunteers to run every month! mow

Inside the Meals on Wheels kitchen

Katie Day 7-What’s Your Day Like?

Today I sat in on a mock consultation between Ms. Karkare and my mom. I experienced the work of an outpatient dietitian firsthand and got a glimpse into the process. First the dietitian asks the client about their lifestyle and diet on a normal day, and then will give advice accordingly. I learned surprising things from the consultation, like that it’s best to eat a salad with oil and vinegar so the body can more easily absorb the nutrients of the greens. I also learned that sleep is so important to the body, even when it comes to controlling cravings and allowing the body time to naturally detox itself. So next time someone tells you about the latest juice cleanse, let them know that all they need is a good night’s rest!

Day 7- necks, necks and knee

Today I saw lots and lots of neck injuries. So, today I got to watch a lot of working on the notes in the neck in order to relive the pain. However, I did see one knee injury today. She had surgery on her knee and she already had full extension in her knee. Today the physical therapist was working on the bending of the knee. Instead of the regular extension exercises that the patient was normally doing she was instead doing exercises that worked on the flexibility in her knee when she would bend it. (Sorry there is no picture today because there was nothing I could get a picture of that didn’t have a patient in.)

Katie Day 6-Peachy

Today I helped run the Interfaith Food Shuttle stand at the Wakemed Farmer’s Market again. There were even more vendors than last week! I recognized some familiar faces, and also met some new local businesses. My favorite stand was the peach/peach ice cream stand right beside us, which smelled delicious all day! It was also great to meet some of the same EBT customers I had seen last week. On woman with three children remarked how she had been  waiting all year for the Wakemed Farmer’s Market to open back up for the season. It’s wonderful to see the direct impact of bringing fresh produce to a food desert.

Peach stand customers

Panoramic view of the market

Katie Day 4-Farm Fresh

Today I got a tour of the Interfaith Food Shuttle farm. I remember volunteering here before with my advisory for service days. Today, however, I got a better look into the different ways the farm helps the community. Parts of the farm are dedicated to different farmers and farming communities. For example, one section is designated for the use of immigrants who are unfamiliar with our food system. Also, I got to see the IFFS farm stand just across the road, where fresh produce harvested from the farm is sold.

Farm stand
Produce that was being washed during my visit

Day 6- Straightening up

Today I got to shadow several physical therapists. I got to see several repeat patients today. One patient I saw was one that I had seen last week. She had surgery on her knee and was still trying to get full range of motion back. Once she had done her exercises and the physical therapist had stretched out the parents knee she was able to extend it fully. Once she had it fully extended she then put the sour muscles in heat in order to loosen the muscles.

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The picture that I have here is of the brace that they used when she had heat on her muscles. This allowed her to keep her leg straight and it helped her straighten her leg more on her own.

Day 5

Today I researched different types of dietitians for my presentation. I am also putting together a small project for the college counseling office to have for future reference of those interested in pursuing nutrition as a major or career. I have been speaking with different dietitians all week, so I will incorporate all of their different perspectives.

Day 5- Ankle day

Today I was back with my normal PT. We saw a lot of patients today since there is going to be a long weekend and they arnt open on Monday. A few patients that I saw today have had ankle surgery. They were coming for physical therapy in order to strengthen the muscles in there ankles. They worked on a lot of different exercises for the ankle such as balancing on it and also using the stretching bands to stretch there ankles and help to get there full range of motion back.

Day 5 – Painful Farewell

Today I started my day early. Today was a busy day because they’re closed on Monday (for Memorial Day). I got to see a lot of different patients. I recognized a lot of patients from earlier this week. It was nice to see them again and see their progress.  One lady just had ACL surgery yesterday! I was suprised she was already at her first PT session today.

A bunch of paid athletes came in today for PT. They’re so fast and they have done multiple half iron mans! After hearing about all of their hard training, I was not surprised that they had so much pain. For example, one woman had a tight hip and hamstring, and will have to get an MRI next week to check up on it.

There was more dry needling today. The dry needling was used on the calves, hips and shoulders today.

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I continued to wipe off tables after each patient left. I sprayed the table with disinfectanct and then changed the pillowcase. Once the table and pillowcase are clean, I turn the pillow parallel to the table (like in the picture above).

A patient from earlier in the week was here again today. He used the total gym to do leg presses to strengthen his knee.

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The Total Gym was used on a patient that had ACL surgery. The Total Gym is a great way to strengthen the knees and quads.

One patient has been going to physical therapy for a while now, so he is able to run again. He had shin splints, but after weeks of physical therapy, he was able to run a few minutes on the treadmill.

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Treadmill that patients can start running on.

It was tough to say goodbye today. Since I am going to the West Point leadership camp tomorrow, today was my final day at Raleigh Orthopedics. I learned so many exercises and I am so glad I had this experience. This week helped me decide with what I want to do in the future. Also, this week has made me so thankful that I haven’t been injured (knock on wood!) and I am able to live my daily life pain-free. If I do come across an injury down the road, I know that Mr. Meszler is an incredible PT and he will get me back on the road quickly.