Charles Martin
11/22/17
PTA 2300
PTA 2300 Reflection
In the Therapeutic Exercise class, we were all given the opportunity to present with a partner a specific piece of equipment that could be beneficial in the care that we will provide our future patients. We saw everything from very involved equipment like an isokinetic machine that takes hours to understand and a good deal of time setting up a patient for exercise and testing. We saw Pilates Reformers and total gyms as well. We also saw simple and easy to set up equipment like the reebok slide, plyometric boxes and Bosu balls. Each piece of equipment is meant to help individuals gain strength, endurance and stability so they can return to completing activities of daily living (ADL’s and Instrumental ADLs) or to return to high performance competition after injury.
The Equipment that I had the opportunity to present was the FMS (Functional Movement System). This piece of equipment was designed to improve the overall scope of performance, fitness, rehabilitation and management of injury risk in active individuals. This is not a piece of equipment that strengthens individuals or diagnoses any disorders. FMS is designed to help Physical Therapists and Athletic trainers understand any movement pattern dysfunctions that can either lead to underwhelming performance or to help in getting a diagnosis for the patient or client. Programs for stretching, strengthening, or stability exercises can then be initiated to help prevent the unwanted movement to then prevent injury.
As we have been going through the Therapeutic Exercise course this semester we have learn a lot about the importance of different principles of exercise physiology and how to strengthen muscle weaknesses, increase fitness level and develop a sense of coordination and balance. When working with patients it will be our responsibility to be aware of the how the patient responds to the therapy that we put them through. We need to have a firm knowledge of how the body works and what things can improve upon patient dysfunctions and which things to avoid to prevent further dysfunction or injury. I feel like learning about FMS did just that. It helped me to realize how important it is to know how our bodies should be moving for the functional activities. While I did the research for FMS I was able to watch a great deal of videos, many from Physical Therapists that implement FMS into their examinations so they can create a Plan of Care that is customized to their patients. I felt like this gave me a good base of knowledge of how the principles of the Therapeutic Exercise classes can be implemented after finding problems in the patients we will be dealing with. The challenging part of this assignment is that I don’t have a great deal of knowledge when it comes to the field of physical therapy. Much of the equipment that the class demonstrated I was learning about for the first time. What was most difficult for the FMS was the great deal of information and implications that the tests provide. It took a great deal of time to go through all the great deal of material and condense it into a brochure and 45-minute presentation. I picked this assignment because I am proud of the quality that I felt that it contained. I spent many hours gathering information and searching for my own inquiry. The Functional Movement System is a very interesting piece of testing equipment that I feel could be adventitious to use in many physical therapy clinics. I enjoyed giving the lengthy presentation. It really made me stretch out of my comfort zone helps me to gain the confidence needed for a career as a Physical Therapist Assistant.
Below is a Link to the Brochure that my presentation partner and I put together for the FMS
docs.google.com/document/d/12dlGisK_A83vk0IaZ5QKEb7yIaM8KanBoXKy0y1AbM0/edit
One of the classes that I was most looking forward to this semester was Therapeutic Exercise. I decided to work towards becoming a PTA after attending my wife's physical therapy appointments and seeing the improvements she made after the interventions and exercises she was given. I feel like the exercises and interventions we learned in this class are there things that people think of when they hear about physical therapy. We learned about the importance of Stretching and Range of Motion. We learned the principles of motor control and learning and how they work together when therapists initiate exercises and resistance training to reteach the body how to optimize functionality. One thing I have taken from this class that is important to me is an expanding interest in many different fields of therapy. When I first started the program I thought for sure that I would want to work only with orthopedic patients (mainly athletes). However after learning about Proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation and motor learning and control I am now interested even more in neuromuscular disorders and the different effects it can have on the brain and body. I remember in the PTA introduction classes, professors talking about how difficult this specialization is and it discouraged me from looking further into it. I look forward to the upcoming semesters where we will dive even further with neuromuscular disorders.