Reflection: 26/4/2021

Reflection: 26/4/2021                    hours: 6

 What happened:

Today in clinic, I had a patient who was a lady in her late 50’s who had been diagnosed with osteoarthritis in both hips. She has been receiving Physiotherapy through the NHS and is not responding well to treatment due to it all being virtual. She came into the clinic very emotional, admitting that she has been suffering with her mental health as a result of her condition which is deteriorating and is now unable to work due to being given crutches from the physiotherapist. She had been told by the Physiotherapist that there wasn’t much that could be done.

We discussed her aims and what she would like to get out of treatment. She explained how she had gained a lot of weight, was lacking confidence and admitted having poor adherence to home-based exercise prescription.

When I told her that I would do my best to help her and we could help motivate her to do her exercises and to lose weight, she was very emotional and grateful.

I went through her home based exercises with her that she had been given by the physiotherapist and adapted them to make them more functional, motivating and easier for her to perform.

What I was thinking and feeling and what was good or bad:

I felt very anxious as I have not learnt much about osteoarthritis nor do I know how to manage it and this is the first patient I have seen on crutches. I felt really sorry for the lady and was desperate to help her.

I felt very happy when I saw her reaction, it was an amazing feeling knowing I could help someone and to see how much she appreciated it.

What else I could have done/areas for improvement:

Worry less, remember to treat the symptoms and help in any way that you can to make the patient feel more at ease, improve their quality of life and reduce their pain.

Action plan:

  • Learn more about Osteoarthritis and functional exercises for older individuals with hip pain.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *