Week 2

Today i was asked to device a strengthening program for patient d. Patient d ambulates with a 4 wzf, she is very over weight and has poor balance. Patient d is very deconditioned due to a knee replacement and recent ankle injury. i began my assessment by looking at her functional capabilities. The patients standing balance was ok, however as soon as i took her into a squat or slight knee bend she lost all stability. I also duiscovered that she was externally rotating and circumducting her right leg when ambulating. From these observations i decided that the left quadracep was not doing it's job effectively so i did a basic strength test. I discovered that patient d had difficulty extended her knee against gravity and had a left quads lag. I decided to focus my immediate strengthening program on her quads lag, working in the first 30 degrees of extension. I did inner range quad excercises and used a pilates ball to support the upper leg.