Reflection Paper
Although I had a lot of free time while I was there, I learned a lot with how few people came in. I watched two rehabs of college athletes. One had a high ankle sprain and the other was recovering from an ACL tear. I got to see exercises that I learned in kinesiology actually be performed. The coolest thing I saw was the pitting edema on the high ankle sprain. I had never heard of it and Danielle explained that he had so much swelling in is foot and ankle from fluid that when she pressed on it, the skin stayed indented. Also when Danielle said she had an ACL tear coming in for rehab, I thought about what exercises I would have done with that person depending on range of motion like biking, kick backs, and knee flexion and extensions. Most of the ones I thought of were performed which was really cool, but I learned about others like calf raises and using a weight to stretch out his leg. This experience let me see what we learn in class get put to action and taught me knew things that I can use in the future.
My favorite part of this experience was watching them tape anything. Whether it be an ankle or wrist, to a spot on their skin, to a burn from a firework. I always thought taping was cool and I always wanted to learn how to tape something. I watched them tape so many ankles that I could tell you how they do it in my sleep, but I know that actually taping is a lot harder than just watching. I figured that out when the wrestlers came in. I couldn’t tell you how many wrestlers came in with skin irritations that needed to be taped. All they did was put a Band-Aid on, then pre wrap, and then tape so it wouldn’t fall off, but it was the most exciting day when I got to tape ring worm on a wrestlers arm. I know most people would say that that is gross, but honestly I was really excited to do it. I hope one day I can be as efficient as they were while moving quickly. It’s fascinating how quickly they tape, but how intricate they are....