Physical limitations for PT?

[fungusflu]

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Hi:

I'm asking this question for my sister. She's a first year PT student at a Canadian University. She was told by some prof that she has "lax joint" in ther thumb (whatever that means) which may affect her ability to do manual therapy as her fingers can get tired easily. Is this true? If so, is ther something she can do to correct this problem (splint, strengthening exercise...) or are there some fields in PT that are not manual therapy intensive? Thanks so much for all your input!

 

[AussiePT]

fungusflu it is correct, a lot of students experience this.
There are absolutely areas of practice where she wont need to worry about, for instance any rehab or cardiorespiratory stuff. Even most of sports physio wont need manual therapy. If she enjoys musculoskeletal therapy where she has to do a lot of PA mobes it may pose a problem but her prof. should have taught her alternative techniques such as using your index finger to block that thumb hyperextension at the DIP or even better she should learn the pisiform grip, which is actually favoured by many experts here.

 

[fungusflu]

Hi AussiePT:

Thank you so much fro your fast and encouraging response. my sister was devastated when she was told about her problem and her prof told her that there's nothing she can do about it! Now she can sleep better!

 

[Elbrus]

I too agree with AussiePT.

As PTs we are constantly reminded to protect ourselves and our own bodies to avoid injury. Really, we are no different than the patients we treat. Many new students hyperextend finger joints when learning manual therapy. For someone like your sister, awareness of her body mechanics, strengthening, or modifying certain techniques may be all it takes. In cases where people have global hypermobility, they should consider persuiting a practice area that does utilize a lot of manual therapy. As stated above, there are many to select from (see sticky for specialty practice areas above.)
Best wishes!

 

[Danae00]

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