My DPT Capstone project involved the creation of a website to provide information on formal balance testing, home exercise programs, and some “how-to” videos for patients who are in the acute phase, or pre-prosthetic phase, after a lower-limb amputation. The target audience is for student and novice clinicians for this patient population. The written HEPs on the site are also meant to be given, in part or as a whole, to patients who are s/p LLA; the language used there reflects this target audience versus the clinician centered audience for the rest of the site.
I am currently hosting the site on a fee webhost called weebly.com. To view the contents, please go to:
http://mtigamputeecapstone.weebly.com
Any constructive feedback, and recommendations for additional exercises on the HEPs, in particular, would be greatly appreciated!
4 Responses to “Non-Prosthetic Balance, Gait, and Exercise for Acute post-LLA Patients”
Michael Tighe
Based on feedback, I have made some changes to the OLST, TUG Test, and Golden Leg strengthening HEPs.
Michael Tighe
Debra and Michelle:
Thank you both for the kind words!
As far as the products, I am indebted to the clinicians who were willing to model for me. Without their participation, interaction, and suggestions as we went along, none of those HEPs would exist. So I hope they don’t mind me putting their names on the site, but I felt some acknowledgement was in order. And no, Michelle, I hadn’t intended for them all to be more beautiful than me (not a difficult feat)…it just worked out that way!
I’m not planning on taking the site down anytime soon. One reason I chose weebly.com was that they do offer the free hosting option. After all, I’ve got student loans to pay, so free I can afford!
As to access, that’s a good question. After feedback from KMac, one of the other reasons I chose an off-campus webhost was to maintain my access to the material after graduation. It also allows me more control over who can get to the site. The name I chose is long enough and bizarre enough that it is not so likely to end up at the top of anyone’s random google search,
Certainly, I want to make the material available to my current employer…especially since it was filmed and/or photographed in their facility, using their clinicians! Certainly all of our classmates thru the UNC DPT Capstone site will have access, and I’ll have to trust their discretion on use of the material, particularly the images. Also, if you have any fellow clinicians that are working with this patient population and you think could benefit from the material, then keep this little site in mind.
I’m still making little tweaks to it, based on feedback I’ve received. My PICO project was on acute-phase balance tests and non-prosthetic gait, so the HEPs were geared toward this. Certainly a HUGE area I didn’t address here was upper body strengthening, which is critically important. I even had someone lined up to demonstrate the exercises…but it was somewhat off-topic for the initial scope of the project, especially since it was supposed to be based off of the PHYT752 evidence table.
Once a final grade is received for the project, I’ll probably add some similar additions, maybe even upgrade the AMPnoPRO section as well as add the UE exercises. If you have any additional suggestions, please let me know!
Michael
Debra Gerber
Hi Michael,
Ditto what Michelle said! I am so impressed about the quality of the products that you created and the organization on the website. What a great idea! If patients have tablets or iPads, they could download the home programs for reference. What a great resource for home health PTs as well! I also would love to know how long the website will be available and the details around how you chose the website/costs for maintaining it etc.
Well done!
MIchelle Green
Michael- Excellent work! I love the various forms of education you offer. As we know, some patients do better with visual learning, others with written language. Your information is presented in various ways to allow the best learning opportunity for the patient. Seems to fit Health Literacy standards too, in regards to language simplicity. Excellent. WIll your site stay available for an extended period of time? DO you plan to share it with patients or PT’s for learning? And, your model is beautiful! (NOT you, Jess:))