Saturday, 7 July 2007
Patient Compliance
In the clinic I am in at the moment, I had one lady with post muscle tear and fracture of the shoulder who is 2 months down the track in terms of rehabilitation, but her active range was shocking on examination. When I asked her if it was possible to take her shirt off so I could palpate the area and the effected mm groups while she moves and access her shoulder passively, she replied 'if I have to take my clothes off, I'm never going to come in again'. This lady was also refered by the doctors to begin hydrotherapy. I couldn't imagine anything worse for this lady, if she was so uncomfortable removing her top, let alone wearing bathers in a group of 8 others. This lady self discharged herself when really she was not appropriate for discharge. I wanted to give this lady a call to convince her that she really needed physiotherapy but I'm not sure whether it's appropriate or not. Any suggestions?
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1 comment:
I would suggest to give the lady a call, and explain that it isn’t essential to take her top off, it just helps to get a better idea of movement. I would also encourage hydrotherapy when you feel she is ready, and assure her that it’s quite ok to wear a t-shirt and shorts in the water if she feels she doesn’t want to wear bathers. Many of the patients I have treated (both at SCGH and Bently at the MS centre) have taken this option and been able to reap the benefits of hydro without feeling uncomfortable in terms of what they are wearing.
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