Abstract
A 78-year-old adult male patient with a left total knee arthroplasty was treated in outpatient physical therapy for 19 sessions over 6 weeks. Treatment was provided by a student physical therapist supervised by a licensed physical therapist. In the initial evaluation, the patient was examined and assessed for deficits in knee range of motion (ROM), passive joint mobility, lower extremity (LE) muscular strength, balance, and patient-reported activity limitations and participation restrictions. From these baseline measurements, a plan of care was developed for improving knee ROM, LE muscular strength, static and dynamic balance to increase patient-perceived independence in various activities of daily living (ADLs). The patient received the following interventions of manual therapy, therapeutic exercise, and neuromuscular re-education. The patient achieved goals proposed for knee range of motion, lower extremity muscular strength, static and dynamic balance with associated improvements in patient-reported outcome measures. The patient was discharged to continued outpatient physical therapy care of decreased frequency until the ability to return to all participation goals were achieved.