Abstract
A 49-year-old female with a medical diagnosis of Guillain Barre syndrome was seen for physical therapy treatment for 3 weeks in an inpatient rehabilitation setting. Treatment was provided by a student physical therapist under the direct supervision of a licensed physical therapist. The patient was examined by the student physical therapist using measures including manual muscle testing, neurologic examination, observational gait analysis, and the functional independence measure, in addition to patient reported information. Upon initial examination, the patient was observed to have impairments of strength, sensation, proprioception, and gait kinematics, which led to decreased functional independence and mobility, which ultimately restricted the patient from living at home with her family and participating in her usual role as a mother. The patient received multidisciplinary care from a variety of health care providers including physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech language pathologists, nurses, psychologists, social workers, and physiatrists. A physical therapy plan of care was developed to include interventions addressing the patient’s impairments and functional limitations to improve the patient’s independence and ability to live at home and participate in her daughters’ extracurricular activities. Interventions focused primarily on task-oriented functional training including bed mobility, transfer training, and gait training, with adjunct interventions of therapeutic exercise and orthotic prescription. The patient improved strength, gait kinematics, functional mobility and was discharged home with assistance from family. The patient was referred for continued physical therapy in an outpatient clinic and was given a home exercise program to be completed in the interim.