Mary Posts:
DEAR ERI COMMUNITY: As a physical therapy assistant in an acute care facility, I am constantly working with patients to increase their ambulation and improve gait patterns. Recently, on a PT’s initial evaluation the physical therapist only transferred the pt bed to chair (2 feet) and did not ambulate the patient any significant distance. The PT set an ambulation goal of 100-150 feet with or without an assistive device in 7 days. As I worked with the patient the following day without any assistive device, I observed the pt had increased difficulty ambulating after 10 feet due to LE weakness resulting in foot drag. Needless to say, the pt has increased difficulty ambulating back to the chair and was very unsafe transferring stand to sit. What should I do the next time? Should I start with a walker?
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