Practicing Your Knowledge

PRACTICING YOUR KNOWLEDGE

This week, our objective was to attempt a hands-on experience in our profession and to speak about the differences between learning from this hands-on experience and learning from written or spoken sources. For my hands on experience, I attempted ultrasound therapy on my own leg. I chose to try this skill because I have always been interested in ultrasound technology and I am currently considering switching my major from Kinesiology to Diagnostic Medical Sonography which is based on this technology. Ultrasound therapy uses an ultrasound machine that sends high-frequency sound waves into your body through the "probe" -the hand held device shown above.  The person performing this therapy places a hypoallergenic gel on the area being treated and uses the probe to send sound waves deep into your muscles and tissues, creating a heating, tingling sensation. This heat helps increase the flow of blood, oxygen, and nutrients to the targeted muscles/tissues and speeds the healing process.

Being involved in many sports throughout high school, I have been in the physical therapy office many times. And, my physical therapist Kim Spranger - who I interview for another blog post in February- has performed this ultrasound therapy many, many times on my arms, legs, and back. Through attempting this skill on my own, I learned that while it may look really easy, it does take some experience to get it right. To start, I learned quickly that if you use too much gel, it can create quite a mess and you'll have goop running all over your patient. Next, I learned that you need to have a good understanding of the anatomy of the body to be able to place the probe in the right places in order to treat the patient most effectively. When Kim performed this procedure on my I could feel the heat hitting exactly where my problem area was, but when I tried, I couldn't get it to feel quite the same way. Eventually, through several failed attempts, I began to improve and perfect my ultrasound therapy skills.

Through this experience, I learned the difference between learning through a hands-on experience and learning through a written or spoken source. By using a written source, I was able to learn and then explain to you how ultrasound therapy works, not exactly how to perform the skill. I wouldn't have been able to observe and explain to you what happens internally during ultrasound therapy and what makes it effective by simply performing it. But, by attempting the skill myself, I learned how to perfect the skill, not an understanding of how it works. I learned that it takes some experience to get used to, which I think is the case in almost any situation. The biggest thing I learned however is that a combination of both written/spoken sources and hands-on experience will be most beneficial when learning something new. Through doing this, I learned how to perfect ultrasound therapy and I also understood the way it works. Had I only attempted to learn in one way, I would be missing out on a great deal of important information.

WORKS CITED

Newell, Lori. "What is Ultrasound Therapy?" eHow Health. Demand Media, Inc. 1999-2013. Web. 11 April 2013.