Partners who Interpret

In my elective placement, I am currently treating a Russian man who had a knee arthroscopy in February and still has moderate pain in his knee when walking and with straightening his leg. His wife come every session and interprets for him. After his operation in Feb, his wife reports that he was not given any exercises and instead just stayed in bed for a few days without moving his leg. Normally post knee arthroscopy patients are given knee flexion and extension exercises and given education on active rest and post op instructions.

After talking to my supervisor about this anomaly, he suggested that maybe after the operation, the education and and exercises might have been taught to the man without his wife present. This affected my treatment because I had to be sure to involve his wife and to make sure to explain the benefits of the exercises to her so they will perform the exercises at home and be more receptive to the treatment they receive from me.

From this situation, I learnt that even if a patient may be nodding and agreeing during a treatment, it does not mean they fully understand and making sure that you get the patient to demonstrate the exercise is important. In patients that need an interpreter, especially if it is their partner, making sure to involve them in the treatment is very important because they are the people that will make the patient perform the exercises and adhere to the program.