Questions frequently asked by patients are “how can I utilize Streamline?” OR “Streamline sounds like a great idea but what makes it different than physical therapy?” Both are valid questions and can best be described through one of our own patient’s experiences…
Kaseton is a level 10 gymnast who is a current member at 316 Gymnastics in Wichita, KS. Kaseton is local to the area being from Clay Center and goes to school at Riley. He sustained an upper extremity injury towards mid-season for him and then completed surgery at the end of 2021 with Dr. McAtee. He completed physical therapy at OSMC with Callie Effland, DPT. From the beginning of his care, his main goal was to return to a high level of gymnastics. Therefore at his pre-op appointment, Streamline to Sport, was discussed. This gave the patient and his mom the opportunity to research and ask questions about whether Streamline to Sport would be a good fit for their needs.
As Kaseton progressed through his physical therapy sessions, Callie determined when it would be appropriate to transition to Streamline. This decision came from Kaseton’s follow-up appointments. When that time came, Callie consulted with Elizabeth McKinney (ATC and Streamline to Sport Program Director) and an initial visit was scheduled to start Streamline to Sport.
The transition from physical therapy to Streamline to Sport can be confusing to patients and parents at times because there are questions such as:
- What is different about streamline to sport vs physical therapy?
- How do you know how many sessions to schedule?
- When do you transition from physical therapy to Streamline to Sport?
Your OSMC providers (physical therapist, physical therapist assistant, or athletic trainer) will be your best guide to how and when a patient transitions.
When asked about the transition from physical therapy to the Streamline program, Kaseton’s mom mentioned, “I feel like my son always knew what the goal was and how he was going to get there. Elizabeth always gave him the list of things he could do for the week. The steps she has provided I think has helped him get use to the feel of his shoulder again. He feels pretty good about being able to be back in the gym full time.”
At OSMC, we don’t just treat an injury but we treat the patient as a specific, unique individual. This really customizes when a patient progresses in strengthening or sport-specific progressions. Physical therapy and Streamline to Sport have many of the same elements that are included in the workouts and plans of care.
A patient may continue the same exercises that physical therapy prescribed but in the Streamline program, Elizabeth creates programs that build off the solid foundation of strength, endurance, mobility, functional movements, and stability to advance the skill to fit the sport the patient will be competing in. An example of this for Kaseton is that Callie had progressed him to a Bodyweight row and then Elizabeth built on that advancing to a dead weight pull up to kipping, which is a foundational movement for gymnastics. The transition from Physical Therapy to Streamline does come with a lot of grey area but at OSMC we communicate with the patient and parents about expectations and timelines.