Edward R. Leahy Jr. Clinic for the Uninsured Physical Therapy Clinic

Edward R. Leahy Jr. Clinic for the Uninsured Physical Therapy Clinic The Leahy Physical Therapy Clinic is a non-profit, student-run free physical therapy clinic for the underinsured and uninsured

Congratulations to our volunteers of the semester: Kaitlin, Mike & Erin!This group of three has worked very closely with...
05/17/2025

Congratulations to our volunteers of the semester: Kaitlin, Mike & Erin!

This group of three has worked very closely with our patients this semester, providing exceptional patient care and showing their creative skills in the clinic. Thank you all so much!

That’s a wrap for the spring 2025 semester, see you in the fall!

Congratulations to our volunteers of the week: Britt & Madison!Britt and Madison are new volunteers to the Leahy Clinic ...
05/10/2025

Congratulations to our volunteers of the week: Britt & Madison!

Britt and Madison are new volunteers to the Leahy Clinic this semester, and have made a great impact in patient care! We appreciated these two setting their busy schedule aside and coming down to the clinic! These two were able to collaborate with our other student volunteers to implement new treatment ideas for our patients! Great work, girls!

Congratulations to our volunteer of the week: Mike!Mike has been consistently stepping up to volunteer throughout the en...
04/10/2025

Congratulations to our volunteer of the week: Mike!

Mike has been consistently stepping up to volunteer throughout the entire semester and has been a great helping hand! He was able to adjust his plan of care for a patient that tweaked their knee and had various exercise restrictions. He was overall able to ensure that this patient had a session where they could still achieve gains given their restrictions and even utilized Blaze Pods as a new interactive form of treatment! Great job, Mike!

04/09/2025

(4/1 & 4/3) SKILL OF THE WEEK: Backwards Walking with Bridget and Dylan!

Backwards walking may sound simple, but it has many benefits that are not achieved through regular walking. These include improved posture, improved strength of the posterior chain, and improved somatosensory integration by removing visual awareness. This duo utilized backwards walking with a patient with Parkinson’s disease that had a goal to improve lower extremity strength. The patient has also been working on balance interventions, in which backwards walking provided a great challenge to their visual dependence for postural stability.

When incorporating backwards walking into a plan of care, make sure to guard the patient when necessary, and use a gait belt if needed!

Congratulations to our volunteers of the week: Moira, Kyle, & Lily!This group performed an evaluation on a Spanish-speak...
04/09/2025

Congratulations to our volunteers of the week: Moira, Kyle, & Lily!

This group performed an evaluation on a Spanish-speaking patient with R shoulder and arm pain. They incorporated special tests such as the Paxinos and Cross-body tests for the ACJ, functional assessments of ER and IR of the shoulder, and grip strength. Based on their findings they determined that her pain was consistent with an ACJ pathology due to the location of pain and positive special test findings. Great work guys!

04/09/2025

(3/25 & 3/27) SKILL OF THE WEEK: Tai Chi and Yoga with Kaitlin, Cori, and Bailee!

Tai Chi and Yoga inspired movements are a great low-impact intervention to promote balance, improve posture, and decrease pain! This trio has been incorporating dynamic movement sequences using concepts of Tai Chi and Yoga for a patient with Fibromyalgia.

Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, sleep issues, and cognitive difficulties. By practicing Tai Chi and Yoga, patients with Fibromyalgia can benefit from gentle movement, breathing techniques, and mindfulness. Focusing on mind-body awareness allows patients to shift away from pain sensation and center their attention towards improving flexibility, reducing stiffness, and restoring general movement.

The patient that performed these exercises claimed they felt a reduction in their pain, and overall had fun during their session!

Congratulations to our volunteers of the week: Aidan & Nick!Aidan and Nick have had the greatest participation of all of...
04/02/2025

Congratulations to our volunteers of the week: Aidan & Nick!

Aidan and Nick have had the greatest participation of all of the DPT 1’s this semester! They have been consistently working with the same patient every Tuesday since the beginning of the semester, and have done an excellent job with motivating this patient to perform to their greatest potential each session along with DPT 2, Emily! Great work guys!

03/20/2025

(3/11 & 3/13) SKILL OF THE WEEK: Floor to Stand Transfers with Kieran!

Floor to stand transfers are a great functional activity to work on in the clinic, and can benefit patients of all ages and levels of function! It is important to understand your patient’s prior level of function and personal goals for PT and address them accordingly in your plan of care. Kieran has been working with a patient with Parkinson’s disease that stated that he would like to improve his floor to stand transfers, specifically after performing push-ups in his exercise class.

When working on floor to stand transfers, it can be beneficial to first demonstrate the breakdown of the transfer to your patient as a visual reference. Three key positions in this transfer are side sitting, tall kneeling, and half kneeling, which Kieran demonstrates to his patient, Aaron. It is important to ensure that your patient feels comfortable in each of these positions before running through the full transfer. Kieran then guards Aaron accordingly by guiding his hip and trunk movement throughout the transfer. A progression from this transfer could be starting from a prone position, as if the patient just completed push-ups.

You want to make sure that your patient is performing as much of the transfer as then can on their own by utilizing upper extremity, core, and lower extremity strength. As always, use a gait belt and take vitals throughout the transfer if necessary! You can also use a floor mat to further ensure patient safety. Great work, Kieran!

Congratulations to our volunteers of the week: Emily & Bella!Emily and Bella sprung into action to assist a patient in t...
03/14/2025

Congratulations to our volunteers of the week: Emily & Bella!

Emily and Bella sprung into action to assist a patient in the who was experiencing chest tightness during their Tuesday session. They collaborated with members of the medical clinic, including med students, nursing students, doctors, and nurses, to perform tests on this patient to ensure they got the medical attention they needed. The patient ended up recovering from their symptoms, and was able to attend their Thursday session. Great work, girls!

03/14/2025

(3/4 & 3/6) SKILL OF THE WEEK: Cervical Rotation and Extension SNAGs with Mike & Emily!

Sustained natural apophyseal glides (SNAGs) are used as a mobilization technique with movement to assist with motions of the neck that present with pain and/or stiffness. In the patient that Mike and Emily worked with, they were experiencing pain in the neck when turning to the left and looking up. Because of this, this patient was a great candidate for cervical SNAGs to promote more range of motion with these movements as well as decreased pain!

To perform the SNAG mobilization with movement when rotating to the left (left rotation), Mike places his thumbs over the contralateral transverse process of the cervical vertebrae that he wants to mobilize and provides an anterior and slightly superior force to follow the arthrokinematics of the cervical vertebrae with rotation. While maintaining pressure, he instructs Emily to rotate her head to the left, then return to neutral.

To perform the SNAG mobilization with movement when looking up (extension), Mike places each thumb on the transverse processes of the cervical vertebrae that he wants to mobilize and provides the same direction of force as for cervical rotation. While maintaining pressure, he instructs Emily to tilt her head back, then return to neutral.

Mike and Emily had this patient perform 3x10 for each of these movements, where they reported less pain and displayed improved ROM! Great work guys!

The last two weeks in the clinic had amazing volunteers of the week!!! Read below about our highlighted volunteers! This...
03/04/2024

The last two weeks in the clinic had amazing volunteers of the week!!! Read below about our highlighted volunteers!

This week we have a handful of volunteers that did some awesome work! Congrats to Kaitlin & Charlotte as well as Annie, Megan, and Katie for being our volunteers of the week! Both groups of students worked with a patient with Parkinson’s disease, on Tuesday and Thursday. Each team utilized our brand new continuous heart rate monitor to facilitate high intensity interval training for this patient. Kaitlin & Charlotte focused on timing the patient with fast movements by using a metronome. Megan, Annie & Katie had the patient use big amplitude movements to get the heart rate up. Excellent job!! We love to see this type of effort down in the clinic!!

Congrats to Danielle our volunteer of the week! Danielle has been a dedicated volunteer the past few weeks. The past week, Danielle adapted from preparing an initial eval, to then completing a chart review for a daily treatment, then back to doing her original evaluation. Her evaluation skills were very thorough and utilized translator services excellently! She even facilitated learning for her fellow DPT 1 peers! Great job!!

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Scranton, PA

Opening Hours

Tuesday 3pm - 6pm
Thursday 3pm - 6pm

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