This past weekend, nine DPT students volunteered at the Special Olympics Summer Games in Orlando at the Wide World of Sports arena. There, they were a part of the FUNfitness program, which was a fitness screening event for the competing athletes. Working with partners, the students assessed:
- the flexibility of the hamstring, calf, shoulder rotator, and hip flexor muscles;
- functional strength of the abdominal and upper and lower extremity muscles; balance (single leg stance and functional reach); and
- aerobic fitness (Step test or Wheel test).
After the fitness screenings, licensed PTs provided education and instruction to event participants about how to stretch, strengthen and improve balance and fitness based on the deficits found in screenings the DPT students conducted.
