@State Mar 2018 - Adaptive Fitness
Helping Hands: How SDSU's Adaptive Fitness Clinic Benefits Students and Clients
by Erik Good
SDSU's Adaptive Fitness Clinic has provided Kristina Huvar with a lifeline — a chance to help her mother walk properly again. The clinic has given community members a low-cost alternative to high-quality rehabilitation while providing students hands-on, real world experience working with patients through a kinesiology course.
Following the stroke and aphasia that robbed her of her ability to speak, Hanna Huvar was looking for options. The rehabilitation that Hanna required to walk again was just too expensive at Kaiser, and Kristina, her daughter, was still adjusting to her newfound role as her mother's caretaker.
That's when the relative of a friend suggested that Huvar apply to get on the waitlist at San Diego State University's Adaptive Fitness Clinic.
Founded in 1983, the Adaptive Fitness Clinic has given community members with disabilities a low-cost alternative to high-quality rehabilitation. The clinic gives students hands-on, real world experience working with patients through ENS 388, a one-unit kinesiology course allowing students to work with individuals who have a variety of physical and neurological disabilities. The clinic provides lower-income patients access to affordable healthcare opportunities they may not otherwise have.
For Kristina Huvar, the clinic has provided her with a lifeline — a chance to help her mother walk properly again and hopefully regain the use of her shoulder.
"It benefits my mom tremendously, so why not let students practice what they really love to do? She benefits from their passion," Kristina Huvar said.
The students, in planning for their clients' rehabilitation, are supported by a professional team. All staff members assist student volunteers in their regimen of exercises, which are tailored to each client's condition.
"Since its creation, the clinic was founded on the idea of maximizing each individual's physical potential no matter their level of physical ability. We want to provide a safe, affordable and effective way for clients with a variety of neurological conditions to increase their movement and function," said Matt Soto, director of the Adaptive Fitness Clinic.
Each semester, clients will attend about 24 classes.
"Keeping the fees affordable allows a wide range of clients to attend our program and receive high quality treatment from students who are eager to learn and help," Soto said. "Many of these clients have financial difficulties or due to medical expenses, are facing financial challenges. Without a facility like ours, they wouldn't be able to attend any form of continued care, treatment or rehabilitation."
While Hanna Huvar may not regain the use of her fingers, her spirit remains unbroken; Kristina Huvar says that her mother is still eager to show off her playful personality, sometimes mock-sprinting towards a game of soccer as if she's about to take the field.
Aubrie Jones, a third-year kinesiology major at with an emphasis in pre-physical therapy, first signed up to volunteer at the clinic as a freshman. Initially, she felt overwhelmed by the prospect of being hands-on with real-world patients and stopped volunteering. But by the next year, with more exercise and nutritional science courses, Jones became a regular face in the clinic, eventually being paired with her own client to assist.
Jones said: "A lot of people are really appreciative that [the clinic] is cheaper because physical therapy costs a lot, especially when insurance can be hard to work with."
After her work with the clinic, Jones believes that clients and students both benefit tremendously from the experience of working together. For the students, they get the opportunity to apply their "bedside manner" and academic knowledge to a real world situation. For the clients, it's a chance to experience the vitality of interacting with the younger generation. It's an opportunity for community and normalcy that can be refreshing for both.