It really did benefit me and will help me with the application process for PT schools. I鈥檝e now gotten to do research that I didn鈥檛 think I鈥檇 get to do (as an undergraduate). I鈥檓 happy I did it.
As a member of the 福利天堂专注精品福利 women鈥檚 soccer team, Logan Levesque, 鈥26, has witnessed both teammates and opponents go down with injuries, specifically knee injuries.
鈥淚鈥檝e been lucky to not experience an injury like this, but it鈥檚 something I鈥檝e often thought about, how female athletes seem to have more knee injuries,鈥 she said.
As a health science major, with a concentration in physical therapy, Logan looks to carve out a career helping people recover from injuries.
When her advisor, Dr. Jean Mead, informed her of an opportunity through BSU鈥檚 Adrian Tinsley Program for Undergraduate Research and Creative Work Summer Grants program, Logan saw it as way to gain more knowledge within a field she wants to work in.
鈥淚鈥檓 trying to figure out my future, and what I want to do over the next few years, and I thought this was a cool opportunity,鈥 she said.
While working on her project, 鈥溾淒ecision-Making in Knee Replacement Surgery: Exploring Influences Among Former Female Athletes with Osteoarthritis,鈥 she was mentored by Mead and Health and Kinesiology Professor Dr. Matthew Patey.
The study examined elite female athletes, post-career and over 40, and the ways in which they arrived at making the decision to have knee-replacement surgery.
鈥淕oing into the PT (physical therapy) field, I want to better understand all of the factors one considers so I can better help my patients, what they are going through when they are making this decision,鈥 Logan said.
What she found was a lot of similarities. That many of the women struggle with mental health when it comes to having the surgery.
鈥淢ost people didn鈥檛 want to feel as though their identity as an athlete will be taken away,鈥 Logan said.
Another commonality was that many of the women put off having the surgery until a major incident occurred.
鈥淯ntil they had fallen multiple times, or couldn鈥檛 walk normally, or stand up without their knee giving out, that was when they would finally consider it,鈥 she said.
As she looks to apply to graduate schools next spring, Logan said the ATP program has helped increase her knowledge and added to her resume as she enters the workforce.
鈥淚t really did benefit me and will help me with the application process for PT schools. I鈥檝e now gotten to do research that I didn鈥檛 think I鈥檇 get to do (as an undergraduate). I鈥檓 happy I did it,鈥 she said.
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