Physical Therapy in the 21st Century: Why are we doing this? Great question, one may ask. Why ARE Physical Therapist doing this? Physical Therapy needs are much different today than they were many years ago. Today, people are living longer, soldiers are returning from war wounded, and people are surviving cancer. In the 21st Century, these people want to live with the same quality of life that they are accustomed to. That's where Physical Therapy comes in. Physical Therapists in the 21st Century are performing needed services to gain people's trust so we can educate them and give them proper treatment to help them live longer, have quality of life, and re-gain or maintain everyday functions when they have experienced some kind of injury. Today, in the 21st Century, people as a whole are living longer. The median life expectancy in the United States for the year 2010 was 78.3 years of age. That’s a considerable incline when you consider that in 1959-1961 the life expectancy of men was 66.8 and women was 73.2! The projected median life expectancy for the year 2020 is 79.51. Not only are people living longer, they are living more actively. Today’s grandparents are not the same as grandparents in the 50’s. They are taking Zumba classes, competing in marathons, and working in their yards – all while in their late 60’s to mid-70’s. Plus, we have grandparents raising their grandchildren which produces a need to be more physically active. While it’s great for people to be this physically active as they get older, they still expect everything to work as it did when they were in their 20’s – but they don’t – osteoarthritis sets in, injuries happen and physical therapy is needed. Quality of life is a strong desire. This o... ... middle of paper ... .... 2. Fitzgerald, GK.; Piva, SR.; Gil, AB.; Wisniewski, SR.; Oddis, CV.; & Irrgang, JJ. Agility and perturbation training techniques in exercise therapy for reducing pain and improving function in people with knee osteoarthritis: A randomized clinical trial. Phys Ther. April 2011;91;4: 452-469. 3. Waldrop, S.; Wojciechowski, M. The “bionic” warrior: advances in prosthetics, technology, and rehabilitation. PT Mag Phys Ther. April 2007;15(4): 60-66. 4. Prevention (CDC). Cancer survivors – United States, 2007. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. March 11, 2011; 60(9): 269-272 5. Schwartz, AL. Managing your side effects. In: Cancer Fitness. New York, NY: Fireside; 2004:52-85. 6. Dean, E. Physical therapy in the 21st Century (part 1): toward practice informed by epidemiology and the crisis of lifestyle conditions. Physiother Theory Pract), July 2009; 25(5-6): 330-353
Imagine going up for the perfect lay-up, you make the shot but when you land you twist awkwardly and land on your knee. Laying on the ground, you feel the pain surging through your knee, the first line of defense is an athletic trainer, however if this accident happened when you fell on a wet kitchen floor you could expect much the same care from a physical therapist Athletic Trainers are the first to respond to sport related in game injuries, and provide care after injuries. In contrast physical therapist are not only there to fix accidental injuries, and treat chronic bone and joint they help with plans of care and rehabilitation for athletes and non-athletes after injuries. Physical Therapy play a important role in todays healthcare. Physical Therapy are experts of improving and storing motion , they contribute to their patients ‘ quality of life by keeping them healthy , fit , active and in medications . The first school of Modern Physical Therapy opened in Boston, MA , So Physical Therapy have been around for a long time. The Physical Therapy Association Organized by Mary McMillan. It later became the American Physical Therapy Association.World War ll brings changes to Physical Therapy was done at hospitals as patients recovered from injuries , surgeries or other ailments.
Now that you have a better understanding about Athletic training, I will explain about physical therapy and why I would like have as a lifetime career. In an article I read, the author Sue Klappa said that, “PT’s reach into our communities through engagement and social responsibility. It compels us to bring hope and love to others. It urges us to learn to see things differently. It holds the promise of defining moments, as we take the time to see things in a new light” (Klappa 2). Klappa is a physical therapist that traveled the world to help others and when she went to different countries. She learned how important physical therapist are in the medical field and how she can get others attention. Starting a career path in physical therapy can
People have created a hectic and busy world, that includes careers and daily activities that require physical activity. While attempting to attain the required physical conditioning, people often take chances with their personal health as they try to stretch their physical limits. Sometimes, people can surpass their current limits and form new boundaries; however, other times people are not so fortunate. These unfortunate times often lead to injury, including workplace accidents, sporting incidents, disease afflictions, as well as others; any or all of which could bring about the need of rehabilitation services. Many of these require physical therapy, which includes assisting injured or otherwise impaired patients as they recover to their pre-injury status or to recover as much as is physically possible. The field of physical therapy is a choice career for those who enjoy helping people recover from injury, and the following text will provide reason for choosing this profession.
Physical therapy is a fairly new practice of rehabilitation. The treatments were not widely practiced until after World War I when soldiers returned home with injuries that were able to be rehabilitated by this therapy. The profession immediately began to grow and has been popular in the U. S. since that time. The vocation is also expected to c...
In today’s society, what was once said to be true and taken as fact regarding older people is no longer the whole story. As Laslett states, “At all times before the middle of the twentieth century and all over the globe the greater part of human life potential has been wasted, by people dying before their allotted time was up.” (1989a), and to a great extent a lot
The existing U.S. population is over 315 million and rising. In the year 2030, 72 million Americans will be 65 or older, a 50 percent change in age demographics since the year 2000. The change is primarily due to the aging baby boomers, who were born at the end of World War II. Americans are living longer than ever befo...
Physical therapy is always full of surprises, from new advancements in technology to new and improved therapeutic techniques. Although there are fun games and new technology that physical therapists can do with patients, the main struggle for physical therapists is to motivate their patients to complete their therapy exercises both in the clinic and in the outside world. This problem is very frustrating because the doctors who work at the clinic constantly push patients to complete their therapy so that they can heal; however, when patients are stubborn and reluctant to their treatment, yet constantly complain of pain, doctors must spend more time convincing them to do the therapy rather than completing the therapy itself.
Today, the world’s population is aging at a very fast pace and the United States is no exception to this demographic change. According to the U.S Census Bureau, senior citizens will account for 21% of the American population in 2050 (Older Americans, 2012). Although living longer lives may not seem like a negative sign, living longer does not necessarily mean living healthier. Older adults of today are in need of long-term health care services more than any generation before them (Older Americans, 2012). Because of the growing need for senior care, millions of families are facing critical decisions on how to provide care for their parents.
"Physical Therapy." Mayo School of Health Sciences. Mayo Clinic, 25 June 2013. Web. 7 Nov. 2013.
The treatment of disease, injury, or deformity by physical methods such as massage, heat treatment, and exercise rather than by drugs or surgery. What is this the definition of? That’s right, physical therapy. Physical therapy helps people to regain their strength. After the doctor looks at you, he might send you to physical therapy. After you have surgery, you will probably go to Physical Therapy. It is a great way to help your injury. Why do I care about physical therapy? Physical therapy is something I want to do for my job. I should be a Physical Therapist because I have gone through physical therapy for my knee and achilles tendon. Therefore I know a little bit about it. Also it would be a good job that would help support my family. Another reason is I would be open to something new. I have spent my whole life dancing, so this would be something new. Do you want to be a physical therapist? I will take you down the road of physical therapy.
As American society has evolved in the past 100 years and technology has increased and improved, so has the life expectancy for individuals. Currently, females can expect to live for 81 years on average, while males can expect to live for 75 years, giving an average life expectancy of 78.3 years (Santrock, 2013, p.536). According to Santrock (2013), “since 1900, improvements in medicine, nutrition, exercise, and lifestyle have increased our life expectancy an average of 30 additional years,” but another important factor is the decreasing infant mortality, allowing a larger population of people, including older adults (p.536). Making good choices in diet, regular exercise, avoiding drugs and alcohol, along with getting enough sleep and maintaining a low and healthy stress level can all increase life expectancy. Relationships, emotional well-being, and having purpose all also play an important role in determining how long an individual will live. As people are living longer, more ...
Physical therapy was listed as one of the top ten jobs in high demand by The Conference Board and Forbes magazine in 2014. The demand for physical therapists is expected to grow 34% between 2014 and 2024, which is much faster than the average for all occupations. According to the Bureau of Statistics, “There is a high demand for physical therapist in the workforce”(American Physical Therapy Association). The reason for this high increase is that sports injuries themselves are on the rise. Most people don’t consider physical therapy as their first option rather they choose surgery. Oftentimes people choose surgery when it’s not even necessary. In some studies, surgery has been surprisingly ineffective. Andrea Avruskin, a spokesperson for the
Some may say that the job of a physical therapist is easy, I say they are wrong. While the job may look appealing, as portrayed in several movies today, I believe being a physical therapist requires much more than me just exercising people’s muscles to restore the function. As a physical therapist I am friend and a doctor, I am there to encourage and be firm, I am there to laugh with my patients in the pleasant times and talk in the distressing times. Physical therapists are heroes in a way, without them children might not have the hope of walking again after a car accident, the elderly might not be able to find relief from their severe arthritis, and soldiers might not have the hope of recovering from their injuries after being wounded in war. Every day in my career as a pediatric physical therapist I try to impact my patients in a life changing way. Through all of my daily tasks, from meeting with my patients and creating plans for their treatment, to observing and assisting
Physical therapy is a fun and exciting healthcare profession that helps people. It is all about helping other people who have problems with their body, muscles, joints and other parts of their body. Patients includes accident victims and individuals with disabling conditions such as low back pain, arthritis, heart disease, fractures, head injuries, and cerebral palsy. Physical therapy will perform an evaluation of your problem or difficulty. They evaluate your problem by performing tests and measures to assess the problem. These tests includes muscle strength, joint motion, sensory and neurological, coordination, balance, observation, palpation, flexibility, postural screening, movement analysis, and special tests are designed for a particular problem. Next, they develop a treatment plan and goals and then manage the appropriate treatment to aid in recovery of a problem or dysfunction. Physical therapists are able to treat their patients by using many different treatments depending on the type of injury. Some of the treatments are electrical stimulation, hot and cold packs, infrared and ultrasound to reduce swelling or relieve pain. These treatments are used to help decrease pain and increase movement and function. Therapeutic exercises instructions will help restore strength, movement, balance, or skill as a guide towards full functional recovery. Physical therapy provides "hands on techniques" like massage or joint mobilizations skills to restore joint motion or increase soft tissue flexibility. They will focus on basic skills such as getting out of bed, walking safely with crutches or a walker, moving specific joints and muscles of the body. Physical therapists treatment includes patient education to teach them how to deal with a current problem and how to prevent the problem in the future. Such documentation is used to track the patient's progress, and identify areas requiring more or less attention. They encourage patients to use their own muscles. Their main goal is to improve how an individual functions at work and home.
Physical therapists are health care professionals that provide therapeutic services to their patients who have temporary or chronic physical conditions that were caused from injury or disease. Physical therapist also provided therapeutic services to patients after they have gone through surgery to help them gain back mobility and manage their pain. They can also work in preventive care by promoting healthy life styles and instructing individual patients or groups on preventing injury by using exercises that stretch and strengthen muscles. To help their patients try to recover they use massage techniques, wellness plans, and different types of equipment. When a physical therapist sees a patient for the very first time they must do an examination, evaluation, diagnosis, and then put together a physical intervention to start the rehabilitation process. They also work as a team with other health care professionals to help with their patients needs. Physical therapist can really make a difference in their patient’s lives by not only providing therapeutic services but also encouraging and motivating them so they can get better. The main goals of physical therapist are to help their patients retain or gain back lost physical mobility, eliminate or reduce pain, increase productivity and help promote a healthy life style so patients can have a better quality of life and become more independent.