The Importance of Physical Therapy
In this paper you will learn about how physical therapy helps people deal with chronic pain. A long with chronic pain physical therapy helps in many areas. I will go through a couple of different types of people it can help. Athletes and elderly people are a huge part of the patients seeking physical therapy. I also have a portion on the new advancing technology.
What I Knew
Maybe I can actually help myself by doing this topic. There I was during football practice in pain. It was the week of our third football game of the 2016 season. I felt something like a burning fire, or maybe that was just my back pain. While the coaches were yelling at Bowdy and Noah, I was having deep thoughts about my back.
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Physical therapy can help seniors regain their independence. The goal of physical therapy is to help restore and improve functionality, reduce pain, and increase flexibility and mobility for better strength of the body. The article “The Importance of Physical Therapy for Seniors,” says that as people tend to age they lose strength, flexibility, and balance. Going to a Physical Therapist will help improve and strengthen these weakened areas in the body. The elderly suffer from Osteoporosis which is a bone disease characterized by a decrease in bone mass and density, which can increase the risk of …show more content…
Technology will help physical therapists get new ideas and better understanding of injuries and the right way to treat them.
BENEFITS FOR CHRONIC PAIN For people suffering from chronic pain physical therapy can play a huge role. Chronic pain may make you want to lay in bed curled up taking pain medicine, but one of the best ways to ease your pain is doing exercises. Staying active and fit while using the proper technique during physical activities can prevent injuries. A physical therapists will help a patient learn the right exercises to use to help with the chronic pain. Tom Watson, a Doctor of Physical Therapy, says in the article “Physical Therapy for Pain Management, that “Physical therapy can be highly affective for all types of chronic musculoskeletal and neuropathic types of pain.” Physical therapy is used to alleviate types of chronic pain such as osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia, chronic headaches, and neuropathic pain (pain caused by an injury to the tissue or nerves). Improving strength in areas that are weak will help dissolve chronic pain. Physical therapists teach people how to move safely and functionally. Treatments of chronic pain can include: massage, manipulation of joints and bones, cold laser therapy, movement therapy and
Chronic pain is a long term condition, which means it cannot be cured, but the symptoms may be controlled by therapies and medications (Saxon and Lillyman, 2011). When pain is considered chronic, it lasts longer than the expected healing period and there may not be a clear cause (Kraaimaat and Evers, 2003).
World War 1 (1914-1918) soldiers who was injured needed help from professionals to help them recover from the injuries and return to their daily lives. Physical Therapy been around for years. Therapy is the treatment of a health problem, many therapists focus on specific parts on the body.(3) Physical Therapy know alot about the human body, Injuries , and a range of exercises and streches to improve your health.(4) 7 percent of physical therapist were self-employed in 2010.(5) Physical Therapy is a part of a heath care team, different patients different methods of recovers. Physical Therapy are trained to use many techniques to help the patient recover.(5) Physical Therapy are cared people about their patients of all ages.(5) Employment of Physical therapy should increase 39 percent from 2010 to 2020.
A year and three months ago, I was at football practice. I was on the defensive line. I tripped up the running back, but the running back landed on my left ankle. The result was a fracture on my left tibia. I played on my injury for two weeks. At that moment, I was not able to play football for the rest of the year. During this summer, I injured my back. I began to accumulate information about how to treat my injuries. While I was researching, the words physical therapy popped up. I clicked on them, and the article discussed what a physical therapist does. When I was halfway down the article, it stated that a physical therapist helps people with injuries like mine. After researching, I decided to be a physical therapist.
Treatment can be very boring for some people especially when it comes to physical therapy. Physical therapy is defined as “Process of doing a group of repetitive exercises in order to regain the range of motion
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 therapist help treat patients who have an injury or illness that prevents them from moving around to their full potential. The Bureau of Labor Statistics states that “Physical therapists provide care to people of all ages who have functional problems resulting from back and neck injuries; sprains, strains, and fractures; arthritis; amputations; neurological disorders, such as stroke or cerebral palsy; injuries related to work and sports; and other conditions.” (Physical
It takes a unique individual to want to become a Physical Therapist. These professionals have a lot of personal traits that are a must need to excel in the Physical Therapy field. A Physical therapist could be faced with a patient/client that might be angry, sad, or confused, so being able to relate to these individuals is a great quality all therapist must have. These personal traits are skills like being relaxed and determined, supportive, and of course knowledgeable.
Chronic Pain is described as a long lasting pain that people experience beyond a normal healing time (Hasenbring, Rusu & Turk, 2012). This time is usually up to three or six months prior to an incident (Hasenbring, Rusu & Turk, 2012). Chronic back pain can include common diagnosis of muscle spasms, back strain, or myofasical syndrome (Weiner & Nordin, 2010). There are three different types of chronic back pain; simple musculoskeletal back pain, spinal nerve root pain and serious spinal pathology (Jackson & Simpson, 2006). (Hasenbring, 2012)
They help them improve their movement and if necessary, help with the pain. “They are an important part of rehabilitation and treatment of patients with chronic conditions or injuries.” They spend a lot of time on their feet, actively working with patients. The following are some of the things that physical therapist typically do: diagnose patients by watching them stand or walk, they set up a plan for their patients, use exercises to help relieve them from any pain, evaluate the patient's progress and they educate their families about the problem. The work of a physical therapist varies on the the type of injury they are working with. For example, a patient that lost mobility due to Parkinson’s disease needs different type of attention as to an athlete recovering from a sprained ankle. This field has five areas: Orthopedic Physical Therapists which mainly focus o the function of the musculoskeletal system as well as sport injuries. Geriatric Physical Therapist are therapist that focus on older adults and work with conditions such as arthritis, cancer, joint replacement, balance disorders, etc. Neurological Physical Therapist focus on neurological conditions like Alzheimer’s disease, brain injury, spinal cord injury and strokes. Cardiopulmonary Physical Therapist help people that struggle with cardiovascular and pulmonary conditions like heart attacks and chronic obstructive pulmonary
Physical therapy has five sub-specialty practices: orthopedic, geriatric, neurological, cardiopulmonary and pediatric (“Welcome”). A geriatric physical therapist studies and focuses on the unique movement needs of older adults. These therapists usually give out treatments for conditions such as arthritis, cancer, osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s disease, joint replacement and balance disorders (“Welcome”). Geriatric physical therapy is used to help restore mobility, help with physical limitations and reduce pain for older adults. The second sub-specialty practice is neurological physical therapy, which obviously focuses on neurological conditions and impairments. Alzheimer’s disease, brain injury, cerebral palsy, Parkinson’s disease and strokes are just a couple of the neurological conditions that licensed neurological physical therapists work with. There are not many ways to physically improve nerves, but these therapists try their best for their patients. They concentrate on teaching their patients to adapt to visual, balance, mobility, and muscle loss impairments for daily living (“Welcome”). The third sub-specialty practice is cardiopulmonary therapy. This physical therapy practice focuses on helping people who have suffered from cardiovascular and pulmonary conditions; it is also used to help increase endurance and improve functional independence. Pediatric physical therapy is
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.
A physical therapist does a lot of things to help patients get back to what they normally do day to day before an injury. They do this by coming up with plans that helps to reduce pains and help restore movements and make goals for patients. They help by having a hands-on approach and being able to help with exercises and stretches they also massage muscles to help manipulate them to move. They also use different technology to help with anything that deals with the movement or that would restrict movement such as ultrasounds and electrotherapy.
“Employment of physical therapists is projected to grow 34 percent from 2014 to 2024, much faster than the average for all occupations.” 1 There is three main reasons of what is contributing the growth of the physical therapy profession. The first reasoning of why there will continue to be an demand for physical therapist is the baby boomers is a generation that continues to stay active longer into there life. This can contribute to individuals having pains or increasing the risk of injury at a later age in life. Secondly, there is also an increase of chronic diseases that require the attention of the physical therapist. These conditions include disease such as “diabetes and obesity, have become more prevalent in recent years. More physical therapists will be needed to help these patients maintain their mobility and manage the effects of chronic conditions.”1 Thirdly, Technology has a impact that more surgeries are performed outpatient and requires the physical therapist attention after surgery for proper care and gain of normal activities after surgery. The profession of physical therapy is predicted to continue to grow throughout the
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.