Helping patients improve their ability to perform the activities of daily living and other types of motion is an important part of the physical therapist’s role in health care. The physical therapist works with patients who have certain diseases that affect their ability to move as well as with people who have injured themselves during sports or through accidents. Physical therapists can also promote fitness and health and wellbeing.
Patients who have diseases like spina bifida, cerebral palsy, arthritis, or multiple sclerosis – all which affect the ability to move – often have physical therapy sessions to help improve range of motion and muscle strength. Other patients use physical therapists to assist in the recovery process after a strain, sprain, fractured bone, or back or neck injury. Many health care providers include physical therapists on the health care team when caring for patients with any of these health conditions.
Physical therapists don’t only use therapeutic exercises to benefit their patients; other therapeutic modalities may help the therapists in his or her care. Assistive technologies, manual training techniques, and electrotherapeutic technologies can all be incorporated in the treatment plan depending on the disease. Physical therapists also develop and implement interventions to help prevent the worsening of a patient’s health care concern.
After obtaining an undergraduate degree, a person interested in becoming a physical therapist needs to complete a physical therapy program at an accredited school. These programs include basic science classes but also include coursework in the behavioral sciences and clinical experiences; after completing the required classes, the person may receive a Masters degree or a doctorate degree – depending on the program. Once he or she obtains a state-issued license, a physical therapist may open a practice or join a PT or physician group practice.
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