Physical therapists evaluate and treat people with health problems resulting from injury or disease. They assess joint motion, muscle strength and endurance, function of heart and lungs, and performance of activities required in daily living. Physical therapists employ a wide range of therapeutic exercise techniques, cardiovascular endurance training, and training in activities of daily living. Typical examples of persons who might benefit from physical therapy include an automobile mechanic with an injured back, an elderly person with arthritis; a newborn baby with a birth defect; a professional athlete in training; a stroke victim; a crippled child; a pregnant woman; and an overstressed business executive.
Physical therapy aids people who are recovering from injury or a disease by making them stronger, relieving their pain, and helping them to regain use of an affected limb or to relearn such daily activities as walking, dressing, and bathing. Some patients recovering from surgery require physical therapy as part of their recovery process. In these cases, the physical therapist attempts to achieve normal mobility through the relief of pain and the rehabilitation of impaired muscle function. The therapist may employ active or passive exercises designed to strengthen specific muscles or to coordinate muscle movement. In passive exercises, the therapist manipulates the affected parts until the patient is able to do so alone. In hydrotherapy, the patient exercises in water, which requires a smaller expenditure of energy than exercises out ofwater. Patients who are entirely immobilized may begin physical therapy in bed with massage and the application of heat.
Physical therapists also assist people in remaining well and safe from injury. Physical therapists teach people the importance of physical fitness and show them how to avoid injuries at work or play. They also design and supervise personalized exercise programs geared at helping people increase their overall fitness and muscular strength and endurance.
Physical therapy techniques may include therapeutic exercise, joint mobilization and range-of-motion exercises, cardiovascular endurance training, relaxation exercises, therapeutic massage, biofeedback, training in various activities of daily living, wound care, pulmonary physical therapy, and training in moving about. Specific therapies including traction, ultrasound, diathermy, electrotherapy, cryotherapy, hydrotherapy, and laser therapy may also be applied during treatment.
With Americans becoming more health- and exercise-conscious, participating in sports and fitness activities, more physical therapists will be needed to treat and help prevent knee, leg, back, shoulder, and other musculoskeletal injuries. The post War World II baby boom generation is now aging and beginning to experience conditions common to older people such as arthritis, stroke, heart disease, and other prolonged-care conditions. Physical therapists will be called on to care for them.
Scott and Rikki practicing their skill at taping
Scott and Rikki at the “Kinesio Taping” seminar
It is estimated that 30 million children in the US participate in organized sports programs. As more and more children participate in sports and recreational activities, there has been an increase in acute and overuse injuries. Emergency department visits are highest among the school-age to young adult population. Over one-third of school-age children will sustain an injury severe enough to be treated by a doctor or nurse. There are physical and physiological differences between children and adults that may cause children to be more vulnerable to injury. Factors that contribute to this difference in vulnerability include: children have a larger surface area to mass ratio, children have larger heads proportionately, children may be too small for protective equipment, growing cartilage may be more vulnerable to stresses and children may not have the complex motor skills needed for certain sports until after puberty.