Physical Therapy Careers

Physical Therapy Careers
Maybe you’ve had a good experience with a physical therapist in the past, or you’re looking for a hands-on health care field with a great future. The role of physical therapy is expanding within our health care system as a means of promoting health, preventing disease, improving function, easing pain and limiting disabilities from injury or disease. Demand is also expected to grow with the increasing elderly population.

What do Physical Therapists do?
Administering physical therapy is only part of the job. A physical therapist must also be skilled in examining, evaluating and planning courses of treatment. Many supervise other health care workers. Some treat a wide range of ailments, while others specialize in areas such as pediatrics, geriatrics, orthopedics, sports medicine, neurology and cardiopulmonary physical therapy. PT’s may also teach, provide consultation or perform clinical research.

Where do Physical Therapists work?
Hospitals
Rehabilitation centers and institutions
Private practice
Sports medicine centers
Schools and colleges
Nursing homes
Patients’ homes

What will I like (or dislike) about this work?
Satisfaction from helping others
Opportunity for problem-solving
Working with other professionals

How is the job outlook?
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook (2010-2011): “Employment of physical therapists is expected to increase 27 percent between 2006 and 2016, much faster than the average for all occupations. Job opportunities will be good, especially in acute hospital, rehabilitation and orthopedic settings.”

What are the Educational Requirements?
Master’s degree
Doctoral degree (DPT) from an accredited program (The American Physical Therapy Association’s Vision 2020 states that by 2020, all physical therapists should be trained at the DPT level.)
Licensing through national exam

Eastvale Health Fair and Functional Orthopedics

BodyBasics and Inland Empire Physical Therapy have been busy hosting courses and supporting our community.

On October 17th, BodyBasics joined the crowd at the Eastvale 5k and Health Fair held at Roosevelt High School in Eastvale. We were on hand to answer questions about common injuries and fitness. What a great opportunity to interact with the community and have some fun!

BodyBasics Physical Therapy (Norco office) also sponsored a course by the Institute of Physical Art called “Functional Orthopedics” from 10/15-10/18. Physical therapists came from different parts of California to improve their skills in postural education, soft tissue mobilization and exercise.

We are happy to announce a new addition to our staff! Patrick Medeiros-Bagan has joined the staff at the Corona office. He recently graduated with a doctorate degree in physical therapy from Chapman University and is excited to work with patients at the Corona location!

Physical Therapy VS Chiropractic Care

Many people wonder which type of care is best suited for them as an individual. Studies have shown that both types of practioners help patients to get better and return to normal activities. The most important thing is to ask around, do your homework and find the best practitioner to suit your needs.

Getting the best of both worlds – a summary
*Like any profession, the practitioner is only as good as he/she’s dedication to continuing education and mastery of their profession and dedication to helping patients.

*Choose or refer practitioners that strive to stay on the cutting edge of science and those that exercise themselves and have a deep understanding of movement.

*Look for a PT that is certified in manipulative therapy and that is “hands on” vs. modality-based. Find one with specializations related to the dysfunction or condition that you are your referral is struggling with.

*Steer clear of PT’s who treat only based on algorithms and formulas and who relies too much on modalities and cookie-cutter exercises.

*Choose a DC that is evidence-based and one with an interest in having patients “leave the nest” rather than create a dependence.

*Steer clear of “subluxationist” chiropractor

The most important thing is to ask around, do your homework and find the best practitioner to suit your needs.

Protecting Yourself During Fall Sports

Playing physical sports can be a lot of fun. It’s an activity you can do with your friends or family members. It’s important to take care of yourself to avoid injury while playing sports. You can’t completely avoid getting hurt, but you can do everything you can to prevent injury. There are a few easy steps you can take to get the most out of your sports.
1. Equipment
Equipment is important when it comes to working out with sports. Make sure you have the proper sporting equipment that goes with the event you’re participating in. Avoid wearing worn-out shoes and wear a helmet or shoulder pads whenever necessary.
2. Eye and Mouth Protection
Eyewear is important for protection during sports. Goggles are often times worn for soccer, basketball, racquetball, snowboarding, street hockey, baseball and softball. Mouth guards protect your teeth, mouth and tongue. They should always be worn in contact sports, such as wrestling, boxing, martial arts, volleyball, hockey, football and basketball. It’s important to have a dentist fit the mouth guard to your mouth specifically. Never wear your retainer during exercise, practice or play.
3. Wrist, Knee and Elbow Guards
These types of guards are appropriate for inline skating, skateboarding or scooter riding and other similar sports.

Warming Up is Important
Warming up and before a game is an important part of the workout. You should always do this in order to protect your muscles and your joints from injury. You should also stretch afterwards when your muscles are warm to prevent future injury.

Benefits of Sports
Research proves that participating in regular physical activity is a type of preventative medicine. Leading this type of active lifestyle can help reduce the risk of cancer, heart disease and stroke. Participating in regular physical activity can help you to maintain a healthy body weight while minimizing the adverse affects of stress. Most experts agree that healthy adults should be getting approximately 30 minutes of physical activity on all or most days. Younger people should aim for between 30 minutes and 60 minutes a day. Moderate intensities, such as taking a brisk walk, cycling or swimming laps can be done in a single session.

Avoid overdoing it. Play sports in moderation and make sure you are practicing sporting activities appropriately. Physical activity can reduce the risk of certain illness, such as colon cancer, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, hypertension and obesity.

Stress Relief
Working on regularly by getting regularly physical activity or participating in sporting events, you’ll reap the benefits of reducing your stress levels. If you participate in sporting activities on a regular basis, you will likely lose weight or maintain a healthy body weight, which can reduce stress too!

Sports and Physical Therapy

An athlete who is suffering from a sports injury can be effectively treated using physical therapy, one of the most effective methods to facilitate a speedy recovery and help athletes to quickly return to sports. Physical therapy treatment for sport injuries includes a variety of modalities such as hot packs, cold packs, electrical stimulation,ultrasound and soft tissue mobilization to heal the injured tissue. Sports injuries affect a number of athletes, both men and women alike. Activities like golf, football, baseball, tennis, swimming, volleyball and tennis may cause injuries. With physical therapy, various sports injuries including rotator cuff tendonitis, shoulder injuries, back injuries, elbow and hand injuries, running injuries, fractures, head injuries, neck injuries and tennis injuries can be treated. Physical therapy is a hands-on treatment procedure used for treating musculoskeletal dysfunction. This effective treatment plan works well to maintain and enhance fitness, health and quality of life. The physical therapy treatment program makes the body strong and increases the blood flow to the affected areas. This is ideal to promote your healing process. The physical therapy treatment administered for sports injuries helps to:
1. Decrease pain
2. Increase function by restoring your physical abilities
3. Prevent further injuries
Depending on the severity of the injury, the physical therapy treatment program varies. Physical therapy treatment for sports injuries is the best option for athletes who wish to return to their normal sports activities soon. Physical therapists can also give tips on preventing further injuries.

CPR Certification

Saturday, June 13th, 2009, BodyBasics/Inland Empire Physical Therapy hosted a CPR course at their Corona facility. The therapists and PTAs are required to renew their CPR certification every two years to stay current on life-saving techniques. The class was taught by Pat Walsh.

Cardiopulmonary resusitation (CPR) is a procedure used when a patient's heart stops beating and breathing stops. It can involve compressions of the chest or electrical shocks along with rescue breathing.

Seminar in Palm Springs

The Bodybasics Team including Scott, Jaime, Rikki and Mandi attended the Annual course "Practical Applications in Sports Medicine" held at the Riviera Resort and Spa in Palm Springs. The course was held Friday May 29-Sunday the 31st. The course has been an annual event for 19 years and some of this year's topics discussed were ACL reconstruction, Kinesio Taping, and Throwing shoulder injuries(in relation to sports). The course was a great opportunity to practice and learn new skills. The nice pool and great weather was fun too!

Scott and Rikki practicing their skill at taping

Scott and Rikki at the “Kinesio Taping” seminar

For more information about this seminar visit: http://sportfoundation.org/pa/paschedb.html