Physical Therapy is the treatment of injury or disease by physical therapeutic means instead of by medical, surgical, or radiologic measures. Physical therapy can include massage, patient education, exercise, stretching, and water therapy. It may also be called physiotherapy.

What is a Physical Therapist?

Physical Therapists are health care providers who are the experts in the examination and treatment of musculoskeletal and neuromuscular problems that affect peoples’ abilities to move and function as well as they can in their daily lives. For instance, physical therapists help patients with orthopedic problems such as low back pain or knee surgeries to reduce pain and regain function. To assist patients recovering from a stroke, they provide treatment so that those patients learn to use their limbs again.

Because people of all ages need to move and function, physical therapists work with patients and clients from newborns to the very aged--and in all types of settings, from hospitals (even critically ill patients in the intensive care unit) and outpatient clinics to the home, from schools to the workplace.

What do Physical Therapists do?

A large part of a physical therapist’s program is directed at preventing injury and loss of movement. For example, physical therapists work as consultants in industrial settings to improve workplace design and reduce the risk of overusing certain muscles or developing low back pain.

They also provide services to athletes at all levels to screen for potential problems and institute preventive exercise programs. Some physical therapists consult with individuals and fitness clubs to develop workouts that are safe and effective, especially for people who already know that they have a problem with their joints or their backs.

The cornerstones of physical therapist treatment are therapeutic exercise and functional training. In addition to “hands-on” care, physical therapists also educate patients to take care of themselves and to perform certain exercise on their own. Depending on the particular needs of a patient, physical therapists also may manipulate a joint (that is performing certain types of passive movements at the end of the patient’s range of motion) or massage a muscle to promote proper movement and function. Physical therapists use such techniques as electrotherapy, ultrasound (high-frequency waves that produce heat), hot packs, and ice.

How do you find a Physical Therapist? Because physical therapists are required to understand a vast array of problems that can affect movement, function, and health, all physical therapists are college graduates. Also, all physical therapists must pass a national examination and be licensed by the state in which they practice.

You can find a physical therapist that’s right for you the same way you might find the right doctor or dentist: through recommendations from family or friends, or by checking telephone listings and doing your own research.

Some problems Physical Therapy helps.

• Muscle weakness, posture dysfunction
• Pain relief - (back, neck, joint)
• Injuries - sports, MVA, worker’s compensation
• Cardiac rehabilitation
• Joint replacement rehabilitation
• Restoration of function - CVA
• Gait and balance disorders
• Many others

Health insurance covers most forms of physical therapy, but coverage varies with each plan.

Links:

American Physical Therapy Association (APTA)
Florida Physical Therapy Association
Journal of the American Physical Therapy Association
Orthopaedic Section, APTA