Physical Therapy...not just Sports Injuries
It never fails that when I tell people that I am going to be a physical therapist they ask if I am going to work for a sports team. Time and time again I have to explain that physical therapy is not just about sports injuries. Today I am taking it upon myself to let everyone know about some of the less glamourized specialty areas of physical therapy.
The first is fairly obvious and for what we are known for that is rehabilitation of post-surgical and sports related injuries also know as orthopedic physical therapy. We also work with people who have neurological injuries such as stroke, traumatic brain injuries, and spinal cord injuries. Women's health deals with issues of incontinence in women who may have just had children, and due to the traumatic nature of giving birth on certian areas of the female anatomy need to regain control of those muscles. Pediatric physical therapist take care of children who have been born with certian disabilities such as cerebral palsy, spina bifida and even children with autism. They work in schools to make sure that all of these children with special needs are able to get attention they need to achieve at the highest level. There are also therapists working in areas of ergonomics, gerentology, nursing homes,and long-term care.
Currently I am doing my affiliation at a hospital in my hometown in which I have done wound care and am currently treating inpatients, also known as acute care. In wound care, as talked about in my previous post, I saw wounds on legs, arms and many other areas on the body. Some healed nicely because the conditions were optimal for healing and others did not. Acute care is a far cry from outpatient physical therapy because you are treating people who are sick and could even die. In acute care, there are critical care patients who are on ventalators and have lines and hoses comming out of everywhere, and they are so deconditioned that sitting up on the side of the be for 10 minutes is a challenge. In the acute care setting you have to be familiar with all of the areas of specialty which makes some days very interesting.
So in summation, out of respect to all physical therapists in every specialty area don't reduce the field to soley sports and orthopedic injuires, because it is so much more.
The first is fairly obvious and for what we are known for that is rehabilitation of post-surgical and sports related injuries also know as orthopedic physical therapy. We also work with people who have neurological injuries such as stroke, traumatic brain injuries, and spinal cord injuries. Women's health deals with issues of incontinence in women who may have just had children, and due to the traumatic nature of giving birth on certian areas of the female anatomy need to regain control of those muscles. Pediatric physical therapist take care of children who have been born with certian disabilities such as cerebral palsy, spina bifida and even children with autism. They work in schools to make sure that all of these children with special needs are able to get attention they need to achieve at the highest level. There are also therapists working in areas of ergonomics, gerentology, nursing homes,and long-term care.
Currently I am doing my affiliation at a hospital in my hometown in which I have done wound care and am currently treating inpatients, also known as acute care. In wound care, as talked about in my previous post, I saw wounds on legs, arms and many other areas on the body. Some healed nicely because the conditions were optimal for healing and others did not. Acute care is a far cry from outpatient physical therapy because you are treating people who are sick and could even die. In acute care, there are critical care patients who are on ventalators and have lines and hoses comming out of everywhere, and they are so deconditioned that sitting up on the side of the be for 10 minutes is a challenge. In the acute care setting you have to be familiar with all of the areas of specialty which makes some days very interesting.
So in summation, out of respect to all physical therapists in every specialty area don't reduce the field to soley sports and orthopedic injuires, because it is so much more.
posted by Demetrius at 8:05 PM
1 Comments:
old people...thanks for posting
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