somd Archives - Freedom Physical Therapy

Physical Therapy is a Tree With Many Branches

Starting a career in physical therapy is like climbing a tree. Everyone starts with the same trunk, but pretty quickly, you have to make some decisions about which way you’re going to go. What kind of people do you want to work with? Where do you want to practice? And how far up the tree do you want to climb? You’ll get to grow professionally – learning more, getting better clinically, and maybe even improving your sales and business skills, but that’s not all. Physical therapy gives you a chance to grow personally too.

Pick your people

You can pick the type of people you want to work with – sports physical therapists work with athletes, helping them recover from injuries and improve performance through exercise and hands-on techniques. Geriatric physical therapists work with elderly patients on mobility problems, pain or managing chronic conditions. Pediatric physical therapists work with infants and children providing developmental assessments and helping them improve their gross motor skills.

Pick your place

You can also pick where you work – there are physical therapy jobs in nursing homes, hospitals, outpatient clinics and schools. Physical therapists provide care wherever people need it. So far, we’ve only mentioned the more common places you’ll find PTs – if you want to specialize further, you may find yourself working only in the ICU with critical care patients, in a factory doing industrial rehabilitation and ergonomics, in a women’s health clinic, or even working in a preventative, public health role.

Grow professionally

Most physical therapy careers start in a general role, working with all types of different patients. If you work in a large health system, you may even rotate between settings. But as you find the type of people you like to work with and the setting you prefer, you have the option to improve your skills and focus on a specialty area of practice. Again, you have lots of options on how to do this. You could:
● Take an internship position or join a fellowship program
● Attend workshops or conferences
● Read journals and textbooks
● Collaborate with your colleagues and mentors
● Take courses in other areas of medicine
● Study abroad or take courses online

Grow personally

Your clinical skills aren’t the only thing a career in physical therapy can grow though – you’ll grow personally as well. You have to learn to have compassion and empathy when you work with ill or injured people. You have to work as a part of a team. You need sales skills – most people aren’t going to want to make changes in their routines, or do the exercises you prescribe at home. You’ll learn to work with people who have different opinions and different viewpoints from all kinds of cultures and backgrounds.

You may also have a chance to improve your business skills. You could advance out of the clinical setting and into a management role. Some PTs start their own practices, or a company in a field related to physical therapy like wellness, performance, injury prevention or population health for large corporations.

Wherever you start in physical therapy, you’ll have a lot of options on where you end up. Chances are you’ll explore more than one branch of the physical therapy tree. That’s OK, having the chance to grow and change is part of what makes PT so exciting!

Imaging Can Improve Physical Therapy Treatment

Physical therapists are experts in the musculoskeletal system, and typically use patient
history and a good physical exam to come to a diagnosis and treatment plan. However,
PTs are increasingly using diagnostic imaging as they become the practitioner of choice
for musculoskeletal injuries. Many PTs have access to diagnostic ultrasound right in the
clinic, and in some practice settings like the military, and certain ACOs, therapists have
the ability to order imaging like x-rays, CT scans and MRIs.

The research indicates that PTs are effective in using their ability to order imaging when
it exists. A study of 108 imaging orders by PTs providing musculoskeletal primary care
in a direct-access sports physical therapy clinic found that advanced diagnostic imaging
was ordered appropriately in over 80% of cases.

So, PTs are good at appropriately ordering imaging, but how does it improve
treatment? A case study published in the July 2015 issues of the Journal of Manual &
Manipulative Therapy gives a good illustration:
The patient was a very active dentist who had chronic mid and upper back pain. He had
a known history of benign neural tissue tumors of his head and upper back region, but
no specific diagnosis for his back pain had been provided. After examination, the PT
decided to start treatment for the patient’s back pain, but also order x-rays and an MRI
of the symptomatic part of the patient’s spine. The MRI showed a previously
undiscovered meningioma, or benign tumor of the membrane that covers the spinal
cord.

The benefit to this patient was that the PT could continue treatment without making
referrals and waiting for someone else to order the images. Also, once the tumor was
discovered, the PT could select exercises and manual techniques that would help the
patient, but avoid putting stress on the area of the tumor. It also allowed the PT to
educate the patient on fitness activities that would be safe and appropriate.

The case study has a quote that sums up the benefits of imaging combined with PT
nicely: “Orthopaedic physical therapists have high levels of musculoskeletal expertise
and extensive knowledge of typical patterns and behaviors of musculoskeletal
conditions. These competencies and experiential knowledge enable them to
appropriately recognize situations requiring additional diagnostic screening for nonmusculoskeletal pathology.
This case demonstrates how privileges to order musculoskeletal imaging studies assisted the physical therapist in providing optimal,
patient-centered care. The physical therapist in this case was able to continue
treatment without multiple referrals back to the medical provider to obtain imaging,
and so provided more cost-efficient and convenient care.”

Reference article and case study:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5046964/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4534847/

Yearly Physical Therapy Visits are Just as Important as Annual Cholesterol Tests

You know the drill: During your annual visit, your primary care physician will order a cholesterol test. Combined with an assessment of health measures such as diet and exercise, the results of the cholesterol test will provide your physician with the information she needs to make a recommendation. If the results are positive, you might hear: “You’re doing great, keep doing what you’ve been doing!” If the results are unfavorable, then you’re more likely to be told: “I’d like you to walk for 20 additional minutes each day and eat cholesterol-lowering foods like oatmeal.”

Over time, high cholesterol can cause fatty deposits to form in your arteries, putting you in a high-risk category for heart disease and stroke. Similarly, the cumulative effects of poor posture or a muscular imbalance, for example, can take a toll on your body and inhibit your ability to move properly. That’s where a physical therapist comes in: Annual PT “checkups” can catch the musculoskeletal problems that put you at risk for injury or limit your ability to function down the
line.

One of the best tools in a PT’s prevention arsenal is the movement screen. By analyzing your fundamental movements with a movement screen developed for their own practice or one that requires certification such as the Functional Movement Screen (FMS™), PTs can get a clear picture of what the future will bring for you. Based on the information gathered, a physical therapist can help you safely reach your fitness goals and teach preventive strategies that can be
incorporated into your daily life.

Of course, it’s best to schedule your checkup before you’re experiencing a problem. That way, your physical therapist can establish a baseline based on your functional level at that time and use it to identify changes during subsequent annual visits. The effects of poor posture or a muscular imbalance may not be immediately apparent to you, but they will be to your PT.

An annual “checkup” gives your PT an inside look at your musculoskeletal system, which is comprised of your muscles, bones, cartilage, tendons, ligaments, joints and other connective tissues. It’s important that these essential internal structures are working together to support, stabilize and move your body.

Just as taking an annual trek to the primary care physician helps to monitor your cholesterol levels—and prevent heart disease—yearly physical therapy appointments allow your PT to identify and address any changes in the way you move before they become something more.

Call today to set up your appointment with one of the best physical therapists in town!