October is Physical Therapy Month, a time to celebrate physical therapy as a profession as well as the physical therapists who change the lives of many individuals for the better.
Physical therapy dates to ancient Greece when Hippocrates and Galenus recommended massage and manual therapy techniques for physical healing and stress relief. In the early 20th century, the profession was significantly influenced by both the polio epidemic and World War II as therapists worked side-by-side with physicians to help patients recover.
Today, physical therapy is a skilled, research-supported “form of health care that prevents, identifies, corrects or alleviates acute or prolonged movement dysfunction or pain of anatomic or physiologic origin (PT Practice Act).”
We have all likely encountered physical therapy in some shape or form. It’s the athlete picking up marbles with his toes after foot surgery. It’s a senator learning to walk again after sustaining a gunshot wound to the head. It’s the child learning to achieve their milestones. It’s the patient recovering from burns and learning to move again through their pain. It’s the patient who experienced a stroke and is learning how to merely sit up on their own. It’s a patient recovering from a prolonged hospital stay due to COVID-19. It could be your family, friend, child, or neighbor. Or it could be you.
Skilled physical therapists continue to work with physicians to provide solutions for these patient groups; improving function for patients negatively affected by disease and injury. The profession has grown and become diverse. The profession now has some form of direct access to outpatient physical therapy for patients in all 50 states.
In Texas, there are some provisions to this access that your local clinic can explain to you. Physical therapists specialize in sports medicine, pediatrics, geriatrics, wound care, acute care, orthopedics, cardiopulmonary rehabilitation, women’s health, and neurological rehabilitation, to name a few. Although practice areas are varied, the goal is always the same: Identify patient needs and optimize movement potential and quality of life.
Whether helping patients recover from the effects of an accident-related injury, stroke, debilitating diseases, or simply helping the “weekend warrior” recover from musculoskeletal aches and pains, physical therapists are a vital part of the health care team. They use their wealth of knowledge, education and compassion to help patients get their lives back in motion. They help people stay in motion.
Jeanne Smith is Assistant Professor of instruction and Director of Clinical Education for the PTA to DPT Bridge Program. Rhonda Kurtz is the Acute PT Supervisor-Galveston Hospitals and a Clinical Instructor in the Physical Therapy Doctorate Program, School of Health Professions.