It is National Physical Therapy Month and I thought it would be great to write about the different medical fields where physical therapists can help.
Physical therapists are experts in movement and when you think of movement, you might just be thinking about muscles and bones. However, it entails much more than that when we consider movement as physical therapists. So, below, you will find the medical fields where we can help that people do not know much about.
Cardiac Rehabilitation
Physical therapists help patients after a heart attack or after a heart surgery so they can get moving again. It can be at the hospital to help them get out of bed particularly if they had a surgery because it can be really painful to get up so we show ways that can be helpful so that the patient is not in as much pain when they are getting up.
Physical therapists may also help all the way towards the end of their treatment when they might be in an out-patient facility and they are taxing the heart a little bit more. The heart is really important. It is a muscle so physical therapists know how to challenge the heart muscle so that patients can slowly increase their endurance and ability to move without feeling so tired.
The other thing that the heart does, too, is pump blood to the rest of the body, which helps the muscles. The muscles need blood, particularly the oxygen, to be able to contract efficiently. Physical therapists understand how to grade exercises as patients are coming back from a heart surgery or a heart attack so that they do not overtax their heart as they are training it to be able to move in a way they want to move again.
Vestibular Rehabilitation
Another area where physical therapists can help is vestibular rehabilitation. This is the inner ear and it is the part of the body that when it is “off,” people can get dizzy or get this thing called vertigo. Physical therapists can help with improving vertigo symptoms.
Even when vertigo has resolved itself, you can still feel off-balance and feel unsafe when walking. Vestibular therapists will help challenge your balance to get you back to moving in a way you want to move safely.
Concussions Or Traumatic Brain Injuries
When you have had an injury to your brain, it can affect the different parts of your brain and could result in difficulty in walking, seeing, possibly feeling dizzy, and more. Physical therapists will help you get moving in a way that it is safe so that you do not fall and you are less likely to get a concussion again in the future.
Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy
Physical therapists who specialize on this medical area help with pre-natal and post-partum care, as well as any other pelvic floor issues that may come up for people. Some people may have issues with incontinence and this is something they can be really helpful with.
Neurological Rehabilitation
Physical therapists are also great when helping with neurological rehabilitation. When people suffer from instances like stroke, Parkinson’s Disease, spinal cord injuries, and the like, their movement is really impacted. So, physical therapists are well-versed in the nervous system and how to stimulate it in such a way to get people to move better.
Sometimes after a stroke or a spinal cord injury, people’s movements are completely different and they do not go back to moving the way they did prior to the stroke or the injury. So, I find physical therapists’ jobs really important here because they can listen to their patients as it can be traumatic for people to move in a different way than they are used to. Physical therapists are great at meting people where they are so they can help people progress so they can feel more independent in their lives.
Animal Rehabilitation
Anywhere from helping horses move better to your pet, particularly dogs, tearing their cranial cruciate ligament, which is similar to ACL in humans, physical therapists can help with dogs post-ACL tear and post-surgery. Some animals also have neurological issues and need to learn how to move in a way that will support them moving throughout your house as one of your pets.
It is a pretty cool area of physical therapy and I think it is one of those that people do not know much about. So if people have pets with injury, they can contact local physical therapists who can help with that.
Conclusion
There are more medical fields where Physical Therapists can help but I touched on these because people do not know much about these areas. I did not even talk about my specialization, which is out-patient and I think this is the one that most people know about when they have back pain or neck pain.
For as many specializations as there are for medical doctors, there are for physical therapists. If you see medical doctors in that area, chances are, a physical therapist can help as well.
Many systems in the body affect movement and that is why it is important that physical therapists know the entire body and how movement can be affected by it.
Remember that no ache and pain is too small, so be sure to reach out to your physical therapist to be able to move your best!