It is virtually impossible to get through life without taking some hard knocks. Whether it was high school football, a car accident or the constant physical assault that is raising rambunctious children, almost everyone on this planet with so much gravity has sustained some form of musculo-skeletal injury. Though varied in type and severity, The state and range of motion of your muscles and bones can affect the bulk of what makes you feel vital and healthy. In medicine, biology, and anecdote alike movement is a strong measure of life and vitality.
A physical therapist often has goals in line with creating optimal physical functioning and health for the life of the patient. This can stand in stark contrast to some perspectives of only responding to and treating specific ailments. The truth of the matter is that all parts and system of the body are deeply integrated and connected, so when one system, say a sore hip, isn’t moving right it can disrupt the health and movement of the back and neck. Neck pain, from hip pain or not, is a pain in the neck.
“Physical therapists are often autonomous practitioners with expertise in movement science.” Movement science seems like the right study if one’s goal is in fact to move. And once you and your therapist have reached mutually agreed upon goals on what that health is, you are on your way down a path of well being unique in the health field.
Outside of the US, physiotherapist and physiotherapy are used as the same meaning as physical therapist. Physical therapists are often thought of as primarily practitioners, however many are also accurately thought of as scientists and educators. Public health initiatives, preventative treatments and practices, and effective education are often on the top agendas of physical therapists and their practices. More and more studies are creating evidence demonstrating the effectiveness of preventative medicine and physical therapy is often on the leading edge showing improved return to work rates, lesser cost over the long term, and substantially less stress from ailments treated as soon as possible by a physical therapist.
The American Physical Therapy Association defined physical therapy as “the care and services provided by or under the direction and supervision of a physical therapist” This seems like a circular definition, but in context it says that only proper Physical Therapists can provide their services. Though of course necessary in their own right, your primary physician, or your alternative practitioner might not be able to deliver anything like the same results one can achieve in a proper physical therapy rehabilitation, because physical therapy is designed around goals and results.
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