Physical Therapy Research Paper

Words: 1361
Pages: 6

Physical Therapy
The term “physical therapy”, is derived from two Greek words: phusis, meaning nature; and therapeutike, meaning healing (Encyclopedia of Family Health 1578). Physical Therapy has to do with mobility. Physical therapists are highly educated, licensed health care professionals who can help patients reduce pain and improve or restore mobility – in many cases without expensive surgery and often reducing the need for long term use of prescription medicine and their side effects (American Physical Therapy Association 1/3). Many people enjoy physical therapy as an alternative for that reason. Physical therapists teach patients how to manage their condition so that they will achieve long term health benefits. Physical therapists examine
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Physical therapists encourage their patients to use their own muscles to increase flexibility and range of motion before advancing to more challenging exercises. The goal is to improve how an individual functions at work and at home (Michael 215). As treatments continue physical therapists document their patient’s progress, conduct periodic examinations and modify treatments when necessary. The documents identify areas requiring more or less attention. Physical therapists treat a wide range of ailments. Others specialize in areas such as pediatrics, geriatric, orthopedics, sports medicine, neurology and cardiopulmonary physical therapy (Michael 215). Therapy is useful in many cases. It can be used for neurology, paralysis, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, respiratory care, intensive care, rheumatology, cancer, geriatrics, …show more content…
Positional vertigo, when you experience very brief bouts of dizziness with changes in position or movement of the head, is the most common cause of dizziness. It is a dysfunction of the vestibular system in the inner ear. It can successfully be treated in as little as one session with a physical therapy. Another thing about physical therapy is that “No pain, no gain”, does not always hold true. There are diagnoses where this saying holds true, such as when working on range of motion after a knee replacement or if you have a frozen shoulder. Most of the time, treatments and exercises should be relatively pain free. If one is being treated for low back pain or for an overuse injury in a tendon, one must stay away from certain movements or positions that may aggravate the condition (Hoobchaak 1/2). Occupations related to physical therapy include: chiropractors, occupational therapists, recreational therapists, rehabilitation counselors, respiratory therapists and speech-language pathologists. Physical therapy is a spurring career and will be very common in the near