Hello All!

So as I looked at all my Blog's or Posts this morning I realized there was something missing from among them. A topic that is very near and dear to my heart and very important to me, Physical Therapy.

For those of you that don't know, I am currently in undergraduate school at the largest all women's college ( soon to be university) in the country, for Physical Therapy.  I will complete three years here as an undergrad and then apply for Physical Therapy school, if accepted I will then complete my final year of undergraduate and first year of graduate school together at the schools graduate school for Physical Therapy.  If not accepted, I will finish out my fourth year and then reapply to the Graduate school and to other Physical Therapy Schools.

So what is Physical Therapy? Physical Therapy is a branch of medicine designed to help facilitate the rehabilitation of the feet and legs. Physical Therapy also works with weak neck muscles, back problems, balance problems and much more.  Rehabilitation of these areas is achieved through the design of goals and the use of exercises to achieve these goals. In Physical Therapy, every patient is given a Home Exercise Program or (HEP) that they must complete in between sessions to help them make progress so toward their goals so that the sessions can progress onwards.  It is the patients responsibility to complete their home exercise program which is designed by their therapist with their specific goals in mind. 

When Physical Therapy is ordered by a doctor for a specific problem, and the patient schedules their intial visit to the Physical Therapist, what they are scheduling is the Inital Evaluation.  In the intial Evaluation, the therapist talks to the patient or the parents of the patient depending on the age of the patient to get a sense of what is going on.  They want to find out what the patient is currently to do and what they currently are not able to do.  They talk about levels of pain, and go over what medications a patient may be on.  Also during this intial evaluation the Physical Therapist will look at the "problemed area" if that is possible. They will try and test its range of motion or how far it can bend in one direction and then the other and compare those to average range of motions for that area of the body.  They will note any loss in range of motion or any movement beyond normal range of motion.  The therapist will also try and move the area that is the problem to see what it is doing and what it will allow to be done to it.  If there is a problem such as walking the therapist will have the patient walk for them so that they can see what the problem is and how they can help.  After that they therapist will have the patient try some exercises, they will lead them through the exercises and teach them how to do them.  They will ask about increased pain with each exercise or how it feels on the area of problem.  At the end of the session the therapist will give the patient a copy of the exercises done that day and they will also tell them how often they want to start seeing them and for how long.  For example a Therapist may tell a patient that they want to see them twice a week for a hour for 6 weeks.  The therapist will then usually tell them if they need to make further appointments or if someone will call them to do so. 

Physical Therapy appointments can vary in time lengths.  The shortest appointment is usaually a half hour because nothing can be accomplished in a shorter time.  The longest appointments are usually around an hour.  Usually because a patient is too tired out to go any longer than that. 

At the appointments following the initial evaluation the therapist will work with the patient on achieving the goals that they designed for them at the initial evaluation.  They will work on the exercises that the patient is doing at home, plus other ones that they want to only do during therapy.  They will add and subtract exercises from the Home Exercise Program. 

On the last appointment that the patient is scheduled for the therapist will recheck everything that they checked on the intial evaluation to see how much progress they have made.  They will use this to determine if the patient has met the goals that were set or if they have not.  They may ask the doctor for more session of therapy. 

If during the course of treatment in Physical Therapy it is warranted a therapist may reccomend or start a patient on any number of assistive devices. These would include: Walkers, canes, Crutches ( underarm and Forearm), standers, modified bicycles if necessary, wheelchairs, braces, and more.   The therapist will teach the patient how to properly use the equipment or device and when to use it if they do not need it at all times. 

Now you know a little about Physical Therapy appointments and such so what is schooling like for Physical Therapy?

Currently to become a Physical Therapist you must get your doctorate in Physical Therapy.  You must go through 4 years of undergraduate work and then 3 years of Graduate school bringing your total to 7 years.  Some schools offer an acclerated program such as the college I attend where the first year of the graduate and the last year of the undergraduate are combined to make for 6 years of schooling.  Currently for Physical Therapy there are three common majors for Undergraduate studies: Biology, Psychology and Kinesiology or Exercise and Sports Science.  Physical Therapy is not considered an actual major so you must choose another major and these are the most popular as they include what most graduate schools for Physical Therapy are looking for as far as classes.  Also every physical therapist as a requirement to get into Physical therapy school is required to complete a certain number of hours volunteering in a Physical Therapy setting so that they will get to see a little bit of their chose profession.  The number of hours vary from school to school but is not generally below 100.

How did I become interested in Physical Therapy?

In my freshmen year of high school I broke my ankle. The doctor I went to was not exactly the brightest bulb on the tree and told me at first that it was just a mild sprain and I would be walking two days after I had done it. Just to be certain he had me come back a week later, needless to say I wasn't walking. He ordered a second set of x-rays, where the break was clearly visible but decided to put me in a camwalker instead of putting me in a cast and tell me to come back in a month. I was to use my crutches the entire Time I was in the camwalker. So we did, when I went back a month later, I didn't care anymore it was almost time for me to start dance team and I wanted to start. He said I could and I did. I went from being on crutches for over a month to straight out walking( a story any Physical Therapist will cringe at if you tell them because people on crutches for that amount of time need to wean off gradually).  I started Dance Team and less than a month later I severly sprained my ankle. I was out for the rest of the season.  This time I was never sent to a formal physical therapist but my pediatrician gave me a few exercises to do to help with the strength.  About 4 months later I severly sprained my ankle again just running down the road.  I ended up going to see a new orthopedist and was casted 3 times because of the swelling. After that I was put in camwalker and I started Physical Therapy.  I was in Physical therapy for about 6 months.  My Physical Therapist noticed my questioning nature and that I wanted to know why we did things, and how it was helping me and suggested to me that I might want to look into a career in Physical Therapy. I did but didn't give it much thought. Later that year I got an application in the mail and a card from her telling me that she thought I should consider volunteering at their clinic in the Physical Therapy department for the summer and that the application was enclosed. I could not do it that summmer because of marching band but I did however do it the following summer.  That following summer was the best of my life because of the time I spent there. I met so many people that were so cool and cared about me and how I was doing and really wanted to teach me things that it was amazing. They all thought I should become a Physical Therapist. I did too by that point my mind was made up I was going to be a Physical Therapist.  I kept volunteering into the school year, untill My ankle started doing some funny things. I started giving out and touching the ground when I walked.  I ended up going on to crutches and taking a leave of absence from volunteering.  I went to see another orthopedist, one that my pediatrican sent me to because we couldn't get into see my other one, and he determined I needed a brace for my foot. I was given my first AFO.  AFO or Ankle Foot Orthotic is a brace that goes from the foot all the way up the leg. Depending on the patient and the severity, it may stop mid leg, generally goes to the knee. Mine went all the way from just below my toes to just below my knee. I learned how to undo the straps to put my leg in and then strap it back up. I learned that I would need shoes that were about a size larger to fit the brace and that if I saw red spots I needed to come in right away because that meant it wasn't fitting right. I also was thrown back into Physical Therapy. Oddly enough the only clinic in the state that was equipped to handle this type of problem was the one I had volunteered at. I ended up there less than a month after I had stopped volunteering for my Inital Evaluation. It was here that it became apparent that I had hypermobile joints and that I would need to strengthen all of them. The therapist whom I was good friends with, believed that if we strenthened the muscles around the joint in my ankle we could get it to stop collapsing and get me off of crutches.  I was happy and relieved. It took over 8 months of intense Physical Therapy to accomplish just that. In the end I was off my crutches and down to a less restrictive brace. I ended up going back in January for another month of Intensive Physical Therapy which helped me to build up muscle again learn to do low level agility things such as skipping or galloping and walking short distances without my braces. I was happy! In the mist of all of this I was diagnosed with a connective tissue disorder and Hypermobility syndrome. Both of these play apart in my extremly mobile joints. Because of them My HEP includes strengthening exercises for my ankles and legs, Balancing exercises and Cardio work to increase my endurance. Also because of them I cannot do things that are hard on my joints such as running. I do things such as the eliptical which is good cardio but easier on my joints.  My success in Physical Therapy reaffirmed my belief that I wanted to be a Physical Therapist because I wanted to do for someone else what my Physical Therapist had done for me.  She had basically given me my life back, she had made a huge difference. I know I may not be able to give some one their life back, but I can make a difference and for me Physical THerapy is the greatest way to do that. I know now too because of going there for PT and volunteering there which I am currently doing again that I want to work in Pediatric Physical Therapy and that I want to work with Kids with Disabilities. To help along this road I am working at Camp Courage this summer, as a camp counselor in the Physical Disability unit at Lakeside. I am really excited. I would work at camp whether or not I was going into PT but I am really glad that I am.

• Physical
• therapy
• camp
• courage