Physical Therapy Vs. Athletic Therapy

Ever since I was a kid, it has been my life goal to help as many people I can. I have moved around in many different areas of the medical field, but no career had caught my eye as much as physical therapy. As an athlete, I have been in and out of the physical therapist’s office for a majority of my life. Each time I have went I could not help but be beyond grateful for what these people have done for me; they have given me the ability to play the sport I love despite all the hiccups. Physical therapy is a dynamic field within the field of medicine because as a physical therapist one can make a difference in the lives of his or her patients, enjoy job security, and enjoy a rewarding and personally satisfying career.

What about physical therapy, you ask? Physical therapy, unlike an athletic trainer, is more of a one-on-one profession with the patient at hand. The definition of physical therapy, as told by the online glossary of medical terms is "the treatment of injury and disease by mechanical means, as heat, light, exercise, and massage." While athletic training is directed more towards sports than any other profession, physical therapy is open to a variety of patients, ranging all ages. You ask what is different between a physical therapist and an athletic trainer. Athletic trainers work on all types of injuries, ranging from muscles, to ligaments, and even to bones, while a physical therapist work mostly around the muscles. A physical therapist is trained to work 3 specific muscle types; the skeletal muscles, which work as voluntary muscles that works upon volitional commands to move (which means that the muscle contracts to move a certain part of the body a certain direction); smooth muscles, which are involuntary muscles that work on their own accord (much like the muscles of the bladder or intestines); and lastly we have the 3rd type of muscle, the

Colleges with a medical department often have a master’s program for physical therapy. (“Physical Therapists”) Physical therapy students have a required amount of field work in order to complete a program. Each candidate must work in an accredited workplace for the field work assignments. This part of the program is extremely valuable and helpful for a new therapist entering the field. Working one on one can be difficult even with all of the educational tools. (Curtis 37)

The article that I chose was published by Mayo Clinic School of Health Science, the title of the article is “Physical Therapy”. The article informs the reader on the roles, goals, as well as the overall definition of a physical therapist. According to the article, “Physical therapists (PTs) work with patients who have impairments, limitations, disabilities, or changes in physical function and health status resulting from injury, disease or other causes.” Therefore, a physical therapist works directly with the population that has a form of impairment in their movement, whether it is from an injury or an illness. The roles of a physical therapist are examination, evaluation, diagnosis, prognosis

Athletic Training is an allied health profession and are health care providers dedicated to the prevention, care, and rehabilitation of injuries in physically active athletes. Certified Athletic Trainers are medical professional experts who collaborate with sport medicine physicians in providing services in injury prevention, assessment, treatment, and rehabilitation, particularly in the orthopedic and musculoskeletal disciplines. Certified Athletic Trainers work with physicians and other members of the sports medicine team to help safely return athletes to their physically active individual or team sport. Certified Athletic trainers and strength coaches, not long ago were only on the sidelines of universities, colleges, sports medicine

If you are interested in a hands-on job, in which you observe patients during treatment sessions, assist patients, and receive instructions from a physical therapist, consider pursuing a career as a Physical Therapist Assistant. There are many reasons you should consider a career in physical therapy. A physical therapist assistant works under the supervision of a licensed physical therapist. In many practices, physical therapists rely on the physical therapist assistant to make sure that all the patients have access to physical therapy services. They help the physical therapist by providing physical therapy treatment sessions that the therapist might not get around to. According to American Physical Therapy Association physical therapy has a long history of returning individuals to their maximum level of physical function and in many cases; patients are being sent to physical therapy instead of surgery (“Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA) Careers Overview”). The physical therapist often depends on their assistant to provide services, such as workouts by helping the clients through many different exercises, massages, applying hot or cold packs, paraffin baths (“Physical Therapist Assistant - Career Overview”). Physical therapist assistants work with physical therapists, assisting them with the rehabilitation exercises and therapies relating with recovering from an injury or disability

As a PTA I have been given a breath of knowledge in regard to the profession of physical therapy. However, I am not satisfied with this breath of knowledge. I yearn for the opportunity to gain a further understanding in terms of “how and why” physical therapy is successful at restoring function to individuals seeking

The field of Athletic Training is a never-ending learning experience. This career can be very time demanding and some may find themselves on their feet for majority of the workday. Always being on the move can be hard to gather new information, or new ways to benefit the skills acquired in this field. Athletic Training is a very broad field, which contains skills, methods, and research. Athletic Trainers (ATs) are health care providers for those who are injured. Most people recognize ATs as first responders in professional sports, collegiate sports, and high school sports. What some people may not know is that ATs collaborate with physicians to provide them with the primary diagnostic when the injury occurred. Other services that ATs provide

Physical Therapy is an active, helpful career. It focuses on rehabilitation to reestablish full function and mobility to the patient. Anyone and everyone can qualify for physical therapy. Patients differ in age and race, and of course, by their illness or injury. The job involves possessing and using knowledge to diagnose the patient and establish a management plan deciding what therapy will benefit and improve the patient’s condition and averaging how long it will take to accomplish.

In the words of Field (2007), "physical therapists develop therapies and exercise modalities to help patients ease pain, recover from injuries or illness, or regain use of body parts." The relevance of physical therapy as a health care profession cannot hence be overstated. This is more so the case given that due to injuries, accidents, old age or disabilities; individuals could at some point need intervention designed to alleviate pain, improve mobility or even restore function.

Reading from the article-“Celebrating a Milestone-35 years of PTAs” published by Michele Wojciechowski on 1 Feb. 2004, I feel proud that I am now in the Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA) Program. The author has outlined several timelines of achieving status in American Physical Therapy Association and National Assembly also, how PTAs achieved their own value. Even after passionate 2 year associate program, I am disappointed to see that PTA program is no longer a stepping stone for Physical Therapist (PT) program.

Congratulations on making it to week eight of PTA 324 Physical Therapy Across Practice Settings! We end this course with a look at professional development of the PTA. We will be discussing ideas for lifelong learning and maintaining clinical competence. By being in this course, you have already shown a commitment to professional development and lifelong learning. As we come to the end of this class, reflect on the self-directed learning that you have achieved and how your professional development has been affected by your research and the interactions with your classmates.

Physical Therapist is citing from website; www.apta.org/aboutpts " physical therapist are highly-educated licensed health care professionals who can help patients reduce pain and improve or restore mobility.

When people come upon a difficulty in life, they search for somewhere to turn to. More

Physical therapy has grown increasing more useful as the years’ progress and more is learned about the human body and its movements, interactions, and mechanisms. Someone may go to physical therapy for injury, recovery, in order to maintain function, or even due to a stroke and is trying to work on walking again. Patients of a physical therapist can include, but is not limited to, elderly, children, accident victims, athletes, those with conditions such as arthritis or fractures, etc. The possibilities are endless for potential physical therapy patients (Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences).