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Brianna Bello

Ms. Amanda Tibbitts

Language Arts 12

8 March 2019

Physical Therapy

Physical therapists are a needed occupation in the United States because without Physical

therapy many injuries, and disabilities could not be treated and a lot of people would not be

strong enough to work their everyday job. This paper will discuss the main points of physical

therapy as a career and go more into depths about the injuries and disabilities that they work

with.

Physical therapists often find the root of the problem of their patients pain and begin

trying to find solutions to the pain, injury, or disability. Most Physical therapists often

recommend exercise and stretching to avoid pain and injuries but sometimes injuries are

unavoidable and patients need to go to a Physical Therapist to treat their injury. Stated by

Campbell, Chloe. “P Is for Physical Therapist.” ​Minnesota Employment Review​, Oct. 2016, p. 1.

EBSCOhost​,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f6h&AN=119587543&site=ehost-live.

Physical therapy positively influences an individual's overall health, wellness, and fitness

by providing services that positively impact physical fitness. Physical therapists help any

individual is struggling with their body and need therapy to regain strength. ​Călina, Silisteanu

Sinziana, et al. “Research on the Effectiveness of Physical Therapy in the Treatment of

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LBP.” ​Balneo Research Journal,​ vol. 6, no. 3, Sept. 2015, pp. 160–167. ​EBSCOhost,​

doi:10.12680/balneo.2015.1099.

PTs are in high demand in America and by the year 2020 we will need 39% more PTs in

the U.S. If we don’t have enough PTs a lot of injuries would not be healed and we would have a

lot more disabilities and with more disabilities a lot more of individuals would not be able to

work. ​Lentz, Trevor A., et al. “Prediction of Healthcare Utilization Following an Episode of

Physical Therapy for Musculoskeletal Pain.” ​BMC Health Services Research​, vol. 18, no. 1,

Aug. 2018, p. 648. ​EBSCOhost​, doi:10.1186/s12913-018-3470-6.

Vancouver/ICMJE
Physical therapy offers a salary 10,000-15,000 less than the national annual average. The

salaries are so low because PTs are allowed to earn extra money by practicing in clinics but it is

hard to do extra practicing when the PT does not have time to go to clinics especially if they do

not have a form of transportation. ​Campbell, Chloe. “P Is for Physical Therapist.” ​Minnesota

Employment Review​, Oct. 2016, p. 1. ​EBSCOhost,​

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f6h&AN=119587543&site=ehost-live.

One of the reasons I want to be a Physical therapist is because I have recently injured my

back when I was on my drill team and I want to help other athletes heal and get treatment on

their injury and so that they can continue to do what they love and not give it up because they

can no longer do the sport they love.

Most programs offer DPT degrees and it’s 3 years to get a degree and most places that

offer DPT degrees require the person to have their bachelors degrees to be able to be accepted

into the school and they require you to have taken lots of chemistry, physics, anatomy, and

biology.
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Physical Therapy can be traced backed all the way to the ancient greeks. They did

therapy techniques, massages, and hydrotherapy. If physical therapy as been around for this long

that explains how important PTs are because they help individuals heal and they help humans

regain their strength. ​Campbell, Chloe. “P Is for Physical Therapist.” ​Minnesota Employment

Review​, Oct. 2016, p. 1. ​EBSCOhost​,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f6h&AN=119587543&site=ehost-live.

During WW2 and the polio epidemic it led to new healthcare profession made up of only

women. The women had to learn how to help the men regain strength after the war and help treat

their injuries and recover from the polio. Then later in the 1940s they changed their name to

American Physical Therapy Association (APTA). Wars and the outbreak of polio forced PT’s to

evolve. Later in the 1950s the treatments weren’t just hospital based but they finally created

clinics for patients to get treated so they don’t have to go to the hospitals to get treated.

Physical therapy has grown and now involves 17 specialties such as Acute Care,

Cardiovascular and Pulmonary, Geriatrics, Neurology, Orthopedics, Pediatrics, Sports, and

Wound care.

According to Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) 209,690 people work as

Physical Therapists in the United States. And 3,960 are in minnesota. The wage nationally for

Physical Therapists is $40.73 an hour but In Minnesota the median wage ranges from $35.54 an

hour and that’s not including the north and south parts of minnesota. ​Campbell, Chloe. “P Is for

Physical Therapist.” ​Minnesota Employment Review​, Oct. 2016, p. 1. ​EBSCOhost,​

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f6h&AN=119587543&site=ehost-live.
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The Bureau of Labor Statistics claim that the demand of Physical therapy services will

increase with the baby boomers who will stay active later in their life. In minnesota the

department of employment is predicting that there will be a 23.1 percent statewide change in

employment between 2014 -2024.

There were some physical therapists who did a study on to find the effects of

conventional combination physical therapy treatment to improve the gross motor and functional

movements in children with Erb’s Palsy. They started trying to find ways to treat it since there is

currently no cure for Erb’s Palsy yet. They tested many different treatments and theories and

they have been tracking all of their progress. Physical therapists spend so much time trying to

help and treat others that they are trying to find cures for the incurable disabilities.​Afzal, Farjad,

and Asma Afzal. “Effects of Conventional Combination Physical Therapy Treatment to

Improve the Gross Motor and Functional Movements in Children with Erb’s Palsy.”

International Journal of Therapies & Rehabilitation Research​, vol. 6, no. 2, Mar. 2017, pp.

70–73. ​EBSCOhost,​ doi:10.5455/ijtrr.000000246.

Patients seek help from Physical therapists for neck pain and neck pain is an example of a

musculoskeletal condition. Neck pain and lower back pain are estimated to be the 3rd largest

condition of health care spending 87.6 billion dollars every year.

Musculoskeletal pain is a condition with results that include chronic pain and disability.

Clinicals are now recommending treatment to increase use of services such as physical therapy.

Physical therapy is helps improve disabilities and helps reduce the musculoskeletal condition.

Physical therapists are very important to the rehabilitation process of people healing and

getting the range of motion back. “The goal of physical therapy is to help people regain their
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ability to complete functional activities associated with daily living.”​Campbell, Chloe. “P Is for

Physical Therapist.” ​Minnesota Employment Review​, Oct. 2016, p. 1. ​EBSCOhost,​

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f6h&AN=119587543&site=ehost-live ​ Physical therapists.

Every year millions of Americans from newborns to senior citizens seek physical

therapy.​Campbell, Chloe. “P Is for Physical Therapist.” ​Minnesota Employment Review,​ Oct. 2016, p. 1.

EBSCOhost​, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f6h&AN=119587543&site=ehost-live​ If every

age group feels the need to see a Physical therapist to treat their bodies and the pain they are

feeling it is so important that Physical therapists stay at large in the United states. If physical

therapists did not exist than the disabilities starting from a very young age would increase and

the United states would not function as well because many americans would not to be able to

work because of an injury or disability.

Us news and world report added Physical therapy to their top 30 careers based on 2

surveys. Based on a survey by National Opinion Research Center that many physical therapists

are very satisfied by their job. “You usually see real progress. For example, its touching to see a

patient, who came in on a stretcher or in a wheelchair, walk out at the end of treatment." ''.•

There's variety ...You might treat, for example, a brain-injured child, a football player who broke

his arm, an Iraq War veteran amputee, and an aged stroke patient." ​“Physical Therapy Listed As One

of Best Careers.” PT: Magazine of Physical Therapy, vol. 17, no. 2, Mar. 2009, p. 12. EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=36936662&site=ehost-live.

Physical therapists help with a variety of injuries such as sprains, fractures, injuries from

sports or work, and most patients complain the most about back and neck pain. Physical

therapists vary from patient to patient and create specific plans to accommodate each individual

patient with their pain.

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The most important thing I learned about physical therapy is that PTs are getting paid

15,000 less than they are supposed to be getting paid. My research has affected me by teaching

me that PTs do a lot more than I thought they did and they really help their patients regain

strength. I would like to learn more about the schooling that PTs go through before becoming a

physical therapist.

 
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