Physical Therapist: A Health Career in Great Demand

Physical therapists (PTs) are professional therapists who work with patients with disabilities, limitations, and impairments, that limit their ability to perform physical functions. Their condition could have resulted from a disease, injury, or other cause. Today, physical therapist jobs are in great demand due to an increased aging baby boom generation and medical advancements that have resulted in an increased survival rate after such incidents as an accident causing a serious injury, heart attacks, strokes, and other events causing physical limitation. Patients can include victims of a physical trauma and patients with disabling conditions such as heart disease, arthritis, back pain, head injury, fractures, arthritis, and cerebral palsy.

A physical therapist is a licensed therapist treats patients suffering from conditions that require physical rehabilitation. They provide therapy within a disablement framework with the aim of helping to relieve pain, improve mobility, restore function, and limit or prevent lasting physical disabilities. They work to restore, maintain, and promote overall health and fitness. A therapist must be able to create and provide a therapeutic program for improving such conditions as: range of motion, motor function, muscle performance, and posture. Therapeutic techniques can involve using specific exercises and therapy devices/equipment to improve physical limitations such as reducing pain, promoting health and fitness levels, and restoring function. As the patient's treatment continues, the physical therapist will track and record the progress, modify treatments as needed, and detect areas that will require less or more treatment.

One of the rewards of being a physical therapist is the ability to work in various job settings. Physical therapists often work with a number of health professionals such as social workers, speech language pathologists, physicians, nurses, occupational therapists, dentists, educators, and audiologists. There are physical therapists that treat all physical disabilities while there are therapists who specialize in such areas as cardiopulmonary physical therapy, sports medicine, pediatrics, neurology geriatrics, acute care, and orthopedics. Other physical therapy jobs include: home health care agencies, physician clinics, outpatient rehabilitation centers, adult day care programs and schools, nursing homes. A physical therapist can be self employed and contract with individuals or health organizations. They can also teach in academic institutions. As well, more employers are using physical therapists to teach safe work practices to employees, assess work sites, and create and implement exercise programs.

To become a physical therapist, one will have to complete a physical therapy program with a Master's or Doctoral degree from an accredited university. The therapist will have been trained in a number of physical therapy techniques such as: muscle injury therapy, electrical stimulation, ultrasound, infrared heat devices, therapeutic massages, and various therapeutic exercises.

Advancements in medical technology have increased the survival rate of trauma victims and newborns with birth defects, and there is now a rapidly growing elderly population who are vulnerable to conditions and illnesses that require therapeutic services. This has resulted in an increase in rehabilitative care which is the specialty of Physical Therapists. Physical therapy jobs are now in great demand. A career as a physical therapist is not only personally rewarding, but also very lucrative.

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