Most people have an idea of who physical therapists are and what they do.
- Darn, my shoulder kills me when I reach overhead… see a PT.
- Ouch, I tweaked my back… see a PT.
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- Crap, this cerebrovascular attack has given me ataxia, and right sided partial paralysis with a right foot-drop… see a PT.
That last example probably wouldn’t be uttered in quite those words by a patient, but you get the idea. Physical therapist work in a wide range of fields related to movement disorders and physical rehabilitation. Many people already know this; some have more insight than others. However, I’m not yapping away with this blog to talk about what we do. Instead I’m here to shed some light on research developments in the field of physical therapy.
Essentially, this blog will be for both the average person, AND physical therapists. If I do my job well, then I will present information on research articles in a language appropriate for PT’s, but also understandable and engaging to Joe Blow. Whoa! Seems like a challenge for mister 30-percentile SAT man here. I’m not saying it won’t be challenging. But, I’m not doing this out of selflessness. Because I, Mr. 30-percentile, want to eventually design and conduct research studies, this blog will help me to work on my writing skills and expand my knowledge of current research. Apparently doing research isn’t all number crunching, inductive reasoning, and theorizing. You also have to up your game in the language and writing department… who’d a thunk it??
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Ok, that’s nice… research and everything. But, why should I read this blog? Well, Mr. Average Person, unfortunately information like this isn’t easily accessible through Google news or Yahoo news. I know because I skim through both news sites regularly. Most of what is published relates to the Health Care Reform Bill, West Nile Virus, E. coli, or some other internal medicine related topic. I am in no way deemphasizing the importance of these issues. I believe topics such as health care and social security should be understood by all Americans. I’m not too crazy about West Nile and Bird Flu stories, but that’s a topic for someone else’s blog. Anywho, most of the information I will present tends to fall under radar for various reasons. But what’s important is these may directly relate to physical activities you do everyday.
Deciding between two new pairs of gym shoes. Walking down stairs. Lifting up heavy grocery bags. Shoveling after a heavy snowstorm. Running on a treadmill or running outside. Neck brace or no neck brace. Wheelchair accessories to help with playing basketball.
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| Photo Courtesy of Corey Glynn |
The list goes on… hopefully it does, or doing all this for two weeks’ worth of blog entries would be silly. Short of hanging out with the most scholarly physical therapist on a regular basis, much of this research-based info is not easily accessible. Besides, I doubt such a therapist exist, there is a lot of information out there. Again, I am doing this to help broaden my knowledge on current research, so I’ll be learning with you. What better way to learn, than to teach someone else? Right? It’s slightly cliché, but it’s true.
So, this will be my introductory entry (duh), and I plan to make entries at least 2-3 times a month. I am a student finishing my last year of PT school, so I’ll use that as an excuse to not do more.
Thanks for scanning this page with CN III, and transmitting these words through CN II (Your oculomotor and optic nerves. Respectively controlling eye movement and relaying visual signals to the brain.).
Peace.
