APTA's
vision for physical therapy is "transforming society by
optimizing movement to improve the human experience." How will you embody
this vision as a future physical therapist?
My goal as
a future physical therapist is to combine my acquired knowledge as a movement
expert with my background and passion of health and fitness to bridge the gap
between movement and performance. From my experience, there seems to be a
"gap" from the time rehab is completed with a physical therapist, to
the time an individual tries to work at full capacity or perform sport at a
high level. For example, the physical
therapist has corrected the injury, muscle imbalances and movement
inefficiencies of the injury being treated, however other aspects of health and
fitness (nutrition, recovery, other movement patterns) are left unchanged. The
majority of musculoskeletal and soft tissue injuries can be prevented with
proper self maintenance, mobilization and movement techniques. Injuries are
part of human reality, while getting individuals back to functioning properly
is the primary goal, I will embody the vision of improving the human experience
by educating individuals how to perform basic maintenance on themselves.
First, through
my nutritional and personal training certifications, I will also be able to
educate clients on how proper nutrition and recovery (bodily maintenance) plays
an important role in rehab and prevention. From increasing or adding omega-3
intake to shift the body to "anti-inflammatory" physiological
processes, to explaining why insufficient sleep can slow recovery, and increase
injury, the fuel we give our bodies depends on how well our bodies
function. Since interacting with clients
is part of the rehabilitation process, I believe it is important to utilize
your time to make sure individuals are informed of all the aspects that can
influence their health, movement and performance. It is not my job to force
different health habits, rather giving them the information they need so they
can learn to make the proper choices on their own, which in turn improves their
human experience.
Next, I
believe it is important to teach how easy it is to keep soft tissues mobilized,
break down adhesions, and to teach proper mechanics of other movements not
necessarily part of the current rehabilitative plan. A small investment of a
lacrosse ball, and foam roller, with use during break times, before workouts,
or leisure time at home, 10-20 minutes a day can keep clients tissues healthy
and firing correctly well after rehab. Through interaction and asking about
daily habits, I will be able to make simple suggestions on how one should put
their body in better positions throughout the day. Simple changes such as
focusing on better posture on the commute to work each day, choosing to stand
while working instead of sitting, or taking a few minutes each day to sit in
the bottom of your natural squat. As subtle as these changes are in a typical
day, if I can educate clients to choose to put their bodies in better positions
throughout the day, the accumulated affect over time can help reverse movement
defects and prevent other injuries from occurring in the future.
Lastly,
taking the time to teach individuals proper movement mechanics for common
everyday functional movements is important to improving the human experience
and preventing injury. Even if it is just by giving additional exercise
instructional worksheets or using a PVC pipe for demonstration between sets of
rehab movements, every day movements such as squatting, dead lifting, pulling,
and pressing will be introduced during a clients time in my care. Obviously,
depending on the individual circumstances some of the movements listed above
will already be part of the rehab programming, however I feel it is a
disservice to a client not to give them basic instruction on the other
movements as well, based on their abilities.
In
conclusion, by helping clients create a bigger health and fitness base, by
plugging in the holes where they lack the information to make proper decisions,
I will improve the human experience well after their injury rehabilitation
ends. This will help increase their
performance in sport, on the job site, with their families, and work towards
preventing future movement problems and injuries. Like previously mentioned
above, my goal isn't to force health habits on anyone. I believe in order to
improve the human experience I need to optimize their movement, restore their
injuries in their entirety, and interact with clients in a way that educates
and motivates them to make better decisions in their daily lives.
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