What Physical Therapy Is

Should You See A Physical Therapist?

Who is an appropriate candidate for physical therapy?

That’s a question I often receive when someone finds out what I do.  A simple way to answer this for an orthopedic physical therapist is if you have pain that has changed (for better or worse) with movement.  It’s as simple as that. 

As physical therapists, we are trained in how the body moves.  That involves training in all the muscles, joints, tendons, ligaments, nerves, and many other structures of the body that are involved in moving.  When pain is made better or worse with any type of movement (i.e. having back pain and bending over creates more pain) then you should see an outpatient orthopedic physical therapist. 

In addition to orthopedics, which means injuries of muscles and joints, there are many other specialties that a physical therapist is trained in.  This can include neurological disorders, wound care, geriatrics, pediatrics, women’s health, and acute care to name a few.  A good resource to research all the different areas of physical therapy is at www.apta.org. 

If there are any physical therapists who practice in the different specialties, please add your response to the question to help people figure out what is it physical therapists actually do!