Summative Essay

Learning about your Field:

Physical Therapy first interested me when my brother had to go some sessions for his broken foot. I went with him a few times just to check it all out and I ended up not wanting to leave. I love to do and experience things "hands on" and that is exactly what Physical Therapy is. .What I have learned about my field of Physical Therapy from researching for my blog is that it is a continuously growing field that utilizes new technology as it comes, and that no matter what the patient will always come first.

                The use of new technology to help increase the success of Physical Therapy is very big within the field. "Bright minds at West Health Institute in San Diego have developed a technology that allows patients in need of physical therapy to perform necessary exercises away from their expert guidance through the use of Microsoft Kinect"(Stango, P1) The Kinect can read your body movements and give you tips on how to do certain exercises correctly. Because of the new technology the Kinect gives us patients can do physical therapy out of their homes. As I have stated multiple times throughout my blog, I have learned that in physical therapy, as well as all professions within the medical field, the patients always come first. The American Physical Therapy Association released a code of ethics for Physical Therapy and within that code stated “Physical Therapists adhere to the core values of the profession and shall act in the best interests of patients/clients over the interests of the physical therapist."(APTA, 2A) I believe this statement that Physical Therapists should put their own self-interests aside in order for them to properly care for the patient and do what is in their best interest. I think that if Physical Therapists put their own interests first then you would see longer rehabilitation periods for patients. I have always liked to help others for as long as I can remember. This is one of the main reasons why I am interested in this field of work.

Learning about your Research:

My blogging experience has helped me to understand how my field works and what happens within the field of Physical Therapy. Throughout my research I have learned that there are many ways to go through Physical Therapy and that it takes time and patience to get through it on top. Not only does the Physical Therapist need to work with the patient but the patient needs to work with the Physical Therapist. What I mean by this is that the PT (Physical Therapist) needs to know and understand everything that is happening with the patient while they are doing an exercise so that the PT can make sure that the exercises are working correctly and safely.

When I first go into Physical Therapy I thought that was it, I want to be a Physical Therapist. But as I got farther and farther into my research I realized that there are different sub groups of Physical Therapy. Some of them are Neurological Therapy, Orthopedic Therapy, Geriatric Therapy, and also Pediatric Physical Therapy. After researching I am not quite sure what I want to go into specifically, but there is a lot of time to find out. My aunt Paula was an Occupational Physical Therapist working specifically on head trauma victims. I have spoken to her about her career and it interests me a lot. I am taking a Psychology class right now and learning about the human brain is fascinating. To be able to work with both Physical Therapy and the brain would be very neat.

              Throughout my research I think that I did lots of things correct. I think that was able to connect what I learned with my own personal feelings on the topic, and I was able to connect to different topics within. I also thought that I always gave credit to the correct person and never took credit for that which was not mine. That being said, I was not perfect with my research blog. Sometimes it was very difficult to find something to talk about with my blog and when I did I think that I was not as informative as I could have been. Some questions that I still have for the field of Physical Therapy are: How easy is it to find a job after school? And also what is the best route to take for setting up one’s own practice?

Works Cited:

"Kinect Can Help Doctors Monitor Your Physical Rehab From Home." Gizmodo. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2012. <http://gizmodo.com/5946737/kinect-can-doctors-monitor-your-physical-rehab-from-home>.

"Code of Ethics for the Physical Therapist (2010)." Welcome. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2012. <http://ethics.iit.edu/ecodes/node/4839>.

Reflection

Today's post is a reflection on what I have learned so far within Physical Therapy. Where do I start? Physical Therapy comes in many different forms and styles for different people. The main types of Physical Therapy are Neurological Therapy, Orthopedic Therapy,Geriatric Therapy, and Pediatric Therapy. Physical Therapy in general is not for any certain age group or for any certain types of injuries. It ranges any where from sports injuries to promoting better posture. Physical Therapy is a growing field and it will continue to grow with the years coming. One of the biggest thing I have learned about what it means to be a Physical Therapist is that the patient comes first, no matter what. With new technology  you can use the Microsoft "Kinect" and go through Physical Therapy in your home. One big thing that I have learned is that Physical Therapy is always changing and there are always new ways and strategies to complete ones goals.

Kinesiology

As you may already know, I am going to school to study Kinesiology in hopes to become a Physical Therapist. This semester I am currently enrolled in one Kinesiology course, Kin 125. This course is about CPR and First Aid for many different situations. There is a lot of hands on practice involved in this class and it is one of the main things I like about it.

Being involved in hands on practice is very much different than learning out of a book or from online research. Instead of just putting new words and ideas in your head you are practicing those ideas and actually doing them. It is a lot more fun too! Some of the hands on practices that are done throughout this class are CPR, emergency ventilation s, caring for fractured bones and learning how to splint them correctly and safely. As of now I am still interested in Kinesiology. One in three college students change their major, so we will see what happens.

Parental involvement: Good/Bad?

Throughout the practice of Physical Therapy a recurring question kept popping up. Is parental involvement in Physical Therapy a good thing or is bad? Naturally, there are two opposing sides to this question. The reasons why people are against parental involvement within a kids physical therapy is because they believe the parent may "interfere" with the child's' therapy. It is also thought that the child will get to distracted with the parent hanging around asking questions and trying to help out. On the opposite end of the spectrum. People have been performing studies that show training with a child's mother present is as effective as the child training with just a Physical Therapist or Physical Therapist Assistant. These studies also suggest that working with parents can accomplish the overall goal of physical therapy in a shorter time period. There are many opinions on this controversy, what is yours?

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2732325

Neurological Therapy

Neurological Therapy is one of many types of physical therapy. Neurological Therapy might be used for patients who have Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease, Stroke, or spinal cord injuries. It is important to have physical therapy if you have a neurological disease. The brain and spinal cord are the centers of control for both movement and sensations. "An injury to a person's brain or spinal cord may cause death of cells which control specific movements and sensations, leading to a loss of function."(Disable World, P2) Neurological disorders affect a persons nervous system and can happen to people of all age groups.
 
Physical Therapy can help a person remain to perform certain activities which helps to prevent a loss of function. After an injury occurs, there is a time period where a persons cells that remained uninjured retain the ability to learn how to control the functions that have been lost. Physical Therapists' can help you jump on that time period and get your functions back safely and correctly.

"Neurological Therapy - Facts and Information." Neurological Therapy - Facts and Information. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2012. <http://www.disabled-world.com/medical/rehabilitation/therapy/neurological-therapy.php>.

Evaluating Sources

While researching online I found a interesting scholarly article on "Physical Therapy as a means to optimize posture and voice parameters in student classical singers." This is more of an experiment than an argument.

Correct posture is very important to a singer. It can change the sound of your voice and its strength. You can tell a huge difference from slouching down in a chair and singing and then sitting up right and back straight with your shoulders relaxed.

This experiment was performed on a  26 year old female classical singing student, and its aim was to improve the singers posture and voice parameters. The experiment showed great results. After four months of an individual rehabilitation program her postural alignment improved and her vocal dynamic and pitch range extended with smoother curves connecting the measuring points.

This experiment argues that postural alignment can be changed within four months and could possibly influence some of your voice parameters, but one experiment on one person is not enough to make this a fact. There needs to be many more experiments conducted on a wide variety of singers to see if these findings can be generalized.

"Result Filters." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20207108>.

National Physical Therapy Month

Did you know that October is National Physical Therapy month? "Every October the APTA celebrates National Physical Therapy Month, whose primary goal is to raise awareness of the crucial role of Physical Therapists and Physical Therapist Assistants play in helping people reduce pain, improve their mobility, and live active and healthy lives."(SFGate, P2) The focus of this years National Physical Therapy Month is sport injury prevention. The main way to prevent long term sport injuries is learning to play the sport the correct way. You do this by starting young with the kids. They need to be taught the right way right off the bat. Like learning to tackle the right way in pee wee football, and teaching not to lead with the head, or the correct body position when fielding a ground ball.
This October the APTA will also be launching their first "Fit After 50" campaign. This is a program that provides daily tips and resources for Therapists working with the baby-boomer patients. The top five workouts for the baby boomers are:

1. Cardio- running, walking, swimming, biking. At least 30 min. a day

2. Strength Training- push ups, resistance bands, bicep curls. At least 30-45 min. twice a week

3. Flexibility Training- head circles, calf stretching, hamstring stretching. 10 min. a day

4. Balance Training- standing on one leg, tippy-toes. Only need 3 min. a day

5. Core Training- only need a few min. a day of abdominal exercises

"Celebrate National Physical Therapy Month and "Get Fit After 50" with the American Physical Therapy Association and HomeCEUConnection.com." SFGate. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. <http://www.sfgate.com/business/prweb/article/Celebrate-National-Physical-Therapy-Month-and-3918422.php>.