Physical Therapist Jobs

A physical therapist is a healthcare provider who tries to meet an individual's needs and wants via communication with other healthcare specialists and the use of exercise, education, and various therapeutic modalities. This form of physical therapy can include anything from teaching patients to walk again after an injury or helping an athlete improve his speed, physical strength, or agility on the playing field. Physical therapists often consult and practice with a variety of other professionals, such as doctors, nurses, educators, social workers, occupational therapists, speech language pathologists, and audiologists.

A physical therapist job will perform many different functions in order to optimize a patient's recovery. For those patients with health problems resulting from injury or disease, the physical therapist assists in the rehabilitation process to reduce the patient's pain and increase the patient's strength, endurance, and stability. PT jobs also use electrical stimulation, hot packs or cold compresses, and ultrasound to relieve pain and reduce swelling. Therapists may use traction or deep-tissue massage to relieve pain, as wel as teach patients to use assistive and adaptive devices, such as crutches, prostheses, and wheelchairs. In addition to treatments given in the office the physical therapist must also work hand in hand with the patient to help develop a personal home therapy program for when they are no longer in the Physical Therapist care. This is done to ensure that the healing process continues and that there is no future reoccurrence of the treated condition. One of the more significant functions of a physical therapist is to aid patients in improving their ability to perform activities of daily living.