The APTA is celebrating National Physical Therapy month in October. This originally began in 1981 as National Physical Therapy Week and took place in June. In 1992, it was moved to October and became a month long awareness campaign. It is so popular it is part of the National Health Observances Calendar.
Each year, the National Physical Therapy month is used as an effective way for Physical Therapists and Physical Therapy Assistants to bring awareness and education to their communities about a particular health topic of interest.
This year, the focus is our nation’s Obesity Epidemic. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the prevalence of overweight and obesity has risen dramatically for both adults and children since the 1970s.
PTs play an important role in our fight against obesity with two main objectives; the first is in prevention by developing fitness plans for both adults and children. The other is to develop a plan for those already overweight or obese by creating a progression of exercise and at the same time prevent joint injury and other safety concerns.
To learn more about National Physical Therapy month, visit the APTA.org -http://www.apta.org