Physical Therapy

Physical therapy is the field of medical care that uses exercise and such physical agents as heat, light, water, and massage to treat certain physical disabilities. Among its objectives are the relief of pain caused by surgery or by medical problems; the improvement of muscle strength, mobility; and the improvement of such basic functions as standing, walking, and grasping in patients who are recovering from debilitating illnesses or accidents or who are physically handicapped.

Dozens of institutions train physical therapists, and extensive programs of graduate education are available as well.

The physical therapist uses different types of rehabilitative treatment. Heat may be applied to ease stiffening and pain in the joints. The heat source may be a hot bath or a hot compress, special heat-creating lamps, diathermy or ultrasound waves, both of which generate heat in tissues that are too deep to be reached by external heat applications. Massage is a standard physiotherapeutic technique, both for easing pain and for improving circulation. Hydrotherapy is useful for the slow work of rebuilding wasted muscles. The most frequent type of treatment, however, is exercise, carefully chosen to increase joint mobility or to improve muscle strength and coordination.

Patients with physical handicaps may be trained in learning or relearning elementary motor functions, such as holding a spoon, turning a doorknob, or they may be taught how to use crutches, prosthetic devices and other mechanical aids. Practicing therapists may work in hospitals and other health-care institutions, for physicians or other therapists, private or government agencies, in schools, or private practice. Their work is often closely coordinated with that of the occupational therapist because both fields involve training patients to improve their motor abilities.