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Detailing the importance of these up and coming job fields

 

Sports Medicine and Physical Therapy

ESSENTIAL QUESTION

Why is the field of sports medicine so important and how is it relevant to everyday life?
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How do physical therapists help you heal?

          Physical therapists have to determine which exercises will be used to rehabilitate the given injured area. Those exercises depend on the age and physical condition that the client is in. The exercises that a high school football player is put through will obviously be different than an elderly woman with the same injury. However, the exercises that a runningback is put through will be different than what a kicker would use. The physical therapist always takes into account the intended result before treating an injury. For those who do not play sports, the intended result may be to return the injured area only to functionality (as said by Andrew May), but for those who do play sports, the intended result may be to return the injured area to peak performance.  One of the ways that physical therapists try to heal an injury is by strengthening the surrounding muscles so that they can support the injured area. Although strengthening the injured area is an essential part to the healing process, further injury prevention is just as important. Physical therapists such as Andrew make sure that the patient does not make the injury worse while they are not at physical therapy.  Physical therapists also the use a variety of treatments to go along with the exercises that the patient does. They use what is called an electrical stimulation machine, which delivers impulses to a targeted area. These impulses make the muscles contract, and this helps to promote circulation and range of motion. Another treatment that the therapists use is ultrasound. The ultrasound machine sends sound waves deep into the tissue that is being targeted.These sound waves encourage blood flow to a given area which promotes healing. One of the final treatments that a physical therapist uses in dry needling. By using dry needling the therapists target trigger points, which are areas of high tension and pain. By targeting these trigger points the therapist will aid the release of tension, improve pain control, improves range of motion, and promotes blood flow to the area.  The most important thing that Andrew and the other therapists have taught me during my internship is to always have a positive attitude, show them that you truly care about them and try to form personal relationships. The patient will be much, much more willing to come to rehabilitation and if the patient believes in what his/her therapist is saying, then they will be more confident in the exercises that they are performing. 

Why are the things these people are doing so important?

Without the help of these people, you wouldn't heal properly. In fact, you might not heal at all. Professionals within the field of sports medicine help you return back to a normal life, and without them you wouldn't be able to do that. Imagine a world without orthopedic surgery, physical therapy, and everything in between. These people took my injury and were able to help it heal, so that I may return not only sports, but a much better quality of life.

"Dry Needling by a Physical Therapist: What You Should Know." American Physical Therapy Association. N.p., 11 Apr. 2017. Web. 20 Apr. 2017.

"Electric Stimulation - Alternative Physical Therapy Treatments." Advance Physical & Aquatic Therapy. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2017.

Brett Sears, PT - Reviewed by a Board-certified Physician. "This Is How Your Physical Therapist Uses Ultrasound." Verywell. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2017.

ATTORNEYS

RESEARCH

           Growing up, sports were my life. They were all i thought about, and a huge portion of my time was allocated to them. Then, in eighth grade they were taken away. During a football game, I had broken my leg. I was diagnosed with a spiral fracture of my tibia. When I broke it I was originally taken to the Northeast Georgia Medical Center where they ran a series of tests, and determined that I was going to require further medical attention at the Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite Hospital because there were orthopedic surgeons who were more experienced with my injury. Ultimately they were able to set the bone without surgery because they were concerned about messing with my growth plates, but I was still hospitalized for two days due to swelling before they sent me home. As a result of this injury I was in a wheelchair for six weeks, on crutches for six weeks, and then in a walking boot for two without crutches. All this time, I was fascinated with what was going on all around me-the doctors appointments, x-rays and physical therapy-and I knew there was something special with the process. The people who were helping me weren't just helping me, they were pushing me. It seemed as though they truly cared about me and I wasn't just another patient to them. I had to know more...

Who were these people?

             At first, I believed that doctors were doctors. If someone helped you to get better, they were a doctor. After the injury, I realized that each person had a different job. From the nurses to the x-rays technicians, or the surgeons to the physical therapists, I figured out that the process of healing was like a puzzle, and that each person who helped was a very vital piece. Not just vital to me, but vital to the world. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicted that between 2014 and 2024 the job growth for surgeons and physicians would be around 14%, physical therapists around 34%, and athletic trainers around 21%. The demand for this job field is growing at an incredible rate, which explains its prominence in the world today. This past year I was able to become an intern at Atlanta Rehabilitation, a company specializing in physical therapy and athletic training. My mentor was Andrew May, a physical therapist, who took me under his wing to teach me the ins-and-outs of physical therapy. Before working with the therapists at Atlanta Rehab, I did not know the extreme amounts of knowledge that these people had. They come to work every single day and have to diagnose injuries and treat injuries off the top of their heads. In an interview between myself and Andrew, I asked him the question, "What kind of education and training is required for one to become a certified physical therapist?". Andrew told me that it doesn't matter what your undergraduate bachelor's degree is, but you have to take the required courses in order to be accepted into the physical therapy program. If you add it all up, that is 7 years of college. I did not know before the requirements of being a physical therapist, I just thought that it was a common 4-year bachelor's degree. 

  1. What kind of education and training is required for one to become a certified physical therapist?

-Doesn’t matter what your undergraduate bachelor’s degree is, you just have to have the required courses for the PT program

-Be accepted into PT program-3 years

-Graduate with doctorate in PT

Response: 7 years of school is definitely a long time, but the job security is worth it, and it is a good working environment

2. What is the difference between the therapy that and athlete who is hoping to return to sports receives and the therapy that a person who does not play sports receives?

-An athlete will be there longer with more intense workouts-plyometrics and agility, past functionality and onto high level intensity

-A person who does not play sports is returned to functionality

Response: It seems as though the athlete’s treatment is much more serious and intense than that of a non-athlete’s, and more knowledge must be required to serve them.

3. When diagnosing an injury, how do you know when to diagnose it on your own or to ask for the help of a doctor?

-If he doesn’t know he refers to a doctor

-serious injuries like a fracture, blood clots, or something you can’t treat-needs x-rays or additional testing

Response: Even though 3 additional years of school are required, every injury can’t be diagnosed by a PT and sometimes has to be referred to a doctor.

Interview

4. What is the most common injury that you see come through Atlanta Rehab?

-total knee replacement in people 50-75 years of age

Response: Physical therapists must know how to treat this injury, and this injury must improve a person’s health immensely.

5. What are some of the worst injuries that you have helped to treat for high school athletes, and how were they treated?

-compound tibia/fibula fracture-day 1 up to backflips in clinic

-strengthening, balance, agility, plyometrics

Response: Even the worst injuries can be cured and treated, that is why physical therapy is so important, so that athletes can pick up right where they left off.

6. With the development and upcoming of the study of sports medicine, what are some pieces of equipment that have played a large role in that?

-PPE-knee braces, ankle braces, straps

-PPE helps to keep minor injuries minor injuries and not turn into serious ones

-decreases works of injury

Response: Personal protective equipment is essential to life because it helps to prevent injury, but not totally eliminate it.

7. How are the treatments of injuries now different from those ten years ago?

-Return to play is faster

-more evidence of what works-weeds out unnecessary treatment options

Response: Treatment has gotten much better of the past decade, and it will improve just as much in the decade to come.

8. What do you like the most about your job? The least?

-Most-building relationships with patients and seeing results

-Worst-When he can’t help someone and he has to refer to a different doctor

Response: Physical therapy is a very rewarding job, not necessarily in the money made but the relationships made and the lives that are changed.

9. What is the most challenging case that has come your way?

-people that have multiple things going on

-having a problem because of something else, and that is because of something else, and something else, etc.

Response: Like I said before, seven years of schooling may be a lot, but that doesn’t mean you will know everything and be able to treat everyone.

10. How far do you see the study/professions in sports medicine progressing in the next decade?

-new ways to treat ACL, Tommy John-helping to return to play faster and better surgical options and more effective rehabilitation techniques

Research on concussions

Response: The progress to be made in the next decade will be tremendous due to the advancements we’ve made in technology, and even more advancements will be made.

In previous years, sports medicine routines were the same for adults and children, but we have now realized that the way we approach the surgery and treatment of injuries should be different between the two. When working with athletes, the main priority should be to restore and strengthen the injured area so that the athlete can return to sports. Before this realization, the surgeons and therapists were only focused on returning the patient to functionality, and the injured area would not be as strong as before. Stated in the article, “Now we realize we have to very systematically rehabilitate these kids for strength and basic function, and determine when it is safe for them to return to play.” There has been a rise in the injuries in most sports in the last decade, and many of which are due to overuse in the field of play. This has also developed different training techniques and rules to prevent overuse. 

 In the excerpt, it talks about how a physical therapist can help to rehabilitate the affected area, and that the physical therapist chooses which exercise to use to strengthen a specific area. It also explains that a physical therapist can help a patient to use surrounding muscles to overcome a paralyzed one. Physical therapists help athletes to return to their best shape, but the athlete also has to give just as much effort.

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHIES

The article describes the field of sports medicine, and how it is a fast growing practice in our society today. Jobs in sports medicine are growing because people are realizing that exercise helps you to be healthier, and there need to be trained professionals that take care of injured athletes. Jobs within this job field are very difficult, because it requires constant effort and high motivation. The article discusses some of the possible injuries that occur in athletics and how they are treated by a person in the field of sports medicine. The article goes on to explain how important professionals in sports medicine are and how vital they are to our community.

Sports Medicine

Special Rehab Clinics for Injured             High School Athletes

Rehabilitating Muscles

Silverstein, Alvin, et al. "Section 3: Rehabilitating Muscles." Muscular System (9780805028362), Lerner Publishing Group, Jan. 1994, p. 86. EBSCOhost, proxygsu-shal.galileo.usg.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hxh&AN=8960061&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Landro, Laura. “Special Rehab Clinics for Injured High School Athletes.” Wall Street Journal, 07 Jan 2014, pp D.1. SIRS Issues Researcher

American College of Sports Medicine. ACSM, 2016. Web. 12 May. 2016.

Andrews, James R., and Don Yaeger. Any Given Monday: Sports Injuries and How to Prevent Them. New York: Scribner, 2013. Print.

Blumenstein, Boris, Michael Bar-Eli, and Gershon Tenenbaum, eds. Brain and Body in Sport and Exercise: Biofeedback Applications in Performance Enhancement. New York: Wiley, 2002. Print.

Carter, Neil. Medicine, Sport, and the Body: A Historical Perspective. New York: Bloomsbury, 2012. Print.

Delforge, Gary. Musculoskeletal Trauma: Implications for Sport Injury Management. Champaign: Human Kinetics, 2002. Print.

Landry, Gregory L., and David T. Bernhardt. Essentials of Primary Care Sports Medicine. Champaign: Human Kinetics, 2003. Print.

McArdle, William, Frank I. Katch, and Victor L. Katch. Exercise Physiology: Energy, Nutrition, and Human Performance. 8th ed. Boston: Lippincott, 2014. Print.

Plowman, Sharon A., and Denise L. Smith. Exercise Physiology for Health Fitness and Performance. 4th ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 2013. Print.

Scuderi, Giles R., and Peter D. McCann, eds. Sports Medicine: A Comprehensive Approach. 2nd ed. Philadelphia: Mosby/Elsevier, 2005. Print.

Small, Eric, et al. Kids and Sports: Everything You and Your Child Need to Know about Sports, Physical Activity, and Good Health. New York: Newmarket, 2002. Print.

Ward, Keith. Routledge Handbook of Sports Therapy, Injury Assessment, and Rehabilitation. New York: Routledge, 2015. Print.

Derived from: "Sports medicine." Magill's Medical Guide, Sixth Edition. Salem Press. 2010.

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