Welcome to our Patient Education page!
Our team of professionals and staff believe that informed patients are better equipped to make decisions regarding their health and well-being. For your personal use, we have created an extensive patient library covering an array of educational topics, which can be found on the side of each page. Browse through these diagnoses and treatments to learn more about topics of interest to you. Or, for a more comprehensive search of our entire website, enter your term(s) in the search bar provided below.
As always, you can contact our office to answer any questions or concerns.
Physical therapy is a non-invasive discipline that helps individuals develop, maintain and restore maximum body movement and physical function. Physical therapy can help clients recover from an injury, relieve pain, prevent future injury or deal with a chronic condition. It can be applied at any age or stage of life. The ultimate goal of physical therapy is to improve health and quality of life.
Physical therapists work as part of an individual's treatment team. Generally, they begin by conducting an evaluation, which includes a medical history and a physical examination. Based on this information, the physical therapist will structure a treatment plan, monitor progress and provide some manual (hands-on) support for exercises.
According to the American Physical Therapy Association, there are roughly 175,000 practicing physical therapists in the U.S. who have attended one of roughly 200 accredited physical therapy programs.They are highly educated professionals who undertake a 4 -6 year program of college training in biological and medical sciences. They amass extensive knowledge of the body and its movements. They must also pass a national licensure examination and maintain state licensing requirements.
Physical therapists operate in a wide variety of settings, including:
- skilled nursing facilities
- inpatient rehabilitation centers
- outpatient clinics or offices
- extended care facilities
- fitness centers/sports facilities
- private homes