Physical Therapy Essay

The profession of physical therapy intrigues me mainly because physical therapy has had a positive impact on my life and I want to be able to have a positive impact on others. Over the years I have had my fair share of injuries and have been fortunate enough to have a physical therapist work on me. The fact that my physical therapist was able to minimize my pain and expedite my recovery made me extremely appreciative of the profession. Physical therapy is an essential part of athletics, which is a large part of my life, and greatly benefits the sports world. Without physical therapists injuries would be much more detrimental and would therefore decrease the attractiveness of competing in a sport. In addition, I would love to work in a professional field pertaining to sports because they have had such a large impact on my life and have shaped who I am today. Physical therapy has many benefits outside of sports as well, including general physical activity. I lead a very active lifestyle and can’t imagine life without physical activity due to an injury, disease or illness. By providing rehabilitative care for individuals of all activity levels physical therapists allow them the freedom to be physically active. I believe that in order to live life to the fullest, your body needs to be able to take you wherever you want to go. I can’t think of a better profession than having a beneficial impact on others lives and helping them enjoy their lives. In addition to these personal reasons there are outside factors that also make the physical therapy profession appealing. Once you begin working, your job security increases greatly because injuries, illnesses and diseases will always be prevalent in society. This is very comforting to have the peace of mind that you won’t be replaced and it allows you to enjoy your job more. Also, most physical therapists work regular hours, which allows you to enjoy your time off work and not be worried about getting called in. Finally, I know multiple people that are either physical therapists, clinic owners, or even still students that couldn’t be happier with the decision they made to work in the field of physical therapy. The benefits of physical therapy on physical activity are immense and essential to people’s health. Overall, physical therapy impacts the general health of people in countless ways. Without physical therapy and  rehabilitative care, injuries, illnesses and diseases could be catastrophic to a person’s physical activity level. Physical therapists provide care that allows individuals to perform necessary daily tasks and carry out actions that improve their quality of life. In addition to general health and daily activity, physical therapy greatly benefits athletics. If athletes didn’t receive care after an injury, their healing time would increase dramatically. By providing specialized care, physical therapists help athletes return to play. This, in turn, keeps the sports industry running properly as the top athletes are able to perform and provide entertainment. Lastly, physical therapy benefits physical activity teaching proper form for activity, which helps prevent future injuries. By providing people with the knowledge necessary to live a physically active life, physical therapists greatly benefit physical activity. In order to be able to contribute to the career of physical therapy, I need to first fully understand what the profession entails. By gathering as much knowledge as possible about physical therapy, I will have the tools needed to be a great therapist and contribute to the career. To positively impact physical therapy, I would first need to practice professionally, which reflects positively on physical therapy as a whole. I believe it would be extremely beneficial to athletes to learn proper technique for physical activities. One contribution I would do my best to make happen would be providing a camp for sports teams that educate young athletes on form and injury prevention. I wish someone had taught me how to prevent injuries because I spent very little time being 100% healthy. Also, by specializing in a certain area of physical therapy I would have the knowledge necessary to create new treatments and exercises to maximize the benefit of therapy. Finally, I would also love to own a clinic, which would have a immense impact on my patients and physical therapy as a profession. The first person I interviewed was a woman. She is a physical therapist at a clinic in Truckee, CA where I’m from. She received her Bachelors degree from UC Santa Barbara and her Masters degree from Chapman. I chose to interview her because she helped out with the local high school teams, almost like a trainer, but also because I was curious to see what it’s like to work in a clinic. Over the years I’ve had my share of injuries so I’ve gotten to know  her pretty well. She turned me on to physical therapy related professions because she has helped me rehab my more serious injuries and she has done a lot of athletic training type work for me during soccer. I interviewed her because I wanted her opinion on physical therapy versus athletic training since she does both. My second interview was with a man who is a recent graduate of the kinesiology program Saint Mary’s. He received his Master’s degree in Kinesiology, but still wasn’t exactly sure what profession he wanted to be in. He said that Kinesiology is a very versatile major and that you can do a lot of different careers with it. He recommended that I continue on the path of Kinesiology because he hasn’t even figured out what he wants to do yet, but he still has options to choose from. His final advice to me was to do everything to the best of my potential and the rest will come to you. In conclusion, physical therapy is a career I could definitely see myself pursuing because of the countless benefits that come with the career. As a physical therapist I would strive to provide the best care for each of my patients in hopes that I would have a positive impact on their lives. Physical therapy is an essential health care profession and I am very interested in becoming a part of it. References â€Å"Kinesiology Interview.† Scott Eberhardt. Personal interview. 27 Mar. 2014. â€Å"Physical Therapy Interview.† Joanna McMullen. Personal interview. 27 Mar. 2014.