Physical Therapy Research Paper

Physical therapy is a profession that requires repeated assessment of patients and the ability to connect with them to help them in the healing process. There are many different places that physical therapy services are provided such as hospitals, outpatient clinics, sports and fitness facilities, and much more. The career interest I chose for my Senior Project is physical therapy because I enjoy helping people and that's what physical therapy is all about. I want to focus my paper on the types of patients that utilize physical therapy and the duration of treatment for different diagnoses. There are many various reasons patients utilize physical therapy but the four most common are post surgery patients, function loss, injuries, and pain patients.

There are many different types of post surgical patients that utilize physical therapy but one more often than the others is a total knee replacement. Knee replacements are common in elderly people and is a treatment for pain and disability in the knee. The most common action that results in the knee replacement surgery is Osteoarthritis, which is the breakdown of joint cartilage that limits movement and causes pain in the knee. After getting a total knee replacement it is recommended to start physical therapy treatment within a few days of the surgery to get the knee moving and getting the mobility back. Physical therapists will help in the rehabilitation process by teaching the patients exercises to help strengthen the leg and increase movement in the knee and also with manual treatment. The exercises will consist of the knee moving and bending and also building muscle in the leg. The knee needs to be bending and moving to prevent the build-up of scar tissue over time. The average duration of treatment for a total knee replacement is 4 to 8 weeks but can change depending on the patient. There are many reasons people utilize physical therapy other than just post surgery. Physical therapists see many patients that have injured

Majority of people have to get physical therapy because something is causing them pain. Many things fall in the category of pain but one common reason patients come in is a back sprain. The symptoms of back sprain would be pain with moving or back spasms and muscle cramping. The most often back sprain is a sprain in the lumbar back muscle. The back is prone to the lumbar strain because it holds the weight of your body when bending, moving, or twisting A Lumbar muscle strain is caused when muscle fibers are stretched or torn. Lumbar sprain is caused when ligaments, which are the bands of tissue that hold bones together, are torn from their attachments. A sprain or strain both can result from a sudden injury or from overuse. The soft tissues become inflamed when a sprain or strain occurs and causes pain. A physical therapist helps in the rehabilitation process by providing manual therapy, ice and heat therapy, and stretching