Revolving Back At War: A Brief History Of Physical Therapy

A physical therapist is a medical professional trained to assess and treat patients with medical diseases or injuries that limit movement and physical activity. Physical therapy has developed to become a profession where one can grow and excel. Physical therapy has evolved since the 1900s to better the lives of the patient by treating more injuries, being more rigorous in the treatment process, and, lastly, researching new technology in the field.

Patient care and treatment have evolved since the 1900s. Doctors can now treat more injuries and provide more options to the patient. The Oxford Academic Journals say that during the 1970s, physical therapy was mainly needed during the wars. The most common injury that therapists faced was neuromusculoskeletal.

During the 1920s and 30s, outbursts of viruses required the help of a physical therapist. The addition of helping out in the war is the only thing a therapist does. There was no preventative treatment, and they did the same daily. Today, physical therapy has evolved into a form of medical treatment that helps with different injuries to better the lives of others. Moffat also says there was an increased need for physical therapists as time passed. One of the primary needs was during the Korean War. The therapist would work on disabled people during that time. As the profession grew more popular, the job title switched from technician to professional practitioner. This shows that the job was important enough to make the switch. Technicians can not practice by themselves and need commentary from others. On the other hand, professional practitioners can practice by themselves. They can also teach others and have more responsibility. This career is growing and evolving to improve patient care. Furthermore, along with the advancement of physical therapy, there have been acts supporting the practice. Moffat says, “in the 1990s, the Americans with Disabilities Act and the National Center for Medical

PT requires a lot of shared equipment, and now there is more of a cleaning process between each use. Also, along with everyone else, they are understaffed. There is no longer a receptionist checking patients into the office. Instead, a computer is connected to one of the other offices with more staff. This is a problem because most of the patients that were seen needed more assistance with checking in. This took time for the PT; there was only one PT and one physics therapist assistant in the office (Miller). Covid has been the most recent adjustment that has impacted medical offices dramatically. Being short-staffed everywhere is a problem that every office is facing. With less help in the office, patients have to wait longer and have less time with a doctor, because the doctor has to do another job like helping people check-in or sanitize