As we wrap up the second week of this blog research project, I decided that I wanted to do my open post about a story of how physical therapy helped or didn't help someone and try and understand what it's like on the other side of physical therapy. I browsed through the internet a little bit until I found the article linked below. In this article, Linda (the patient who was receiving physical therapy) had a fall and was told that her arm would pretty much never be the same again. After going to physical therapy for a while she was able to move her arm, straighten it, and it hung normally. This is a great example to see the help that physical therapists give and in a sense they definitely help people change their lives... or get back to the life they used to live before they needed physical therapy. I think that that's what it's all about: helping people. There is no better feeling out there then seeing someone happy again or see them being able to do something again that they may have thought would never happen. I find it extremely touching, heartwarming, and amazing to see this happening to see this happening in the field that I'm hopeful to enter someday.
Link to story for those who want to read it:
CITATIONS
Danville Orthopedic & Athletic Rehab. "Linda's Physical Therapy Success Story." Danville Orthopedic & Athletic Rehab, 27 Sep 2013. Web. 23 Jan 2014.
Upstate Medical University. Physical Therapy-Doctor of Physical Therapy, DPT. 2014. Digital File.
I think that physical therapists do not only help with getting their patients back to normal physically but also mentally. Physical therapists have the ability to change the way one thinks about what happened to them, they can help them to think about it as a curse and something they'll never get past, or they can encourage them to try, even if a doctor has told them they'll never enjoy the things they once used to again. The most important thing for a physical therapist to master is attitude in my opinion. With the right attitude you can make or break a person, and physical therapy is all about being optimistic. No one ever accomplished anything great with a pessimistic attitude.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this post 100% and also with Katie's comment. My sophomore year of high school I tore my rotatorcuff and went through surgery, then physical therapy. When I first started physical therapy I was so negative because it was so painful, but my therapist was not having my poor attitude. Every visit he'd remind me of the things I would no longer be able to do if I didn't push through; his method worked and I started to enjoy seeing my own progress as I worked harder and harder. By the end of therapy we we're the best of friends and I was actually sad to quit because I loved all the people who were also in therapy at the same time as me. Physical therapists help people tremendously by helping them to grow stronger and get their full strength back, but they also have to be strong themselves to deal with the stubborn patients and help them push through.
ReplyDeleteLoved this post because I could relate to it!