Physiotherapists, also referred to as physical therapists, are one of the major allied healthcare professions. Physiotherapists provide physical therapy, which involves the assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of disorders of the musculoskeletal system. Physiotherapists may work in hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, outpatient departments of physicians' offices, and other institutions. They can specialize in particular areas of physical therapy, such as pediatrics, geriatrics, sports medicine, orthopedics, neurological surgery, and pediatric physical therapy. Many Physiotherapists attend continuing education courses to stay up-to-date on the latest research in the field. Some even continue their education to become board certified.
Physical therapy has become a large industry since the 1980's. There has been an exponential growth in the number of practitioners offering services in the United States. With this expansion came a need for educational institutions to develop programs in the physical therapy field. The Certification Board for Physical Therapy offers the nationally recognized PT test for physical therapists to make them eligible to participate in state-regulated programs. The Certification Board for Physical Therapy also oversees continuing education courses for physical therapy professionals.
As more physical therapy professionals became involved in these additional education programs, there was an increase in the demand for continuing education credits for PT work. Today, there are numerous boards and associations that offer these credits for physical therapy professionals. The National Board for Physical Therapy offers the national board certification for physical therapy. The association offers certificates in physical therapy and continuing education as well as national physical therapy continuing education discounts for its members.
In addition to these national boards, there are regional accrediting bodies for physical therapy. The North American Physical Therapy Association is the largest accrediting body of physical therapists in the United States. Its commissioning process is followed by the American Physical Therapy Association. The Commission on Accreditation of Physical Therapy Education (CAPE) is responsible for establishing a standard of quality in physical therapy education and practices. The organization offers national continuing education credits for physical therapists and directs practice audits and evaluation for schools that are accredited by the CAPE.
For manual therapy practices to be recognized by the regional accrediting organizations, they need to meet certain requirements. For example, all physical therapists must have proper education and training, they must administer proper modalities, and they need to demonstrate compliance to the various standards of the organizations. In order to be certified, physical therapists must also complete a specific number of credits in their chosen modalities. Many states require physical therapy students to pass examinations and train in their chosen modalities before they can take the examinations. A physical therapist is not considered a licensed physician or medical technician until he or she receives a license to practice.
An interesting modality used in the treatment of acute and chronic pain conditions is electrical stimulation. It is done using low-level electrical currents to reduce inflammation and increase the blood flow to painful areas. Since it is applied topically, there is no need for the patient to be in the facility. Some electrical stimulation uses transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation to target deep muscles. It is often combined with ultrasound for better effect. Check out this post for more details related to this article: https://www.dictionary.com/browse/psychotherapy.
