Physical Therapist

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Investigative, Realistic, Enterprising
A physiotherapist is a healthcare professional whose job is to help people regain mobility and functionality, working with various techniques to reduce pain and improve overall health. A physiotherapist's work covers a wide variety of areas, from preventive treatment to rehabilitation and restoration, as well as injury prevention.

What is a physiotherapist?

A physiotherapist is a health professional who helps achieve the maximum range of movement and physical ability, whether developing it in the first place or restoring it after loss of physical ability due to illness, injury or aging.

What does a physiotherapist do?

When taking on a new patient, a physiotherapist will take their health history and perform a physical exam. Next, they will develop a treatment plan tailored to the patient's needs. 
Some of the treatments that physiotherapists use are:

 

  • Massage to relieve pain in soft tissues.
  • Mobilization or manipulation of joints.
  • Exercises to strengthen weak areas.
  • Cold to reduce inflammation.
  • Heat to increase circulation.
  • Ultrasound therapy to relieve muscle spasms.
  • Electrical stimulation to help muscles contract.

Physiotherapists not only work with people after an injury, they can also be found working in many specialty fields.

For example, a therapist who likes horseback riding may choose to pursue education in sports therapy, and then focus their efforts on obtaining clients who are also equine lovers. The therapist will be able to use their own knowledge and experience in the field to help clients in a way that a therapist who does not ride might not be able to do.

There are even some physiotherapists who focus on helping musicians who may develop repetitive-use injuries from practicing several hours a day. Any orthopedic physiotherapist could give exercises and provide treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome or tendinitis, but only one who is also a trained musician could properly advise the client how to modify to avoid further injury. This is just an example of how a physiotherapist can use their areas of expertise with a career in physiotherapy.

What is a physiotherapist's workplace like?

Physiotherapists have a wide variety of employment opportunities. They can work in hospitals, nursing homes, rehabilitation facilities, private practices, or with a sports team. They can also work for the government, in research, or they can even teach in physical therapy schools.

Physical Therapist: what do they do?
Perform and document an initial examination, evaluating data to identify problems and determine a diagnosis before intervention. 98%
Plan, prepare or carry out individually designed physical treatment programs to maintain, improve or restore physical functioning, relieve pain or prevent physical dysfunction in patients. 97%
Record the prognosis, treatment, response and progress in the patient's chart or enter the information into the computer. 94%
Identify and document goals, anticipated progress and plans for reevaluation. 93%
Administer manual exercises, massage or traction to help relieve pain, increase patient strength or decrease or prevent deformities or paralysis. 92%
Evaluate the effects of treatment at various stages and adjust treatments to achieve maximum benefit. 92%
Test and measure the patient's strength, motor development and function, sensory perception, functional capacity or respiratory or circulatory efficiency and record the data. 91%
Instruct the patient and their family in treatment procedures to be continued at home. 91%
Consult with the patient, physicians or other appropriate people to plan, implement or evaluate the intervention program. 90%
Review the physician's referral and the patient's medical records to help determine the diagnosis and necessary physiotherapy treatment. 90%