Physical therapists are essential for helping people recover from injuries and surgeries. They’re also vital for people who are living with chronic medical conditions. In fact, they help more than 50 million Americans regain their mobility, manage chronic pain, and overcome other issues each year. This field of the medical industry has branched out in several directions over time. If you’re considering a career in PT, that gives you numerous potential paths to take.
Pediatric Physical Therapy
Pediatrics is one direction you could choose if you’re interested in becoming a physical therapist. You’d be working with children and helping them to overcome developmental delays, congenital conditions, and injuries. Pediatric PTs work in tandem with parents, teachers, and other medical professionals to create treatment plans that are tailored to children’s unique needs. You could work in a hospital, private practice, or school. You might work with children and their families in their homes as well. Pediatric physical therapy services can have lasting positive impacts on children’s lives.
Geriatric Physical Therapy
On the other end of the age spectrum, you could become a geriatric physical therapist. In this branch of the field, you’d be working with elderly patients. As is the case with pediatric PTs, there’s a constantly growing demand for services in this arena. Geriatric PTs help patients deal with arthritis, osteoporosis, balance issues, and many other problems that tend to develop with age. You could work in a clinic, nursing home, assisted living facility, or other settings as a geriatric physical therapist.
Neurological Physical Therapy
Another option is the field of neurological physical therapy. This involves helping people with neurological disorders like multiple sclerosis or Parkinson’s disease. It also entails working with patients who’ve suffered from strokes or other brain injuries. You’d be helping patients regain or maintain motor function, balance, and coordination. Physical therapists in this field are crucial for helping patients enjoy a higher quality of life despite dealing with brain injuries and neurological conditions.
Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation
Physical therapists who specialize in cardiovascular and pulmonary rehabilitation help people who are suffering from heart and lung conditions. They create treatment plans to help patients improve their breathing capacity and endurance. Those plans involve specialized exercise programs and many other measures. You’d likely be working closely with cardiologists and pulmonologists to improve patients’ heart and lung health.
Orthopedic Physical Therapy
Orthopedic physical therapy is yet another potential career path. This is one of the most common choices for people who want to become physical therapists. In this field, you’d treat musculoskeletal conditions, like broken bones and sprains. You’d work with patients after certain types of surgeries as well. You’d use a variety of exercises and rehabilitation techniques to help people regain their mobility and manage pain. In contrast to geriatric and pediatric physical therapists, you wouldn’t necessarily be working with people in specific age groups.
Choosing the Right PT Career Path for You
These are some of the more common career paths for physical therapists, but they’re not the only options by any means. As mentioned, this field has branched out in numerous directions, so you have an array of possibilities to choose from. Think about whether you want to work with children, the elderly, or people of all ages. Determine whether you want to work in a highly specialized niche of physical therapy or a more generalized one as well. No matter which branch you choose, you’ll be helping people overcome pain, mobility issues, and many other problems.
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