Physical therapy is a relatively new science, which explains some misconceptions and free interpretations on the subject. On the whole, the essence of physical therapy is to help patients to rehabilitate from the trauma, disease or any other illness; therefore, the main goal of any physical therapy practitioner is to assist an individual in overcoming the effects of trauma or illness and making sure the human organism and body come back to their normal pre-traumatic conditions. However, the diversity of organizations and non-medical rehabilitation centers, as well as private coaches, arise a question of whether physical therapy should be regarded as a precise science, where special medical knowledge is required or should be considered an implement to the conventional medical science. It is essential to understand whether physical therapy should be taught as a medical discipline or as a part of a physical training programme, with a certain emphasis on the medical background knowledge. Currently, the field of physical therapy deals with hundreds of various patient cases around the US. Interestingly, the majority of treated cases require help of a qualified physician with a profound understanding of medicine, as well as background qualification in a physical training disciplines, which makes physical therapy a unique, and, which is more importantly, a collateral science.
Despite the fact that physical therapy is not yet regarded as a part of government health care programme (since not all hospitals can offer proper rehabilitation programs for patients in need of specialized care), it is essential to distinguish the needs of patients recuperating from traumatic or any other disorders. At the moment, however, the number of both rehabilitating and preventive services in the field of physical therapy is numerous and, in a way, even confusing. According to some physical therapists, the science has in fact been in the midst if identity crisis for decades:
Physical therapy is still in the midst of an identity crisis. We know full well the
details of our daily tasks but lack the conceptualization and understanding of any
broader framework that makes us distinctive as health care professionals. We have a
task-oriented approach to our profession and are not sure of what makes us different
from other professions such as chiropractic, athletic training, or occupational therapy
(O’Hearn 4).
As Michael O’Hearn reasonably points out, it is essential to define the goals faced by physical therapists, identify the most wide spread health problems faced by patients and implement a broader physical therapy training program that would help to encompass a wider range of treated dysfunctions. In fact, the majority of physical therapists specialize in one or several areas of the entire study (motion disorders, cardio disorders, etc). On the one hand, a situation like this results in a better more efficient way to treat patients’ particular problems. On the other one, though, it significantly damages the ability of physical therapist to diagnose a problem, and, thus, treat it. The latter one explains the fact why physical therapy has long been regarded as an implement to medicine requiring a …