Is PT right for me?

[VexedCoffee]

I was previously interested in a career in Chiropractic for a few reasons. I liked the idea of hands on healing(to bad this turned out to be mostly quackery.) I do like a holistic but research driven model of care. Another thing that attracted to me was Chiropractic was that the scope of practice would have also allowed me to offer lifestyle advice specifically regarding nutrition, exercise, and other things about living healthy. Sort of taking on the role of a health coach while providing 'treatment.'

Well since Chiropractic is not a good career choice I thought I should ask you guys about physical therapy. Obviously the care is hands on and I can come at it with a holistic viewpoint. But I guess I'm unsure of everything that a Physical Therapist does. I know some of the basics like providing exercises for rehabilitation but I don't feel like I have a full picture of what it is PTs do.

For the record I'm a 21 year old sophmore in missouri.

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[DPTinFL]

PTs take care of mostly musculoskeletal/physical impairments and the main goal is to return your patient to functional/independent capacity if possible. We are movement specialists who encourage a healthy lifestyle through exercise. Specific nutritional advice is out of our scope. In a nutshell, PTs work mostly with: sports injuries, worker comp. cases, stroke patients, spinal cord injuries, nursing homes, acute care (to get the patient walking/going to the bathroom, etc), and pediatrics (children with cerebral palsy or other congenital diseases).

Look into naturopathic medicine (ND degree) if you like the holistic approach to health care. I believe Univ. of Bridgeport in CT has a program.

 

[VexedCoffee]

My friends wife is actually a teacher at the bridgeport naturopathic school. I'd be hesitant to go that route due to it having many of the same problems as chiropractic. Namely lots of schooling and debt with limited prospects of a career that will allow you to pay off the debt.

I do appreciate the clarity and the suggestion though. I will talk to my friend to get more information on the naturopathic career.

 

[ItemN9ne]

I suggest that if you are curious about the profession you should shadow/intern at one of your local PT facilities. If you seriously consider this as an option, then most schools are going to require that you get some experience anyway so you mine as well get a head start on it. Good luck

 

[lee9786]

Yes volunteer with a bunch of different PTs and Chiropractors in various settings. Both professions have their positive and negative viewpoints. In all honesty, I can't recommend anyone to get into Chiropractic currently. The profession needs to iron out some core issues. PT has their problems as well, but I believe they are better positioned than the chiropractic profession to advance into the future as the primary neuromuscularskeletal experts. As third-party payers start cracking down on paying for what works, both PT and Chiropractic will be challenged. From what I've researched, PT has more evidence to demonstrate efficacy. Hopefully with the implementation of the DPT, the PT profession will emphasize an evidence-based approach even more than in the past and collectively work to advance the research. I'm certainly hoping so. As for nutrition, PTs can do this as well. My BS is in nutrition, so this area is covered and I plan to use it.

I say go PT or if you want a greater scope of practice go for the MD or DO.