Printer FriendlyFun and Games? … or Physical Therapy?
Presented by: Diane Levasseur PT/ATC, M.S.; Physical Therapist, Co-Owner; Cornerstone Physical Therapy Associates, LLC
Workshop Description
As a Physical therapist I have the opportunity to affect people’s lives in a very positive way. To have someone come to my clinic in pain and leave with a smile on their face is a great reward. But, I think the one thing that has made PT my career for life is that how I approach my patients and their issues is limited only by my imagination. Imagine a job where you get to have fun play game, and do detective work.
In the workshop I hope to show you that although there is a time to be serious there is also time to play and enjoy.
We will explore balance. Did you know that balance is made up of 3 components? We will explore your balance and allow you to be creative on how to challenge it to improve upon it.
We will also look at strength and ways to make a simple exercise harder or easier.
I have been a physical therapist for over 20 years and hope that my workshops can demonstrate to you how very much I enjoy what I do and that with my imagination no two days are ever the same.
Leader’s Job Description
As a physical therapist I have an opportunity to work with many people and many different issue. On any given day I could be helping someone manage their back pain or teaching them to walk again. Or simple helping them o regain motion of a joint that they have lost through surgery or a broken bone.
We apply many different techniques to achieve these results. This could include massage, range of motion, exercise, balance work, sports specific activities or modalities(machine designed to achieve a specific result). Even when two patients are sent for the same issue the treatment can e very different. In treating a person I often feel like a detective. I have to think and reason using the science that I have taken to determine where the “real” problem may be coming from and then apply the treatment to achieve the result. Just like science it is not always that easy or simple. So we do more detective work set a new hypothesis and try again.
How I approach a problem is only limited by the safety of the patient and my imagination. For one patient improving their balance may mean having them stand on one foot but for another it might mean standing on an air pillow and playing catch. I could have someone use weight to do their exercise or have the patient work on a ball that makes them unsteady. Making treatment fun is important to both the patient and myself. If they have fun there is a better chance they will continue and if I have thee is a better chance they will continue the exercises.